CTA223 | Theoretical approaches to International Law

This is a standalone course, structured as in the format of a seminar. This course will seek to take students (who would be familiar with the basics of international law) beyond the Western ‘mainstream’ modes of thinking and researching about international law. This seminar will, therefore, discuss and debate several different theoretical approaches to International Law.

International Law is a legal system which is non-hierarchical and non-centralised. This peculiar feature ensures that academic writings and debates are especially important in shaping international law. It is especially important for students and practitioners of international law to be aware of the politics of knowledge construction in international law, lest it become an apologist for naked power.

Different theoretical approaches not only orient and shape academic and political debates in International Law, but also equip stakeholders seeking to reform it, in order to make it moreinclusive, fair and just. In this regard, there is an urgent need to integrate critical approaches like the Third World Approaches, Feminist Approaches, and Critical Race approaches within the reading and understanding of international law.

This seminar course will seek to introduce students to different theoretical approaches and their practical implications. Even basic issues such as sources of international law can differ significantly based on which theoretical approach is undertaken. We will see the real-world relevance of different theories and how they are used in argumentation and international legal advocacy. To this end, the course instructor will use a variety of scholarly literature (articles, blogs, book chapters), news articles, and case laws from international courts and tribunals. The course instructor has chosen to use a mix of seminal articles and textbook chapters to introduce students to each of these theoretical approaches. Students will be expected to read them in preparation for the class, and the instructor will not be ‘teaching’ them these ‘readings’. Rather will critically discuss the key points identified and highlighted by them with the students in a more open-ended discussion.

This will be a participatory seminar and will use a Socratic style discussion. Students will be expected to engage in discussion and debates on current topics international relations and international law, from different theoretical standpoints.

The course will be structure into separate modules for each of the theoretical approach we will be studying. The course will start with the relevance of theory, then briefly discuss the mainstream approaches (positivism and natural law) and then move on to the ‘new’ approaches and the ‘critical’ approaches. Final few classes will be served for overall roundtable discussions.