Afrocentrism, Ubuntu, and the Philosophical Foundations of Nigerian Contributions to International Law

This dissertation investigates the extent to which Afrocentric philosophical traditions, including Ubuntu ethics and communalist normative frameworks, have been systematically integrated into Nigeria's contributions to international law through treaty-making, UNSC debates, ICJ proceedings, and multilateral norm development processes. International law has been critiqued by Third World Approaches to International Law (TWAIL) scholars as reflecting Eurocentric foundations that marginalise African normative traditions. Nigeria, as one of Africa's most active international legal actors, offers a critical case for examining whether African philosophical values can and do influence international law in practice, or whether they function primarily as rhetorical tools in sovereignty and self-determination debates. Drawing on TWAIL scholarship, Ubuntu philosophy, and international legal theory, this study analyses Nigeria's official submissions to multilateral legal forums from 1960 to 2024, tracing evidence of Afrocentric normative reasoning in arguments about self-determination, communal rights, environmental obligations, and conflict resolution. Primary data are drawn from the UN Treaty Collection, ICJ pleadings archives, African Commission jurisprudence, and oral history interviews with senior Nigerian international lawyers who served as government agents in international proceedings. The dissertation's theoretical contribution provides the first systematic empirical account of how Ubuntu and communalist ethics have entered international legal discourse through Nigerian state practice, advancing both TWAIL scholarship and the sociology of international law. Keywords: TWAIL, Ubuntu, Nigeria, international law, Afrocentrism.