Full Text Available

Note: Clicking the button above will open the full text document at the original institutional repository in a new window.

The West and The Rest: Misplaced Blame of Underdevelopment

This paper will discuss the link between the history of colonialism and the genesis and evolution of International Law and in turn the role played by this relationship to maintain it, directly or indirectly, to our current day. The blame of underdevelopment is often misplaced, and its responsibility...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Abadeer, Rana R.
Format: Thesis
Published: AUC Knowledge Fountain 2026
Subjects:
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1867613431531569152
access_status_str Open Access
author Abadeer, Rana R.
author_browse Abadeer, Rana R.
author_facet Abadeer, Rana R.
author_sort Abadeer, Rana R.
collection Thesis
description This paper will discuss the link between the history of colonialism and the genesis and evolution of International Law and in turn the role played by this relationship to maintain it, directly or indirectly, to our current day. The blame of underdevelopment is often misplaced, and its responsibility falls on the Global South for their inability to follow the same momentum of development as the Global North. Nevertheless, the aim of this paper is to prove that this blame of underdevelopment given its original reasons should be placed elsewhere. With that, the discussion of where the blame should be is conducted on whether it lies in colonial history, the unjust nature of International Law, or the current legitimately exploitative world order. Colonial history as we know it has set the foundations for the creation of International Law. Due to its imperial nature, International Law in fact plays into further legitimizing colonial rule. Even after decolonization, the neo-colonial, or as often referred to neo-liberal, the International legal system plays a role in ensuring its continuity. Although colonialism as we see it now may not look exactly like the official era of colonization, it is quite similarly characterized. This discussion will be further solidified in the case study of Pakistan, following from its official colonization all the way to its decolonization and the aftermath. From this discussion every reader can conclude their own perspective on where the underdevelopment blame should be placed.
format Thesis
id oai:fount.aucegypt.edu:etds-3695
institution American University in Cairo (Egypt)
last_indexed 2026-06-10T12:35:59.828Z
license_str Not specified — see source repository
provenance_str_mv Harvested via OAI-PMH from AUC Knowledge Fountain — bepress
publishDate 2026
publishDateRange 2026
publishDateSort 2026
publisher AUC Knowledge Fountain
publisherStr AUC Knowledge Fountain
record_format dspace
source_str AUC Knowledge Fountain — bepress
spelling oai:fount.aucegypt.edu:etds-3695 The West and The Rest: Misplaced Blame of Underdevelopment Abadeer, Rana R. This paper will discuss the link between the history of colonialism and the genesis and evolution of International Law and in turn the role played by this relationship to maintain it, directly or indirectly, to our current day. The blame of underdevelopment is often misplaced, and its responsibility falls on the Global South for their inability to follow the same momentum of development as the Global North. Nevertheless, the aim of this paper is to prove that this blame of underdevelopment given its original reasons should be placed elsewhere. With that, the discussion of where the blame should be is conducted on whether it lies in colonial history, the unjust nature of International Law, or the current legitimately exploitative world order. Colonial history as we know it has set the foundations for the creation of International Law. Due to its imperial nature, International Law in fact plays into further legitimizing colonial rule. Even after decolonization, the neo-colonial, or as often referred to neo-liberal, the International legal system plays a role in ensuring its continuity. Although colonialism as we see it now may not look exactly like the official era of colonization, it is quite similarly characterized. This discussion will be further solidified in the case study of Pakistan, following from its official colonization all the way to its decolonization and the aftermath. From this discussion every reader can conclude their own perspective on where the underdevelopment blame should be placed. 2026-01-05T08:00:00Z thesis application/pdf https://fount.aucegypt.edu/etds/2639 https://fount.aucegypt.edu/context/etds/article/3695/viewcontent/rana_wahba_abadeer_thesis.pdf Theses and Dissertations AUC Knowledge Fountain Colonialism International Law Development Global North Global South Exploitative Relationship Sovereignty Pakistan International Monetary Organizations Human Rights Law Law and Politics Legal History
spellingShingle Colonialism
International Law
Development
Global North
Global South
Exploitative Relationship
Sovereignty
Pakistan
International Monetary Organizations
Human Rights Law
Law and Politics
Legal History
Abadeer, Rana R.
The West and The Rest: Misplaced Blame of Underdevelopment
title The West and The Rest: Misplaced Blame of Underdevelopment
title_full The West and The Rest: Misplaced Blame of Underdevelopment
title_fullStr The West and The Rest: Misplaced Blame of Underdevelopment
title_full_unstemmed The West and The Rest: Misplaced Blame of Underdevelopment
title_short The West and The Rest: Misplaced Blame of Underdevelopment
title_sort west and the rest misplaced blame of underdevelopment
topic Colonialism
International Law
Development
Global North
Global South
Exploitative Relationship
Sovereignty
Pakistan
International Monetary Organizations
Human Rights Law
Law and Politics
Legal History
url https://fount.aucegypt.edu/etds/2639
https://fount.aucegypt.edu/context/etds/article/3695/viewcontent/rana_wahba_abadeer_thesis.pdf
work_keys_str_mv AT abadeerranar thewestandtherestmisplacedblameofunderdevelopment
AT abadeerranar westandtherestmisplacedblameofunderdevelopment