A genealogical analysis of religious discourses in international law: deconstructing power dynamics and knowledge production, with an interrogation of reconciliation with the sinosphere

The enterprise of international law, in both its classical and modern forms were, in essence, an enterprise to expand and entrench the hegemonical narrative. One cannot divorce the conceptualisation and understanding of the authoritative institution from its colonial history. Insofar as the pre...

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Main Author: Quo, Kaiser-Valentin
Other Authors: -
Format: Thesis-Master by Research
Language:English
Published: Nanyang Technological University 2024
Subjects:
Online Access:https://hdl.handle.net/10356/176293
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author Quo, Kaiser-Valentin
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Quo, Kaiser-Valentin
author_sort Quo, Kaiser-Valentin
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description The enterprise of international law, in both its classical and modern forms were, in essence, an enterprise to expand and entrench the hegemonical narrative. One cannot divorce the conceptualisation and understanding of the authoritative institution from its colonial history. Insofar as the present available literature has provided conceptualisations on how the European colonial powers have structured global governance, this dissertation attempts to be an aperture through which the hermeneutics of the traditions of the Eurologocentrism – that is, the logic of Western European thought, which includes a Greco-Roman and the Judeo-Christian tradition – and international law intersect. In this dissertation, I problematise the conceptual framework of modern international law in examining the normative vocabularies which gives structure to the law of nations. A major contention of this dissertation is that prior examinations have obscured important, if not necessary, factors which are relevant to producing alternative approaches to the discipline. In neglecting the historiographies and genealogy of thought, one inadvertently succumbs to the essentialist representations of Western Europe and the Orient. By employing a deconstructive hermeneutical genealogy approach, I provincialize the colonial historiography to invert the continuous narratives and demonstrate the diverse conditions in which imperial settings had operated and continues to persist. Given the historical context, a fundamental element to be found in Eurologocentrism is a Judeo-Christian tradition. In my attempt at reconciling the body of international law with the Sinosphere, I will elucidate many parallels between ancient China and early modern Europe. Hence, contrary to mainstream scholarly perspectives, I contend that a reconciliation with the Sinosphere is feasible. I conclude with policy recommendations to generalise the international legal body to even wider applicability.
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spelling ntu-10356/1762932024-06-03T06:51:20Z A genealogical analysis of religious discourses in international law: deconstructing power dynamics and knowledge production, with an interrogation of reconciliation with the sinosphere Quo, Kaiser-Valentin - S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies Paul Michael Hedges ispmhedges@ntu.edu.sg Law Social Sciences Eurologocentrism International law Colonialism Jus Cogens Westphalian sovereignty Just war The enterprise of international law, in both its classical and modern forms were, in essence, an enterprise to expand and entrench the hegemonical narrative. One cannot divorce the conceptualisation and understanding of the authoritative institution from its colonial history. Insofar as the present available literature has provided conceptualisations on how the European colonial powers have structured global governance, this dissertation attempts to be an aperture through which the hermeneutics of the traditions of the Eurologocentrism – that is, the logic of Western European thought, which includes a Greco-Roman and the Judeo-Christian tradition – and international law intersect. In this dissertation, I problematise the conceptual framework of modern international law in examining the normative vocabularies which gives structure to the law of nations. A major contention of this dissertation is that prior examinations have obscured important, if not necessary, factors which are relevant to producing alternative approaches to the discipline. In neglecting the historiographies and genealogy of thought, one inadvertently succumbs to the essentialist representations of Western Europe and the Orient. By employing a deconstructive hermeneutical genealogy approach, I provincialize the colonial historiography to invert the continuous narratives and demonstrate the diverse conditions in which imperial settings had operated and continues to persist. Given the historical context, a fundamental element to be found in Eurologocentrism is a Judeo-Christian tradition. In my attempt at reconciling the body of international law with the Sinosphere, I will elucidate many parallels between ancient China and early modern Europe. Hence, contrary to mainstream scholarly perspectives, I contend that a reconciliation with the Sinosphere is feasible. I conclude with policy recommendations to generalise the international legal body to even wider applicability. Master's degree 2024-05-15T01:08:53Z 2024-05-15T01:08:53Z 2024 Thesis-Master by Research Quo, K. (2024). A genealogical analysis of religious discourses in international law: deconstructing power dynamics and knowledge production, with an interrogation of reconciliation with the sinosphere. Master's thesis, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore. https://hdl.handle.net/10356/176293 https://hdl.handle.net/10356/176293 10.32657/10356/176293 en This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC 4.0). application/pdf Nanyang Technological University
spellingShingle Law
Social Sciences
Eurologocentrism
International law
Colonialism
Jus Cogens
Westphalian sovereignty
Just war
Quo, Kaiser-Valentin
A genealogical analysis of religious discourses in international law: deconstructing power dynamics and knowledge production, with an interrogation of reconciliation with the sinosphere
title A genealogical analysis of religious discourses in international law: deconstructing power dynamics and knowledge production, with an interrogation of reconciliation with the sinosphere
title_full A genealogical analysis of religious discourses in international law: deconstructing power dynamics and knowledge production, with an interrogation of reconciliation with the sinosphere
title_fullStr A genealogical analysis of religious discourses in international law: deconstructing power dynamics and knowledge production, with an interrogation of reconciliation with the sinosphere
title_full_unstemmed A genealogical analysis of religious discourses in international law: deconstructing power dynamics and knowledge production, with an interrogation of reconciliation with the sinosphere
title_short A genealogical analysis of religious discourses in international law: deconstructing power dynamics and knowledge production, with an interrogation of reconciliation with the sinosphere
title_sort genealogical analysis of religious discourses in international law deconstructing power dynamics and knowledge production with an interrogation of reconciliation with the sinosphere
topic Law
Social Sciences
Eurologocentrism
International law
Colonialism
Jus Cogens
Westphalian sovereignty
Just war
url https://hdl.handle.net/10356/176293
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