International law and the question of minorities in postcolonial states: Past, present and future

This review essay discusses Mohammad Shahabuddin’s Minorities and the Making of Postcolonial States in International Law by paying attention to his central argument that the oppression of minorities is deeply rooted in the ‘ideology’ of postcolonial states, which is made and sustained through international law. For us, Shahabuddin’s account demonstrates the merit of initiating new forms of enquiries into the past in order to understand how international law has historically determined (and continues to determine) the responses to the question of minorities. We examine Shahabuddin’s arguments by focusing on the critical issue of the role and responsibility of Third World international law scholars in responding to this question. Based on our reading of Minorities and the Making of Postcolonial States in International Law, we meditate over the practices of intergenerational relationship as well as about the responsibilities of inheriting a tradition in the context of present politics.