This research project examines the relationship between non-colonial states and international law. Its central question is simple but largely unexplored: how do states that were never formally colonised engage in processes of decolonisation?

Countries such as Afghanistan, Nepal, Iran, Turkey, Siam, China, and Ethiopia are often described as non-colonial states, and many of them emphasise their historical uniqueness on the grounds that they were never subjected to formal colonial rule. Yet this very fact raises an important and under-examined question: what does decolonisation mean for states that were not colonised in the conventional sense?

This project argues that international legal scholarship has largely overlooked this question. As a result, our understanding of post-colonialism in international law remains incomplete, overly centred on formerly colonised states, and insufficiently comparative.

By focusing on non-colonial states, the project seeks to broaden debates on decolonisation and international law. It contributes to the development of a comparative approach to international law, offering new insights into how post-colonial dynamics operate in countries that were never formally colonised, but nonetheless shaped by global imperial and legal orders.