The Postcoloniality of International Law

摘要

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. 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. Meeting the Symposium's stated goal of "envisioning new orders" would therefore require the rescue of international law from the corruption of power to make good international law's explicit promise of universality and sovereign equality.