Legal Fictions: The International Nomos of Salman Rushdie

Salman Rushdie’s use of the law and government is prominent and pervasive in in his work, and readers will find his prose replete with legal artifacts, such as lawyers, contracts, and statutes. These artefacts are more than just background pieces in Rushdie’s stories, rather they take an active role shape the worlds in which his characters inhabit through their narrative force. This research picks up this particular thread within the context of the structure of the contemporary international system as framed by the international legal system. Specifically, this work will argue that a central theme across Rushdie’s body of work is how the international legal system structures the space and lives found in Rushdie’s universe. Within this universe, the legal fictions of the international system serve to warp reality withon Rushdie’s transnational tales. Further, this research will link Rushdie’s usage of international law to his use of magical realism, and it will suggest that magical realism allows Rushdie to deploy international law in his stories as both a plot device and a subject of critique.