Meeting the Enemy: American Exceptionalism and International Law

300 Pages·2010·2.516 MB·English

by  Natsu Saito

Meeting the Enemy
Critical America
General Editors: Richard Delgado and Jean Stefancic
For a complete list of titles in the series, please visit the
New York University Press website at www.nyupress.org.
Meeting the Enemy
American Exceptionalism and
International Law
Natsu Taylor Saito
(cid:4)
NEW YORK UNIVERSITY PRESS
New York and London
New York University Press
New York and London
www.nyupress.org
© 2010 by New York University
All rights reserved
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Saito, Natsu Taylor.
Meeting the enemy : American exceptionalism and
international law / Natsu Taylor Saito.
p. cm. — (Critical America)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN-13: 978–0–8147–9836–2 (cl : alk. paper)
ISBN-10: 0–8147–9836–5 (cl : alk. paper)
1. United States—Foreign relations. 2. Exceptionalism—United States—
History. 3. Manifest Destiny. 4. United States—Territorial expansion.
5. International law. I. Title.
E183.7.S24 2010
973—dc22 2009041512
New York University Press books are printed on acid-free paper,
and their binding materials are chosen for strength and durability.
We strive to use environmentally responsible suppliers and materials
to the greatest extent possible in publishing our books.
Manufactured in the United States of America
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
In memory of Ruth Taylor Saito
This page intentionally left blank
Contents
Acknowledgments ix
Introduction: “A Distinctly American Internationalism” 1
1 Saving Civilization: The War on Terror 9
2 Civilizing the Other: Colonial Origins of International Law 35
3 “A City on a Hill”: America as Exception 54
4 Establishing the Republic: First Principles and American Identity 76
5 A Manifest Destiny: Colonizing the Continent 106
6 American Imperial Expansion 133
7 Making the World Safe for Democracy 161
8 The New World Order and American Hegemony 195
9 Confronting American Exceptionalism 229
Notes 253
Works Cited 313
List of Cases 357
Index 359
About the Author 374
| vii
This page intentionally left blank
Acknowledgments
This book was initially proposed by Richard Delgado and Jean Ste-
fancic, whose support and encouragement ensured that it would come to
fruition. I am deeply indebted and grateful to my editor, Deborah Gersh-
enowitz, who maintained faith in the project through many years, and to the
editorial staff at New York University Press.
Although I am responsible for the finished product, such projects are
always collective efforts. Thanks must go to my research assistants Tiffany
Bartholomew, Lisa Liang, and Shane Peagler, who always came through; to
our ever enthusiastic librarian, Ron Wheeler; and to my dean, Steven Kamin-
shine. This work would not have been possible without generous research
support from Georgia State University’s College of Law.
I am especially indebted to Andrea Curcio for constant and constructive
feedback, and to the work of the many scholars, especially Antony Anghie,
Ruth Gordon, Tayyab Mahmud, Henry A. Richardson III, and Robert A.
Williams Jr., which laid the foundation for my analysis. Special thanks go to
Kathleen Cleaver, Pearl and Russell Means, George “Tink” Tinker, Sharon H.
Venne, and Michael Yellow Bird for protecting spaces in which a “pluriverse”
of understandings can flourish.
Finally, I cannot express the extent of my gratitude to Ward Churchill, my
husband and partner in struggle, for his consistent support and innumerable
contributions to this project, and to our daughter, Akilah Jenga Kinnison,
who put in countless hours of research and editorial assistance and is always
an inspiration to me.
This book is dedicated to the memory of my mother, Ruth Taylor Saito,
whose internationalist spirit permeated her life and inspired all who knew
her.
| ix
“We have met the enemy and he is us.”
—Pogo