LCP4801
Assignment 2 Semester 2 2025
Unique #:
Due Date: September 2025
Detailed solutions, explanations, workings
and references.
+27 81 278 3372
, QUESTION 1
1.1 What does the acronym TWAIL stand for?
TWAIL stands for Third World Approaches to International Law. It is a scholarly and
activist movement that challenges the dominant structures and ideologies of
international law, particularly its historical role in maintaining imperial and colonial
hierarchies. The acronym reflects a critical lens through which international legal
systems are examined, especially as they affect countries of the Global South.1
1.2 What informed the development of the TWAIL movement?
The development of TWAIL was informed by a reaction against the perceived
imperial legacy of international law. Scholars and thinkers from the Global South
argued that while international law claimed to promote universal norms and equality
among states, it in fact originated largely from European legal traditions and political
experiences. This led to the marginalisation of non-Western legal systems and
traditions.2 The TWAIL movement emerged in response to the formal equality
granted to newly independent states after decolonisation, which failed to address
substantive inequality in global governance, economic dependency, and political
sovereignty.3 TWAIL scholars also highlight the continued domination of developing
states through structures such as the veto power of permanent UN Security Council
members, the interventionist policies of Bretton Woods institutions, and the
unchecked influence of multinational corporations in the Global South.4
1.3 What are the objectives of TWAIL
The TWAIL movement seeks to:
Expose and challenge the legacy of colonialism and imperialism in
international law;
1
H Strydom et al, International Law, 3rd ed. (Oxford University Press, 2025) 52 .
2
University of South Africa, International Law: Only Study Guide for LCP4801 (2025) 47.
3
H Strydom et al, International Law, 3rd ed. (Oxford University Press, 2025) 47–48.
4
University of South Africa, International Law: Only Study Guide for LCP4801 (2025) 48.
Varsity Cube 2025 +27 81 278 3372
Assignment 2 Semester 2 2025
Unique #:
Due Date: September 2025
Detailed solutions, explanations, workings
and references.
+27 81 278 3372
, QUESTION 1
1.1 What does the acronym TWAIL stand for?
TWAIL stands for Third World Approaches to International Law. It is a scholarly and
activist movement that challenges the dominant structures and ideologies of
international law, particularly its historical role in maintaining imperial and colonial
hierarchies. The acronym reflects a critical lens through which international legal
systems are examined, especially as they affect countries of the Global South.1
1.2 What informed the development of the TWAIL movement?
The development of TWAIL was informed by a reaction against the perceived
imperial legacy of international law. Scholars and thinkers from the Global South
argued that while international law claimed to promote universal norms and equality
among states, it in fact originated largely from European legal traditions and political
experiences. This led to the marginalisation of non-Western legal systems and
traditions.2 The TWAIL movement emerged in response to the formal equality
granted to newly independent states after decolonisation, which failed to address
substantive inequality in global governance, economic dependency, and political
sovereignty.3 TWAIL scholars also highlight the continued domination of developing
states through structures such as the veto power of permanent UN Security Council
members, the interventionist policies of Bretton Woods institutions, and the
unchecked influence of multinational corporations in the Global South.4
1.3 What are the objectives of TWAIL
The TWAIL movement seeks to:
Expose and challenge the legacy of colonialism and imperialism in
international law;
1
H Strydom et al, International Law, 3rd ed. (Oxford University Press, 2025) 52 .
2
University of South Africa, International Law: Only Study Guide for LCP4801 (2025) 47.
3
H Strydom et al, International Law, 3rd ed. (Oxford University Press, 2025) 47–48.
4
University of South Africa, International Law: Only Study Guide for LCP4801 (2025) 48.
Varsity Cube 2025 +27 81 278 3372
