Abstract
This article argues that Chimni’s proposed framework for historically and theoretically reconceptualising jurisdiction in ‘The international law of jurisdiction: A TWAIL perspective’ has important implications for a much-needed renewed encounter between the disciplines of International Law and International Relations. It begins by summarising the contribution of Chimni’s article in terms of its two historical and theoretical contributions. It then focuses on the theoretical reconceptualization of jurisdiction as structurally interdependent with capitalism and sovereignty, rather than territory and sovereignty as found in mainstream and liberal approaches. Moreover, Chimni’s article fills gaps in critical approaches by thinking of jurisdiction in more material terms shaped by the structural relation between dominant and subaltern international actors. The second part of the present article proposes some preliminary arguments for how this new conceptualisation applies to today’s domain of digital infrastructures, and specifically to the phenomenon of underwater communication cables. Referring to my own concept of jurisdictional accumulation, I reflect on how cables and the new forms of capital accumulation based on rentierism in the ‘internet economy’ highlight and reframe old jurisdictional problems that vindicate Chimni’s process of imperial ordering and unequal relations. Jurisdiction, as Chimni argues, shapes power relations between dominant and weaker states rather than being a check-on or neutral mechanism between them.
Recommended Citation
Pal, Maïa
(2024)
"A New Research Programme for International Relations and International Law: Jurisdiction, Capitalism, and Imperialist Infrastructures,"
National Law School of India Review: Vol. 35:
Iss.
2, Article 6.
DOI: 10.55496/BICX2550
Available at:
https://repository.nls.ac.in/nlsir/vol35/iss2/6
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
10.55496/BICX2550
