Theorising from Below? Global South, Third World Approaches to International Law and Global Governance

with Professor Sujith Xavier (Director of Transnational Law and Justice Network, University of Windsor)

Why are theories of global governance unable to integrate the lived realities of the people of the global South? More specifically, should we learn from the global South? How can we learn from the global South? In answering these questions, Prof. Xavier offers two insights in this paper. The first is based on international law as a field of practice. Often, international lawyers and international law scholars tend to examine the legal mechanisms and the ensuing doctrines of international law without reference to geo-political, economic, social, and cultural contexts. The second insight attempts to problematise the ethics of international legal scholarship. In this regard, Prof. Xavier focuses on the role of international lawyers and international law scholars and their ethical obligations in light of the material reality of the global South.