Making Room for Critical Race Theory in International Law: Some Practical Pointers

Abstract

In addition to assessing the pertinence of critical race theory in unmasking international law's colonial, racist and patriarchal underpinnings, this paper attempts to suggest practical ways in which a critical race theory approach can enrich the international legal system, by giving a voice to the voiceless and by addressing the conditions of marginality in which much of the developing world is trapped.

This paper will do three things. First, it will peruse the contemporary global situation with respect to international law and human rights. Second, it will assess the contribution of critical race theory in advancing an understanding of, and solution to, America's predicament of race. Third, it will suggest ways in which these approaches may engage with contemporary attempts to deal with the human rights endeavor globally.

Keywords: critical race theory, international law, civil rights