International Territorial Administration

Trusteeship and the civilizing mission in international relations did not end with the emergence of 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 the 'civilizing' 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 UN missions in Kosovo and East Timor, a comparison between this activity and colonial trusteeship, the Mandate 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 'state-building' agenda of the High Representative in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Lord Ashdown, 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 dominations and tutelage, and suggests that the contemporary significance of the self-determination entitlement needs to be re-evaluated.

Dr. Ralph Wilde is a Reader at the Faculty of Laws of University College London, part of the University of London, and an Adjunct Professor at Georgetown University Law Center. He is Joint Secretary of the British Branch of the International Law Association (ILA) and a member of the ILA Executive Council and the ILA international research Committees on State Succession and Human Rights Law and Practice. He was formerly the Henry Fellow and a Visiting Scholar at Yale Law School, a Visiting Professor at the University of Texas School of Law, and a Research Fellow of the Leverhulme Trust (UK). He is a member of the Advisory Board of the Centre for International Courts and Tribunals, UCL, a Trustee and member of the Management Committee of the Advice on Individual Rights in Europe (AIRE) Centre, London, and Co-Chair of the International Organizations Interest Group at the American Society of International Law.