The postcoloniality of international law

Abstract

© 2011 Taylor & Francis. All rights reserved. How are we to understand the relationship between international law and imperialism? What bearing might that have on how we see contemporary international law? According to one view, international law is simply a “cloak of legality” thrown over the subjugation of colonized peoples by the imperial powers in a distortion of international law’s true spirit. 1 According to this understanding, the contemporary task is to rid international law of the vestiges of that misappropriation. We must accept decolonization at face value and continue to broaden the scope and content of international law in a culturally sensitive way. If we were to set ourselve..