Semester 2 2025 - DUE September 2025; 100%
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MEMORANDUM: The Role and Relevance of TWAIL and
Statehood in Contemporary International Law
PART I: The TWAIL Movement (Total: 15 Marks)
1. What does the acronym TWAIL stand for? (4 marks)
TWAIL stands for Third World Approaches to International Law.
It is a scholarly and political movement that critiques the
historical and structural biases within international law as
developed and dominated by Western powers.
2. What informed the development of the TWAIL movement?
(5 marks)
The TWAIL movement emerged in response to the colonial
foundations of international law and the persistent
inequalities in global governance post-decolonisation. Its roots
lie in the recognition that despite formal independence, many
post-colonial states remained structurally disadvantaged
within the international legal order. TWAIL scholars argue that
the legal frameworks created during and after colonialism
served to institutionalise economic dependency, political
subordination, and racial hierarchies. Key events that
, influenced TWAIL include the Bandung Conference (1955), the
formation of the Non-Aligned Movement, and the unequal
participation of Global South states in institutions like the UN
Security Council, WTO, and IMF.
3. What are the objectives of TWAIL? (6 marks)
TWAIL scholars aim to:
• Deconstruct and expose the Eurocentric biases embedded
in international law.
• Reclaim agency for formerly colonised states and peoples
in shaping international norms.
• Promote alternative visions of global justice, rooted in
historical and cultural specificities of the Global South.
• Advocate for redistributive justice, fairer trade regimes,
and reform of global institutions.
• Challenge doctrines like sovereignty and humanitarian
intervention when used to mask neo-imperialism.
• Contribute to the democratisation of international law,
where Global South perspectives are not marginalised.
TWAIL contributes to reshaping international law by bringing to
the forefront subaltern voices and critiquing how "universal"
norms have often been tools for domination rather than
emancipation. Through this, it helps reimagine a more