ABSTRACT
The positional perspective of this chapter may, however, coincide with geographic categories such as northern and southern or cultural categories such as western and non-western but this is coincidental rather than deliberate. This perspective takes its cue from the position of groups of states in the international hierarchy thus pitting a globally subaltern vision, broadly defined, against a globally hegemonic or dominant one. The importance of the subaltern vision in discussions of order and justice lies in the fact that the large majority of states in the international system can be categorized as subaltern for they are weak, vulnerable, and, therefore, open to external penetration. The chapter summarizes a major tension between the hegemonic and subaltern perspectives of international order. The changing attitude toward human rights as a legitimate concern of the international community has meant that they had to be brought within the ambit of international law.
