SCHOLARLY APPROACH

My scholarly agenda seeks to make visible the extant hierarchies in international law and to remedy the inequities reflected in it. My research can be broadly categorized as critical international legal scholarship. Specifically, much of my writing falls in line with the Third World Approaches to International Law (TWAIL) tradition.

 

TWAIL scholarship reconsiders the history and development of international law and highlights its colonial legacy. I have engaged in several projects where I look at the embedded and hidden histories of international law in national security, in human rights, and in global health. My work elucidates how seemingly neutral laws further global inequities.

 

One aspect of my research agenda sits at the crossroads between international human rights law and global public health law, where I analyze the disproportionate distribution of highly infectious diseases and the role of international law in facilitating this result.

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Another branch of my scholarship sits at the intersection of international criminal law and transitional justice. This area of my scholarship proposes context-specific and locally informed approaches to providing redress to survivors of human rights violations and theorizes avenues for greater involvement of historically subordinated peoples in the making of international law.

 

I am passionate about examining how international law can conceal the incredibly unjust status quo, divert attention from its oppressive character, and potentially limit organizing for alternative ways of being. The common thread through my work whether examining issues of racial justice, civil and political or socio-economic rights, is hierarchy. International law reifies hierarchy while my scholarship seeks to disrupt it and envision more emancipatory futures.

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The interdisciplinary nature of my work has led to invited keynotes, plenary panelists presentations and lecture invitations from a wide range of institutions within and outside of law schools globally. The strength, breadth and depth of my scholarship has also resulted in several leadership positions. I have also been fortunate to be acknowledged with multiple awards and grants throughout my career.

My commitment to public service, social justice, and human rights has been consistently recognized.

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