,QUESTION 1
1.1 Significance of TWAIL Scholars and Their Criticism of the Imperialistic
Development of International Law
The Third World Approaches to International Law (TWAIL) movement emerged as a
critical response to the Eurocentric foundations of international law. TWAIL scholars
such as Antony Anghie (2004, 2023), B.S. Chimni (2006), and Makau Mutua (2000)
argue that international law, as it developed during the colonial and postcolonial
eras, was not a neutral system but a tool of imperial domination. According to
Anghie, the discipline’s very ontology—the way it defines sovereignty, civilization,
and legality—was shaped through the colonial encounter. During the 16th to 19th
centuries, European powers used doctrines such as terra nullius, the “civilizing
mission,” and the standard of civilization to justify colonization and subjugation of
non-European societies. TWAIL scholars contend that these doctrines produced a
hierarchical world order that legitimized Western supremacy while marginalizing the
agency and voices of the Global South (Anghie, 2023).
The significance of TWAIL lies in its attempt to expose how these imperial
foundations continue to influence modern international law, especially in the areas of
trade, human rights, and global governance. Chimni (2006) emphasizes that despite
formal decolonization, the global economic system still reflects structural inequalities
through institutions such as the IMF, World Bank, and WTO, which enforce
neoliberal policies that benefit the Global North. Similarly, Mutua (2000) argues that
international law perpetuates a “savior–victim–barbarian” narrative, portraying the
West as the guardian of civilization and the Third World as perpetually in need of
rescue. TWAIL therefore represents an intellectual and political project aimed at
decolonizing international law—to rethink its norms, structures, and values in ways
that reflect pluralism and historical justice. Through historical revisionism and critical
theory, TWAIL challenges the notion that international law was universally beneficial;
instead, it highlights how law was central to both the making and the maintenance of
imperial power structures (Mutua, 2000; Anghie, 2023).
, 1.2 Development of International Law and the Contribution of Pre-Colonial
African Entities
The development of international law is often presented as a linear European story
that begins with Westphalia and expands globally through colonialism. However, pre-
colonial African societies also contributed to the evolution of legal and diplomatic
principles that parallel modern international law. Before European intervention,
African polities such as Mali, Songhai, Great Zimbabwe, Kongo, and Ethiopia
developed complex systems of inter-state relations, trade agreements, and conflict
resolution mechanisms. These societies recognized principles similar to sovereignty,
mutual recognition, and treaty-making. For instance, the Mali Empire’s 13th-century
Kurukan Fuga Charter established rules of governance, rights, and inter-community
relations that prefigured many aspects of later human rights norms (Maluwa, 2020).
Likewise, the Kingdom of Kongo engaged in international diplomacy with Portugal as
early as the 15th century, establishing formal treaties that demonstrate Africa’s
active role in shaping transnational legal relations prior to colonization (Egede,
2023).
Pre-colonial African diplomacy was characterized by negotiations, emissary systems,
and conventions that maintained peace and regulated trade between kingdoms and
chiefdoms. These practices refute the colonial myth that Africa was a “lawless” or
“stateless” continent prior to European intervention. As Maluwa (2020) notes, African
customary diplomacy and laws contributed to the development of principles such as
pacta sunt servanda (agreements must be kept) and peaceful coexistence.
Additionally, the Ethiopian Empire’s engagement with European powers, its
resistance to colonization, and participation in the 1899 Hague Peace Conference
highlight Africa’s historical agency in the making of global legal norms. The
recognition of these pre-colonial systems expands our understanding of international
law as not merely a Western invention but a pluralistic field shaped by multiple
civilizations. TWAIL scholars thus advocate for the recovery and integration of these
African contributions into the mainstream narrative of international law, as part of the
broader project of epistemic decolonization (Anghie, 2023; Maluwa, 2020).
1.3 Proliferation of International Organisations and the Transformation of
International Law
1.1 Significance of TWAIL Scholars and Their Criticism of the Imperialistic
Development of International Law
The Third World Approaches to International Law (TWAIL) movement emerged as a
critical response to the Eurocentric foundations of international law. TWAIL scholars
such as Antony Anghie (2004, 2023), B.S. Chimni (2006), and Makau Mutua (2000)
argue that international law, as it developed during the colonial and postcolonial
eras, was not a neutral system but a tool of imperial domination. According to
Anghie, the discipline’s very ontology—the way it defines sovereignty, civilization,
and legality—was shaped through the colonial encounter. During the 16th to 19th
centuries, European powers used doctrines such as terra nullius, the “civilizing
mission,” and the standard of civilization to justify colonization and subjugation of
non-European societies. TWAIL scholars contend that these doctrines produced a
hierarchical world order that legitimized Western supremacy while marginalizing the
agency and voices of the Global South (Anghie, 2023).
The significance of TWAIL lies in its attempt to expose how these imperial
foundations continue to influence modern international law, especially in the areas of
trade, human rights, and global governance. Chimni (2006) emphasizes that despite
formal decolonization, the global economic system still reflects structural inequalities
through institutions such as the IMF, World Bank, and WTO, which enforce
neoliberal policies that benefit the Global North. Similarly, Mutua (2000) argues that
international law perpetuates a “savior–victim–barbarian” narrative, portraying the
West as the guardian of civilization and the Third World as perpetually in need of
rescue. TWAIL therefore represents an intellectual and political project aimed at
decolonizing international law—to rethink its norms, structures, and values in ways
that reflect pluralism and historical justice. Through historical revisionism and critical
theory, TWAIL challenges the notion that international law was universally beneficial;
instead, it highlights how law was central to both the making and the maintenance of
imperial power structures (Mutua, 2000; Anghie, 2023).
, 1.2 Development of International Law and the Contribution of Pre-Colonial
African Entities
The development of international law is often presented as a linear European story
that begins with Westphalia and expands globally through colonialism. However, pre-
colonial African societies also contributed to the evolution of legal and diplomatic
principles that parallel modern international law. Before European intervention,
African polities such as Mali, Songhai, Great Zimbabwe, Kongo, and Ethiopia
developed complex systems of inter-state relations, trade agreements, and conflict
resolution mechanisms. These societies recognized principles similar to sovereignty,
mutual recognition, and treaty-making. For instance, the Mali Empire’s 13th-century
Kurukan Fuga Charter established rules of governance, rights, and inter-community
relations that prefigured many aspects of later human rights norms (Maluwa, 2020).
Likewise, the Kingdom of Kongo engaged in international diplomacy with Portugal as
early as the 15th century, establishing formal treaties that demonstrate Africa’s
active role in shaping transnational legal relations prior to colonization (Egede,
2023).
Pre-colonial African diplomacy was characterized by negotiations, emissary systems,
and conventions that maintained peace and regulated trade between kingdoms and
chiefdoms. These practices refute the colonial myth that Africa was a “lawless” or
“stateless” continent prior to European intervention. As Maluwa (2020) notes, African
customary diplomacy and laws contributed to the development of principles such as
pacta sunt servanda (agreements must be kept) and peaceful coexistence.
Additionally, the Ethiopian Empire’s engagement with European powers, its
resistance to colonization, and participation in the 1899 Hague Peace Conference
highlight Africa’s historical agency in the making of global legal norms. The
recognition of these pre-colonial systems expands our understanding of international
law as not merely a Western invention but a pluralistic field shaped by multiple
civilizations. TWAIL scholars thus advocate for the recovery and integration of these
African contributions into the mainstream narrative of international law, as part of the
broader project of epistemic decolonization (Anghie, 2023; Maluwa, 2020).
1.3 Proliferation of International Organisations and the Transformation of
International Law
