Capitalism as Civilisation: A History of International Law

Cambridge Studies in International and Comparative Law

by Ntina Tzouvala

Methodologically and theoretically innovative, this monograph draws from Marxism and deconstruction bringing together the textual and the material in our understanding of international law. Approaching 'civilisation' as an argumentative pattern related to the distribution of rights and duties amongst different communities, Ntina Tzouvala illustrates both its contradictory nature and its pro-capitalist bias. 'Civilisation' is shown to oscillate between two poles. On the one hand, a pervasive 'logic of improvement' anchors legal equality to demands that non-Western polities undertake extensive domestic reforms and embrace capitalist modernity. On the other, an insistent 'logic of biology' constantly postpones such a prospect based on ideas of immutable difference. By detailing the tension and synergies between these two logics, Tzouvala argues that international law incorporates and attempts to mediate the contradictions of capitalism as a global system of production and exchange that both homogenises and stratifies societies, populations and space.

Genres: Law, History, Politics, Nonfiction, International Relations, Theory, Economics

230 pages, Hardcover

Published January 1, 2021

Reviews

[Claudia · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book looks into the standards of civilisation in International Law, and how the principle was used to denigrate certain communities. It further looks into its politics, theories and method relating to the application of civilisation as a standard in International Law. The monograph starts by grappling with Mari Matsuda's famous comments on the politics of disruption of binaries, including her view that the post-structuralist impulse to deconstruct binaries such as those of gender, race and sexuality do carry with it consequences of continued oppression for the disadvantaged, in which it make available ammunition for the enemies of legal and inclusive reforms, resulting in further disadvantages to communities of colour, women and so on (this is a really hard point to address these days but this book did not shy away and it deserves kudos for its courage) however, it dismisses Matsuda's argument by observing that although there are true aspects of this, one cannot stop from fighting injustice in other communities for fear of further disadvantage. I remain sceptic of this argument as I don't think it resolves Matsuda's questions. (So your solution is to ignore peoples of colour because basically you would sound like a right winger? No. Just no. A better solution for this would be - say - support more inclusion of peoples of colours and listening carefully to their lived experiences and cultural assumptions so novel ideas can be generated??)
The book cited the works I find most important in this area, by author Patricia J WIlliams and her outstanding books "The alchemy of race and rights" and "The diary of a law professor" (p. 36), it then proceeds to highlight most Marxist skepticisms of the emphasis the post-subjects (post-structuralism, post-modernism and post-colonialism) place on textuality, indeterminacy and its detachment of material struggles in the community that appear further from workers and their realities on the ground (Hammoudi (2016) , Taylor(2011) and Mieville (2006)). None of this negates Deconstructionism's victories but rather points to the issue of Indeterminacy and seeks to avoid the worst consequences of the intervention. Or as the author puts it "international law might read as open, plastic or indeterminate in Geneva, London or New York , but not so much in Baghdad, Nauru or Cairo." Those were early wins for this book. But make no mistake this is still a deconstructivist book that follows Derrida's injunction to grapple with "solid structures and material institutions" (p. 39). It does so by attempting to show that the civilisation standard- particularly as "a pattern of argument" oscillating among "logic of improvement and logic of biology" is binary and represent differing visions on rights and duties distribution among the international community. (Although I would question whether international law distributes anything at all - apart from more wins to winners - it gotta be said!).
Anyway the author questions whether legal profession by choosing to pursue struggles through the prism of civilisation are really dealing with the challenges to imperialism and capitalism. She argues that international law ends up homogenising and reproducing unequal development and polarisation, which are characteristics of capitalism. (p. 41) The book critically analyses the emergence of the standard of civilisation starting in the late 19th century to the WWI and the shocking realisation that countries were classified around a taxonomy that considered whether or not they were "civilised" - here meaning whether a given country is "ready for capitalism". A view amply supported- if not introduced by - international lawyers and courts in the West. The institutional life of the standard of civilisation, specifically as it applies to the Middle East (the book has a great chapter on Palestine but also a great discussion on Iraq mandates- under the League of Nations - by the British and how these patterns can be traced to 19th Century liberals).

The best chapter of this book considers South West African experiences with Imperialist "civilisation" as standard, notably in relation to the South African mandate to civilise Namibia and other West African countries and its relationships with capitalism (through mining) and decolonisation (through direct enforcement by the ICJ in a series of South Western African cases) that created the African racial capitalism. Here the use of international law as an overarching concept becomes quite clear and stark as we come to the realisation that this facet of international law is still with us, even though it has also provided space for those protesting colonisation and indeed assisted the unravel of colonial empires so the conceptualisation is complex and well researched showing great in-depth discussions. Powerful. ........

Chapter 5 starts slowly, in which it contains a parallel discussion that are not directly, or, in my view, sufficiently connected to the main arguments in this book, yet, the discussion on Iraq was illuminating, including a discussion in relation to the De-Ba'athification of Iraq's administration, which I found a problematic mistake during Iraq's occupation. Further, the treatment the author gives to Iraq's new Central Bank was brilliant and displayed an often occult but highly racialised view of Iraqis, reaffirming Said's Orientalism's key ideas. The discussion on the *Island of Palmas* case was excellent. And the discussion on genderised and racialised deployment, notably , of whiteness in the context of war as means of oppression and exploitation is highly relevant to the understanding of the "unable or unwilling" doctrine.
On its Conclusion the book provides a summary of the key book's assertions. But it adds the question of how this research would dovetail with concerns of the legal profession. I keep searching to find out whether this has any connection with the standard of civilisation at all. I don't think so. A criticism of international law needs not "make it to court" as it were. Either way the survival and ultimate reconfiguration of the standard of civilisation through a better understanding of how it supported arguments for neoliberalism on imperialism, the war on terror and outright oppression could be reviewed and reformed as it is suggested by the author, even as the book also denounces the open aspect of capitalism as civilisation and encourages further research in that regard. This book is an interesting, courageous, wonderful and thoughtful addition to International law, it opens, problematises, contextualises and furnishes your understanding of it and I would warmly recommend its reading. 5 stars.

[Jake Palmer]

Applies a Marxist approach to the history of international law, specifically the decades old, chimerical invocation of the standard of civilization. What confused me however, was where Tzouvala's position diverged from someone like Koskenniemi, who places a similar weight on the structure of international law as a series of argumentative strategies. The two logics Tzouvala locates at the heart of international law--the logic of improvement and the logic of biology--are interesting but are they different from the logic of racism generally? International law also encompasses counter logics and I lost the thread of what this account added up to.

[Isabel Lobo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read it to my Critical Histories of International Order course. Really interesting marxist approach to contemporary matters, with really recent history, that remind us that marxist theory is still relevant and useful, probably with just new approaches. Could be more straightforward tho.

[AnaKaren Aguero · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting book that gets you to think about how the usage of the word civilization, particularly in international law is still present and it represents a capitalist interest.