The Evil Technology Hypothesis: A Deep Ecological Reading of International Law

Ugo Mattei and Luigi Russi
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Ugo Mattei: UC Hastings, University of Turin & IUC Turin

No 3-12, IUC Research Commons from International University College of Turin

Abstract: This short paper advances the hypothesis that international law, far from being a purely neutral 'indeterminate' technology that can lend itself to both good and bad uses, might actually be structurally biased to produce exploitative outcomes. This hypothesis is presented through several steps. The first part presents Martti Koskenniemi's indeterminacy thesis, followed by Anthony Anghie's depiction of international law as a technology. The possibility of an inherent bias of technology, such that it will lend itself to exploitative uses, even with the best of intentions, is then introduced in Section III, using the writing of radical ecological thinkers Ran Prieur and Derrick Jensen. This theory is then discussed specifically in relation to international law in Section IV.

Keywords: international law; post-colonial theory; critical legal studies; uneven development (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: F54 F63 K33 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 15 pages
Date: 2012-11
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Published in the Cardozo Law Review de novo, 2012: 263-277

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http://ideas.iuctorino.it/RePEc/iuc-rpaper/3-12_Mattei-Russi.pdf Pre-print version, 2012 (application/pdf)

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