Law, Jurisp & Social Thought 171 - International Order

This course explores the encounter between "Europe" and the "non-western" world. More specifically, it examines the ways in which the western international order has conceived and managed the encounter with the non-western, the "peripheries" or "third world." The history of this encounter has been certainly fraught with violence and war. From the Spanish conquest of the "new world" at the end of the fifteenth century, to the scramble for Africa in the nineteenth century, western states have sought to extend their rule overseas by force. But after a long struggle for self-determination, formal colonialism came to an end during the 1960s process of decolonization. Should we understand this historical pattern as a progression from colonialism to self-determination? Alternatively, has the western international order managed the encounter with the non-western world by sustaining the domination of the former over the latter, with formal sovereignty of newly independent states replacing colonial rule but not western imperialism?

This course explores both interpretations. The main objective of the course is to enable students to understand the nature of colonialism and self-determination. By the end of the term students are expected to think critically about the role the international order has had in the unequal distribution of power and resources between states, and to evaluate the history of weaker states and peoples resisting inequality.

Limited to 40 students. Fall semester. Visiting Professor Becker-Lorca.