What is TWAIL? | TWAIL Episode 1

Dr Mohsen al Attar

Is international law hopelessly Eurocentric, prejudicial, and violent? Considering that international law has, at different stages, legitimised the enslavement, massacre, and conquest of non-Europeans, the question seems redundant. And yet, much of the international law's barbaric history is glossed over in historical and orthodox studies of the international legal framework. Enter Third World Approaches to International Law. TWAIL, as it is popularly known, opened Pandora's box. What was let loose was not pretty. European barbarism laid the foundations for the international legal framework that now envelops the globe, creating conditions for the perpetuation of the inequality and exploitation that continue to inform First to Third World relations. In the following podcast, I discuss aspects of TWAIL as theory of international law. While TWAIL scholars do critique aspects of international law, their approach grates against mainstream standards. The validity of their critique is undeniable but how does it fits within the larger framework?