Chile

Abstract This chapter critically addresses the evolution of international law in Chile from the beginnings of the republic to the 20th century. Chile’s international legal tradition, and its successful narrative, must be contextualized to overcome the formal-legalist account of international law and to rediscover new local meanings, functions, and shadows of an international normative order in and from contemporary Chile. It argues that this tradition was profoundly shaped by Eurocentrism, imperial logics, and the selective appropriation of Western international legal thought. During the 19th century, Bello and de Mora laid the foundations of Chile’s internationalist discourse by incorporating natural law and European doctrines into legal education and foreign policy. Bello’s Principios del Derecho de Gentes provided Chile with a legalistic diplomatic style that emphasized treaty sanctity, neutrality, and commercial integration. This legalist tradition coexisted with exclusionary practices toward Indigenous peoples, particularly the Mapuche. Chile’s international legal posture was also shaped by the disputes with Peru and Bolivia that tested the Chilean commitment to international rule of law. In the 20th century, Chile reasserted its internationalist role through participation in the United Nations, contributions to human rights drafting, and promotion of democracy. This trajectory was disrupted by Pinochet’s dictatorship, which violated international norms and weakened Chile’s credibility until democratic reforms restored constitutional recognition of human rights and strengthened engagement with international law.