Abstract

This paper contemplates the impact of orientalist discourse on the application of international law, with a focus on the 2003 US occupation of Iraq. The emphasis of the paper is on how international law failed to protect Iraqis from imperial US decision-making, and served US elites to the detriment of Iraqis – something which international law specifically aims to prevent. The paper argues that knowledge production in the form of orientalist discourse played a crucial role in legitimizing and expanding the meaning and application of regulations during the occupation of Iraq, served the interests of the occupiers, and led to regular violations of international law.