Law Commons^™

Writing Race And Identity In A Global Context: What Crt And Twail Can Learn From Each Other, James T. Gathii

Faculty Publications & Other Works

This Article argues that issues of race and identity have so far been underemphasized, understudied, and undertheorized in mainstream international law. To address this major gap, this Article argues that there is an opportunity for learning, sharing, and collaboration between Critical Race Theorists (CRT) and scholars of Third World Approaches to International Law (TWAIL). Such a collaboration, this Article argues, would produce a very sharp lens of tracing issues of race and identity in the imperial, transnational, and global histories of international law and their contemporary continuities. By adopting a framework of studying race and identity in a global context, …

Differentiation In International Environmental Law: Has Pragmatism Displaced Considerations Of Justice?, Patricia Galvao-Ferreira

Law Publications

The Third World Approaches to International Law (TWAIL) scholarly movement seeks to assess and to advance the ‘promise of international law to transform itself into a system based, not on power, but justice’, by considering how global norms impair or advance the interests of states in the Global South. This chapter seeks to contribute to the TWAIL scholarly project by examining whether international environmental law (IEL)’s norms and mechanisms have been a source of international legal innovation by challenging entrenched global socio-economic and power imbalances, making this field of law more supportive of the interests of the South. This chapter …

What Is Twail?, Makau W. Mutua

Makau Mutua

The piece seeks to conceptualize the insurgent movement in international law known as Third World Approaches to International Law. Driven by scholars from the Third World, TWAIL rejects the traditional tenets and assumptions of traditional international law and argues for a re-imagination of the law of nations to purge it of racial and hegemonic precepts and biases to create a truly universal corpus that embraces inclusivity and empowerment. The movement turns away from the imperialist and colonialist foundation of international law. It argues that international law must be devoid of oppression, exploitation, and domination. The piece is among the first …

Critical Race Theory And International Law: The View Of An Insider-Outsider, Makau Mutua

Makau Mutua

This article contends that international law, like national law, is captive to the racial biases and hierarchies that hide injustice under the pretext of legal neutrality and universality. It argues that international law is tormented by racist and hegemonic asymmetries that govern the international order. The piece posits that international law could benefit greatly from the method of critical race theory in unpacking the pathologies of power and race that define it. It focuses on the use of international law to conceive and buttress the exploitation and marginalization of the North by the South. It calls for a reconstruction of …

International Environmental Law, Environmental Justice, And The Global South, Carmen G. Gonzalez, Sumudu Atapattu

Carmen G. Gonzalez

International Environmental Law, Environmental Justice, And The Global South, Carmen G. Gonzalez, Sumudu Atapattu

Carmen G. Gonzalez

International Environmental Law, Environmental Justice, And The Global South, Carmen G. Gonzalez, Sumudu Atapattu

Carmen G. Gonzalez

International Environmental Law, Environmental Justice, And The Global South, Carmen G. Gonzalez, Sumudu Atapattu

Carmen G. Gonzalez

International Environmental Law, Environmental Justice, And The Global South, Carmen G. Gonzalez, Sumudu Atapattu

Carmen G. Gonzalez

International Environmental Law, Environmental Justice, And The Global South, Carmen G. Gonzalez, Sumudu Atapattu

Carmen G. Gonzalez

International Environmental Law, Environmental Justice, And The Global South, Carmen G. Gonzalez, Sumudu Atapattu

Carmen G. Gonzalez

International Environmental Law, Environmental Justice, And The Global South, Carmen G. Gonzalez, Sumudu Atapattu

Carmen G. Gonzalez

International Environmental Law, Environmental Justice, And The Global South, Carmen G. Gonzalez, Sumudu Atapattu

Carmen G. Gonzalez

International Environmental Law, Environmental Justice, And The Global South, Carmen G. Gonzalez, Sumudu Atapattu

Carmen G. Gonzalez

International Environmental Law, Environmental Justice, And The Global South, Carmen G. Gonzalez, Sumudu Atapattu

Carmen G. Gonzalez

International Environmental Law, Environmental Justice, And The Global South, Carmen G. Gonzalez, Sumudu Atapattu

Carmen G. Gonzalez

International Environmental Law, Environmental Justice, And The Global South, Carmen G. Gonzalez, Sumudu Atapattu

Carmen G. Gonzalez

International Environmental Law, Environmental Justice, And The Global South, Carmen G. Gonzalez, Sumudu Atapattu

Carmen G. Gonzalez

International Environmental Law, Environmental Justice, And The Global South, Carmen G. Gonzalez, Sumudu Atapattu

Carmen G. Gonzalez

International Environmental Law, Environmental Justice, And The Global South, Carmen G. Gonzalez, Sumudu Atapattu

Carmen G. Gonzalez

Learning From Below: Theorising Global Governance Through Ethnographies And Critical Reflections From The Global South, Sujith Xavier

Law Publications

This paper explores the various means by which we can overcome the universalism imbedded in international law and international institutions. It asks: How can international lawyers and international law scholars learn from the Global South? This ‘how’ question prompts another, but related question: should we learn from the Global South?

There is a rich interdisciplinary body of literature that signals to the Global South, or Europe’s other, as a site of knowledge production. The eurocentrism of the social sciences can be identified by examining the various founding fathers of their respective theories (especially sociology). This paper builds on southern theory …

Environmental Justice, Human Rights, And The Global South, Carmen G. Gonzalez

Carmen G. Gonzalez

From the Ogoni people devastated by oil drilling in Nigeria to the Inuit and other indigenous populations threatened by climate change, communities disparately burdened by environmental degradation are increasingly framing their demands for environmental justice in the language of environmental human rights. Domestic and international tribunals have concluded that failure to protect the environment violates a variety of human rights (including the rights to life, health, food, water, property, and privacy; the collective rights of indigenous peoples to their ancestral lands and resources; and the right to a healthy environment). Some scholars have questioned the utility of the human rights …

Unilateral Home State Regulation: Imperialism Or Tool For Subaltern Resistance?, Sara L. Seck

Articles, Book Chapters, & Popular Press

Home state reluctance to engage in the regulation of international corporate activities in the human rights context is sometimes expressed as a concern that it would constitute an imperialistic infringement of host state sovereignty. This concern may be explicit, or it may be implicit in an expressed desire to avoid conflict with the sovereignty of foreign states. Yet, in the absence of a multilateral treaty directly addressing business and human rights, a role for home states in regulating so as to prevent and remedy human rights harms is increasingly being suggested. The purpose of this paper is to explore theoretical …

Revolt Against Or From Within The West?: Twail, The Developing World, And The Future Direction Of International Law, David P. Fidler

Articles by Maurer Faculty

No abstract provided.

Critical Race Theory And International Law: The View Of An Insider-Outsider, Makau Mutua

Journal Articles

This article contends that international law, like national law, is captive to the racial biases and hierarchies that hide injustice under the pretext of legal neutrality and universality. It argues that international law is tormented by racist and hegemonic asymmetries that govern the international order. The piece posits that international law could benefit greatly from the method of critical race theory in unpacking the pathologies of power and race that define it. It focuses on the use of international law to conceive and buttress the exploitation and marginalization of the North by the South. It calls for a reconstruction of …

What Is Twail?, Makau W. Mutua

Journal Articles

The piece seeks to conceptualize the insurgent movement in international law known as Third World Approaches to International Law. Driven by scholars from the Third World, TWAIL rejects the traditional tenets and assumptions of traditional international law and argues for a re-imagination of the law of nations to purge it of racial and hegemonic precepts and biases to create a truly universal corpus that embraces inclusivity and empowerment. The movement turns away from the imperialist and colonialist foundation of international law. It argues that international law must be devoid of oppression, exploitation, and domination. The piece is among the first …