Third World Approaches to

International Law

Dr. Juliee Sharma

Assistant Professor, Amity Law School, Noida
About TWAIL
is a critical school of international legal scholarship.

Itis a "broad dialectic opposition to international

law", which perceives international law as
facilitating the continuing exploitation of the Third
World through subordination to the West.

TWAIL scholars (known as TWAIL-ers) seek to

change what they identify as international law's
oppressive aspects, through the re-examination of
the colonial foundations of international law
 OBJCETIVES:
Developing an understanding as to how international law perpetuates
the subordination of non-Europeans to Europeans through international
legal norms.

Creating opportunities for Third World participation in international

law.

Proposing an alternative mechanism of international law that coexists

with other critiques of the neoliberal approach to international law.

Eradicating underdevelopment of the Third World through scholarship,

policy and politics.

Understanding and engaging Third World scholarship in the analysis of

international law.
THIRD WORLD
The Third World according to TWAIL-ers, is a group of states, which
are politically, economically and culturally diverse, but are
simultaneously united in their common history of colonialism.

TWAIL emphasizes that even after the end of the Cold War, the Third
World is still a political reality. Some TWAIL-ers believe this
distinction to be even more alive today, due to the aggregation of
diversification of states based on economic development.

They underline that the maintenance of the unity of the Third World is
crucial in combating the continuing domination of the First World and
that the term has no pejorative connotation.

The FirstWorld is considered to be the group of states engaged in

imperial practices and which continue to dominate global politics
and economics.
Approaches

TWAIL reconsiders the history and development of international

law and highlights the colonial legacy inherent in it.

TWAIL reevaluates the power relationships of the current world

order to eradicate the racial hierarchy and oppression present in
international law.

Although the goal is common, the methods employed to effect

those changes vary. Hence, TWAIL is a diverse and ‘coalitionary
movement’ - its scholars use different methodologies
like Marxism, feminism and critical race theory.

Thereforethere is no elaborate common TWAIL doctrine, but all

TWAIL-ers are nevertheless united in their struggle for the greater
involvement of Third World peoples in international law.
International Law

TWAIL-ers underline that international law was created during the

colonial era and that it was used to legitimize the global processes of
marginalization and domination of the colonized people by Western
powers.

They refuse to accept the universal character of the international legal

system, as it emerged solely from the European and Christian
tradition. In contrast, Third World countries were assimilated by force
into the international legal system, which does not reflect their
diverse heritage.

TWAIL-ers reject the idea that after the end of the World War II
international law has moved on from its imperialistic origins.
Although the system appears to be legitimized by recognizing human
rights and the right to self-determination, TWAIL-ers believe that
international law is still a tool of oppression and
that decolonization processes were merely illusory.
 Scholars
First Generation
R.P. Anand
Upendra Baxi
Mohammed Bedjaoui
Christopher Weeramantry

Second Generation
Antony Anghie
Balakrishnan Rajagopal
Bhupinder Chimni
Celestine Nyamu
Usha Natarajan
James Thuo Gathii
Joel Ngugi
Makau Wa Mutua
Mohsen Al Attar
Obiora Chinedu Okafor
Sylvia Tamale
Vasuki Nesiah
E. Tendayi Achiume
Khaled Al-Kassimi
Jelena Aparac
Prof. R.P Anand (1933- 2011)

Writings of Prof. Anand (Download in PDF format)

http://www.publicinternationallaw.in/rpanandwritings
Must Watch

Third World Approaches to International Law,

Mr. Antony Anghie,
Samuel D. Thurman, Professor of Law, S.J.
Quinney College of Law, University of Utah -
https://legal.un.org/avl/ls/Anghie_IL_video_1.ht
ml
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Audio:
https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A/
/api.soundcloud.com/tracks/330433530&color=f