| In the traditions of both Third World Approaches to International Law and subaltern cosmopolitan legality, the following dissertation sets out a series of critiques of the contemporary international legal regime and proposes a variety of possible responses from Third World nations, subaltern movements and legal academics. This multi-pronged approach is intended to buttress the pluralistic nature of both legal and social reform. In considering how to advance the causes of social justice on an international scale, a strong question, international law may represent a strong answer. For this to happen, some of its etiological inadequacies --- including both Eurocentrism and elitism --- must be addressed. Of course, Third World scholars have been challenging these deficiencies for decades and it would be altogether presumptuous of me to, assume that I possess the answer. Instead, what I propose are a series of adjustments to a law student's possible engagement of international law.;Despite its flaws, even contradictions, international law is consistently represented as the manifestation of universal norms. A consequence of this pretence, I contend, is the blunting of the democratic and creative imaginaries of young law students. Incorporating the topics examined in the following chapters into an international legal curriculum might contribute to a rethink and possible reform of the international legal regime along pluralistic lines. |
