Episodes in the history of international law: the legitimization of imperialism and the limitations of the exercise of hegemonic influence

This thesis examines the development of international law. The analysis is undertaken through three case studies: the first is concerned with the British in West Africa from approximately 1840 to 1914; the second with the British in Egypt and Iraq from approximately 1870 to 1956; and the third with the United States in Latin America from approximately 1890 to 1960. Further to this it investigates the wider influence of the dominant western powers of the era, namely the United Kingdom and the United States. Through their own legal developments, both internally and externally, and particularly through their influence on international law, commercial and political control was exercised by these two powers, particularly in relation to certain states under their aegis. Within the context of this dissertation, there is specific reflection on international law as a framework for state, and therefore regional and global, stability, through the codification of international law and its influence and development through international governmental organizations such as such as the United Nations.