International Territorial Administration: How Trusteeship and The Civilizing Mission Never Went Away

by Ralph Wilde

International trusteeship and the civilizing mission never ended with the self-determination entitlement that led to decolonization in the second half of the 20th century. International organizations, whose modern form emerged during the height of colonialism, took on this role in the "post-colonial" era, internationalizing trusteeship and re-legitimizing it as a feature of international public policy into the bargain. Through analysis of the history of and purposes associated with the involvement of international organizations in territorial administration, such as the recent UN missions in Kosovo and East Timor, a comparison between this activity and colonial trusteeship, the Mandates and Trusteeship arrangements, and an exploration of the modern ideas of international law and public policy that underpin and legitimize contemporary interventions, this book relates a new history of the concept of international trusteeship.

From British colonialist Lord Lugard's "dual mandate" to the High Representative in Bosnia and Herzegovina Lord Ashdown's "state-building" agenda, wide-ranging links between the complex peace operations of today and the civilizing mission of the colonial era are established, offering a historical, political and legal framework within which the legitimacy of and challenges faced by complex interventions can be appraised. This new history of international trusteeship raises important questions about the role of international law and organizations in facilitating relations of domination and tutelage, and necessitates a re-evaluation of the current significance of the self-determination entitlement.

640 pages, Hardcover

First published May 25, 2008