Third World Statehood Before the ‘Third World’: Imperialism, Sovereignty, and the Making of Latin America

Engaging BS Chimni’s claim that the genealogies of colonial capitalism are vital to uncovering the substantive realities that animate formalistic conceptions of jurisdiction, I argue that the independence of Latin America forms an important, yet under-theorised, site for articulating these genealogies. This is especially significant given the general lack of materialist analysis of this history in both Latin American International Law (LAIL) and Third World Approaches to International Law (TWAIL’). Filling this lacuna, I argue that while Latin American polities emerged as bounded territorial states, their recognition as such must be understood in relation to how Europe and the United States hosted new forms of imperial expansion at the same time. This forms the basis for a new account of how Latin American colonisation, independence, and enmeshment within the capitalist world-system provide ample opportunity to reimagine the operation of jurisdiction and territoriality in the history of international law.