Anushka Jabbar, O.P. Jindal Global University (Jindal Global Law School)
ABSTRACT
Hugo Grotius, the father of International Law has been celebrated across centuries as the harbinger of change who paved way for revolutionary alterations to the racist, colonial notions of his time. The ‘new ideas’ of universality and a possible relationship between the colonizer and the natives rooted in mutual benefits, despite its covert sense of equality was in reality reflective of deeper colonial atrocities. By keeping the superior, white man at the core of his theories, he not only created a more refined version of the previously established ‘Just War Doctrine’ but also laid down the foundations of such principles that continue to bear relevance in the contemporary era. One such remain is the widely-accepted international law practice of humanitarian intervention. This paper, through the usage of an array of theories, provisions found within various international law charters and contemporary examples shall draw a connection between the present and the past by answering a fundamental question - whether Hugo Grotius’ doctrine of ‘Just War’ bears relevance in the continuing international law practice of humanitarian intervention when viewed through the colonial lens of ‘white man’s burden’?
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