Published online by Cambridge University Press: 31 May 2018
The indigenous and Fourth World communities in multiple Asian regions are again making noises. As the incoming ALSA president, I wish to offer a new perspective called the Fourth World Approaches to International Law (FWAIL) to understand the nature of pandemic indigenous people’s struggles for independence in Asia, to examine sociopolitical and historical roots of regional conflicts around many Asian peripheries, and to explore the contour of the social and political path for the recognition of indigenous rights for political sovereignty and independence under international law. Further, FWAIL is offered to give an active voice to indigenous people who have been victimized by predatory policies of the state system and international law, and to build a culture of collective resistance and opposition to hegemonic Western domination in the region. FWAIL also provides the framework to seek self-determination through activism, organizing, and negotiations with the state, in addition to the use of domestic law and international law. Furthermore, FWAIL is offered to give an alternative vision for the preservation of biodiversity and natural environment necessary for the survival of the human race in the coming generations in Asia.
Hiroshi Fukurai is the President of the Asian Law and Society Association (ALSA) and Professor of Sociology and Legal Studies at the University of California, Santa Cruz, USA. The author thanks Professor Setsuo Miyazawa for having served as the inaugural president of the ALSA from 2016 to 2017. The great appreciation was also extended to Professors Chih-Chieh “Carol” Lin, Mong-Hwa Chin, Shang-Jyh Liu, and other staff and students at the National Chiao Tung University in Taiwan, who made the second ALSA conference in December 2017 a great success. Correspondence to Hiroshi Fukurai, Professor of Sociology & Legal Studies, University of California, Santa Cruz, CA, USA. E-mail address: [email protected].