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This article examines Rosa Luxemburg’s critique of self-determination through the lens of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth.

February 2, 2026Open Access

The everyday banality of domination and the exceptional drama of conquest: Rosa Luxemburg’s critique of self-determination through the many lives of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth

Key Points

This article examines Rosa Luxemburg’s critique of self-determination through the lens of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth.
Analyzing Rosa Luxemburg's theories and their relation to modern international legal discourses.
Focusing on the historical significance of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth regarding concepts of conquest.
Reveals the fragility of current international laws against conquest.
Highlights the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth as a key historical context for understanding these concepts.

Abstract

Abstract This article explores Rosa Luxemburg’s theories in relation to present international legal discourses on the ban on conquest and its fragility. Towards this end, I centre the significance of the (partitioned) Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth as a generative site for modern conceptualisations of ‘conquest’ and, relatedly, Luxemburg’s formative context of political engagement.

The everyday banality of domination and the exceptional drama of conquest: Rosa Luxemburg’s critique of self-determination through the many lives of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth

Key Points

Abstract

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