Post-Colonialism

IR in Dialogue… but Can We Change the Subjects? A Typology of Decolonising Strategies for the Study of World Politics

by Meera Sabaratnam

Published in Millennium: Journal of International Studies, Volume 39 Issue 3. (Full-text from LSERO)

In an effort to reconceive the conduct of ‘dialogue’ within world politics, it is necessary for us to find new... more In an effort to reconceive the conduct of ‘dialogue’ within world politics, it is necessary for us to find new subject-positions from which to speak. This article develops a typology of six distinctive intellectual strategies through which ‘decolonising’ approaches to social theory can help rethink world politics by bringing alternative ‘subjects’ of inquiry into being. These strategies include pointing out discursive Orientalisms, deconstructing historical myths of European development, challenging Eurocentric historiographies, rearticulating subaltern subjectivities, diversifying political subjecthoods and re-imagining the social-psychological subject of world politics. The value of articulating the project in this way is illustrated in relation to a specific research project on the politics of the liberal peace in Mozambique. The article discusses a number of tensions arising from engaging with plurality and difference as a basis for conducting social inquiry, as well as some structural problems in the profession that inhibit carrying out this kind of research.

Re-reading the IPSS record

by Charmaine C. Williams

A post-colonial analysis of the process surrounding the International Pilot Study of Schizophrenia and its finding that people diagnosed with schizophrenia in "developing countries" have better prognosis then people in diagnosed in "developed countries"

Engels-Schwarzpaul, A.-C., & Refiti, A. L. (2012, 31 May - 3 June 2012). Fale Samoa and Europe’s Extended Boundaries: Performing Place and Identity.

by Tina Engels-Schwarzpaul

This is the manuscript version of a paper accepted for Second International Meeting of EAHN European Architectural History Network, Palais Academies, Brussels, Belgium, 31 May - 3 June 2012. http://eahn2012conference.files.wordpress.com/2012/01/regionalism_redivivus.pdf

Engels-Schwarzpaul, A.-C., & Refiti, A. L. (2012, 31 May - 3 June 2012). Fale Samoa and Europe’s Extended... more Engels-Schwarzpaul, A.-C., & Refiti, A. L. (2012, 31 May - 3 June 2012). Fale Samoa and Europe’s Extended Boundaries: Performing Place and Identity. presented at the meeting of the EAHN European Architectural History Network, Second International Meeting., Palais Academies, Brussels, Belgium.

Engels-Schwarzpaul 2011 Restless Containers: Thinking interior space - across cultures

by Tina Engels-Schwarzpaul

Published as Engels-Schwarzpaul, A.-Chr. (2011). Restless containers: Thinking interior space – across cultures. Interstices: Journal of Architecture and Related Arts, 12, 11-22. www.interstices.ac.nz

Is there a relationship between the ways we draw the line between interior and exterior space and the way we see... more Is there a relationship between the ways we draw the line between interior and exterior space and the way we see ourselves in relation to the world? If there is, understanding it might help unsettle a simplistic binary between interior and exterior, and between the exclusionary and hierarchical relationships that attend it. Intersecting concepts developed by German philosopher Peter Sloterdijk in his trilogy Spheres with Māori and Samoan ones in the Pacific, this paper considers the links between notions of self, collectivities and the spatial configurations that sustain them. While historically and locally specific systems of inclusion and exclusion undeniably shape our selves and our worlds, drawing close to the spatial worlds of others expands our capacity for making worlds-in-common.

Globalised Desk‐top Skirmishes? Reporting from the colonies

by Tina Engels-Schwarzpaul

This is the final manuscript version. The text was published as Published as Engels‐Schwarzpaul, A.‐Chr. (2012). Globalised Desk‐top Skirmishes? Reporting from the colonies. In U. Brandes & M. Erlhoff (Eds.), My Desk is my Castle. Exploring Personalisation Cultures (pp. 210‐228). Basel: Birkhäuser Architecture. http://issuu.com/birkhauser.ch/docs/my‐desk‐is‐my‐castle

This chapter explores how some assumptions of the cross-cultural study “My Desk Is My Castle”, for instance that... more This chapter explores how some assumptions of the cross-cultural study “My Desk Is My Castle”, for instance that “desks substantially differ from country to country” since specific cultures have “an enormous impact” on organisation and arrangement of objects on a desk, play out in the specific local context of Auckland, Aotearoa/New Zealand. In globalised cities like Auckland, as the fabric forming the “specific culture in which the … office work is located”, there are many distinct ethnic migrant communities. Further, the overlaps and distinctions joining or distinguishing the Māori Tangata Whenua (Indigenous) population from hegemonic New Zealand culture are not easily identified and interpreted, even by locals. The discussion explores such local conditions surrounding the photos taken by AUT student researchers, relates them to two theories that take an active view of the creation of identity and space, reflects on the limits and potentials of the Auckland part of the project, and suggests some interesting questions to be explored in the future.

The End of 'Re-Colonization': On Hong Kong, Knowledge, and GOD

by Daniel Vukovich

Finally released.... Written in early 2010 for a special issue of a China journal on globalization and China. That issue fell through and then by the time this appears in Spring 2012 the HK-China relationship has become much more unhappy, due to its roots in an unregulated capitalism and governmental negligence/failure on both sides. Nonetheless, the critique of (Cold War orientalist) knowledge production here, and the future prognostication of HK as another, unique but not exceptionalist city in Southern China are two claims I'd stand by.

April 2012

*If you dont have access to Neohelicon (a very long-standing European comp lit journal) , ask your library to sub and then email me for an advance copy of this piece if interested.

Hong Kong studies often argue that 1997— a key moment of globalization— marked not re-unification and an end of... more Hong Kong studies often argue that 1997— a key moment of globalization— marked not re-unification and an end of colonialism but a “recolonization” at the hands of Beijing. This essay refutes this claim on several grounds and situates it in the context of global knowledge production about China. When we interrogate the historiographic and cultural studies claims for a re-colonization we see that this is more often announced than substantiated. The claim is intellectually problematic on legal, historical and popular opinion grounds. It moreover indicates a continuing contradiction dating from the colonial/Cold War era in how knowledge about China, and China–Hong Kong is produced. Such work does not engage mainland perspectives but rather tends to “other” or orientalize the P.R.C. Globalization has not altered this academic/knowledge imbalance. But this may be changing in the commercial and popular realms. This essay’s final section analyzes the emergence of a Hong Kong–P.R.C. hybrid identity as seen in the design work of G.O.D, a local chain that sells home-goods, clothes, and the like with an avowed emphasis on both local and P.R.C. culture (e.g. Mao era things). All of this taken together suggests an end to the claim of re-colonization. Hong Kong has moved on and is now part of China’s globalization; the realm of knowledge production will, one should think, eventually catch up.

Colonialism

by József Böröcz

Co-authored with Mahua Sarkar. Published as an entry in the Sage Encyclopedia of Global Studies. 2012.

Empires

by József Böröcz

co-authored with Mahua Sarkar. Published in the Sage Encyclopedia of Global Studies, 2012.

"Westernization and Women's Rights: Non-Western European Responses to Mill's 'Subjection of Women', 1869-1908"

by Eileen Hunt Botting

My co-author is Sean Kronewitter, an undergraduate student in political science at Notre Dame.

The article has been published online first by the journal Political Theory in May 2012; it will appear in print later in 2012.

The publication in 1869 of Mill's 'Subjection of Women' gave rise to philosophical and political responses beyond... more The publication in 1869 of Mill's 'Subjection of Women' gave rise to philosophical and political responses beyond Western Europe on the relationship between Westernization and women's rights in developing, colonial, and post-colonial countries. Through the first comparative study of the 'Subjection of Women' alongside the forewords to six of its earliest non-Western European editions, we explore how this book provoked local intellectuals in Russia, Chile, and India to engage its liberal utilitarian, imperial, Orientalist, and feminist ideas. By showing how Mill's Western European biases and instrumental reasoning establish problematic rhetorical models for women's rights arguments, we are able to explore the ethical dimensions of women's rights issues in the context of cultural and political imperialism. Most importantly, this reception history illustrates how cross-cultural and culturally sensitive dialogue on women’s rights can push us beyond Western bias and imperialism in advocating for the end of women's subjection around the globe.

Keywords:

John Stuart Mill, The Subjection of Women, Non-Western Political Thought, Women's Rights, Westernization

’Dangerous Shortcuts’: Representations of LGBT Refugees in the Post-9/11 Canadian Press

by Alan Wong

Jenicek, Ainsley, Edward Lee, and Alan Wong. “’Dangerous Shortcuts’: Representations of LGBT Refugees in the Post-9/11 Canadian Press”. Canadian Journal of Communications 34.4 (2009): 635-658. Print

Canadian newspapers are a principal source of information on refugees claiming asylum in Canada on the basis of... more Canadian newspapers are a principal source of information on refugees claiming asylum in Canada on the basis of persecution for their sexual orientation. Many articles rely on culturally racist and classist stereotypes of sexual minorities to demonstrate claimants’ legitimacy. Refugees’ stories are further deployed as “mediating agents” to confirm Canada’s “superiority” over other regions, particularly those identified as Islamic. To determine what thematic constructions are most prevalent among Canadian news sources, the authors conducted a critical discourse analysis (CDA) and secondary textual analysis of articles culled from five Canadian English-language newspapers, employing critical race and queer theories as framing devices.

Keywords: Post-colonialism; Multiculturalism; Feminist/Gender; Newspapers; Rhetoric

Aesthetic Otherness, Authenticity and the Roads to Museological Appropriation: Henry Cole's Travel Writing and the Making of the Victoria and Albert Museum

by Chris Whitehead

in Studies in Travel Writing, 10, no. 1 (2006)

This paper examines the travels and travel writing of Henry Cole in the 1850s and considers their importance for the... more This paper examines the travels and travel writing of Henry Cole in the 1850s and considers their importance for the early development of the Victoria and Albert Museum. Cole’s travel writing is contextualised both within his career and within the development of practices of art history. Cole’s travels in continental Europe supplied him with objects for the V&A collection and ideas which subsequently influenced the institutional and architectural development of the museum. Cole’s travel journals provided an outlet for reflection on issues relating to heritage and museology and enabled him to frame complex and paradoxical views of foreigness: for example, Cole revered the historical material culture of Italy, but viewed its contemporary condition as degenerate. It is argued that these views provided premises for the V&A’s appropriation of historical foreign material culture. The paper concludes with a brief account of the relationships between travel and the museum; it considers museum interiors in which foreign, historical contexts are recreated, and explores the notion of the museum visit as surrogate or compressed travel.

"'Truth Systematised': The Changing Debate over Slavery and Abolition, 1761-1916"

by Robert Pierce Forbes

Original version of an essay that appeared in Timothy Patrick  O'Brien and John Stauffer , eds., _Prophets of Protest: Reconsidering the HIstory of American Abolitionism (The New Press, 2006), pp. 3-22.

Violence sits in places? Cultural practice, neoliberal rationalism, and virulent imaginative geographies

by Simon Springer

Springer, S. 2011. Violence sits in places? Cultural practice, neoliberal rationalism, and virulent imaginative geographies. Political Geography. 30 (2), 90-98.

Through imaginative geographies that erase the interconnectedness of the places where violence occurs, the notion that... more Through imaginative geographies that erase the interconnectedness of the places where violence occurs, the notion that violence is 'irrational' marks particular cultures as ‘other’. Neoliberalism exploits such imaginative geographies in constructing itself as the sole providence of nonviolence and the lone bearer of reason. Proceeding as a ‘civilizing’ project, neoliberalism positions the market as salvationary to putatively ‘irrational’ and ‘violent’ peoples. This theology of neoliberalism produces a discourse that binds violence in place. But while violence sits in places in terms of the way in which we perceive its manifestation as a localized and embodied experience, this very idea is challenged when place is reconsidered as a relational assemblage. What this re-theorization does is open up the supposed fixity, separation, and immutability of place to instead recognize it as always co-constituted by, mediated through, and integrated within the wider experiences of space. Such a radical rethinking of place fundamentally transforms the way we understand violence. No longer confined to its material expression as an isolated and localized event, violence can more appropriately be understood as an unfolding process, derived from the broader geographical phenomena and temporal patterns of the social world.

1962 Un Monde // 1962 A World // 1962 عالم

by Malika Rahal

Linchpin or Poor Cousin? On the variable role of the Bismarckian welfare state in German and French labour migration governance.

by Regine Paul

In: Vad Jønsson, H. et al. (eds): Migration, institutions and Nordic welfare states. Negotiating practices of inclusion and exclusion. To be published in NordWel book series in June 2012

- currently under peer review -

Most comparative studies interested in the relationship between migration and welfare focus on the social... more Most comparative studies interested in the relationship between migration and welfare focus on the social stratification effects of welfare systems on migrants after they have initially entered the host country. This chapter reconceptualises the relationship between welfare states and migration by highlighting the role of meaning-making in governance processes. The welfare state is not perceived merely as a system of stratification ex-post immigration, but as a repertoire for policy that offers specific logics to frame admission policies and order social relations. Depending on policy context and policy aims, governments selectively draw on – or opt to ignore – welfare state logics in labour migration governance. The empirical part of the chapter analyses and compares interactions between Bismarckian welfare state logics and labour migration governance in Germany and France. In the former case, the welfare state serves as linchpin. Equivalence between social insurance contributions and welfare entitlements creates a specific pathway of socio-economic integration for migrant workers which German admission policies anticipate and employ to structure entry routes. These mechanisms apply to a lesser extent in French policies, yet, Bismarckian welfare state logics entail more of a ‘poor cousin’ role here. With a strong discrimination of migrant workers of postcolonial descent labour admission governance in France mirrors ongoing struggles about the role of postcolonial migrants in the country’s labour market and society. I conclude that the relationship between welfare states and migration is part of the ongoing political ordering of social and economic relations through host country policy-making.

L'Autocoscienza dei Dalits-Intoccabili come Subalterni. Riflessioni su Gramsci nel Sud dell'Asia

by Cosimo Zene

ZENE, C. 2010. L'Autocoscienza dei Dalits-Intoccabili come Subalterni. Riflessioni su Gramsci nel Sud dell'Asia. In, Baldussi A. e P. Manduchi, GRAMSCI IN ASIA E IN AFRICA, Cagliari, AIPSA Edizioni, pp. 228-255.

In questo articolo propongo una riflessione sulla categoria gramsciana di 'subalterno' a partire da alcuni contributi... more In questo articolo propongo una riflessione sulla categoria gramsciana di 'subalterno' a partire da alcuni contributi recenti su questa tematica, in particolare quelli di Joseph Buttigieg (1992, 1998), Giorgio Baratta (2007, 2008) e Marcus Green. Quest'ultimo, oltre ad offrire una critica lucida all'articolo di Spivak, 'Can the Subaltern Speak?' (1988, trad. it. 2004), mi permette di intraprendere un ulteriore dialogo con lo scritto di Spivak per inserirlo in un discorso piú ampio destinato a coinvolgere l’esperienza di vari gruppi nel Sud dell’Asia conosciuti col nome collettivo di Intoccabili (Untouchables). O come essi preferiscono definirsi, Dalits. Facendo ritorno alla definizione gramsciana di ‘subalterni’. Chercheró di dimostrare l’importanza e l’influsso di Gramsci per i Dalits, nonce l’ispirazione che essi traggono dal suo pensiero e dalla filosofia della prassi. Tenendo in considerazione le critiche rivolte al Subaltern Studies Collective per aver ‘tradotto’ e adattato in modo acritico il pensiero di Gramsci alla situazione del Sud dell’Asia, questo saggio intende proporre un ritorno alle fonti gramsciane e una radicalizzazione delle sue posizioni in riferimento alla situazione ed esperienza dei Dalits del Sud dell’Asia. Non vi è alcun dubbio che la ‘Questione Subalterna’ in India oggi non puó ignorare la ‘Questione Dalit’ come “l’inconscio politico della società Indiana (Rao 2009:xiii). Il case-study dei Rishi-Dalits del Bangladesh mette in rilievo ulteriormente la posizione precaria di questi gruppi, ma anche la loro aspirazione nel voler superare le condizioni di subalternità.

Wild Dances and Dying Wolves: Simulation, Essentialization, and National Identity at the Eurovision Song Contest

by Catherine Baker

Popular Communication 6:3 (2008): 173-89

This paper examines Eurovision as a site for the public representation of the nation and explores the tendency toward... more This paper examines Eurovision as a site for the public representation of the nation and explores the tendency toward simulation in such representations. The contest’s transnational audience and implication in commercial practices create pressures toward representing the nation through simplified, well-known images. A critique of globalization from southeast Europe argues that cultural production from marginalized countries which emphasizes local distinctiveness is a sign of structural inequality. This critique is tested against representational strategies from Ukraine, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Serbia, and Croatia. Eurovision is then related to tourism through an analysis of the representation of the Mediterranean in Eurovision performances, which reflect symbolic hierarchies constructed by travel writing since the Enlightenment. Finally, the paper considers the overarching representational power exerted by host states.

Post-colonial law: legal establishments from past empires are illegitimate

by Jean-Paul Gagnon

Albanian and ‘Other’ Communities: Hybridity and Constitution-Making in Kosovo

by Alissa Boguslaw

Kosovo’s current status is defined as “supervised independence:” a sovereign state under the aegis of international... more Kosovo’s current status is defined as “supervised independence:” a sovereign state under the aegis of international rule-of-law missions.  As a result, Kosovo’s Constitutional Court is, in fact, a hybrid court—comprised of both international and local judges.  Extracting the concept of “hybridity,” this essay examines the relationship between hybridity and legitimacy throughout the process of constitution-making in Kosovo.  I address four constitutional “moments” between 2001-2008:  (1) the 2001 Constitutional Framework for Provisional Self-Government, (2) the 2007 Comprehensive Proposal for Kosovo Status Settlement, (3) the 2008 unilateral Declaration of Independence, and (4) the 2008 post-independence Constitution. 

These constitutional moments, I argue, demonstrate a unique case of transitional justice; liberal-democratic state building in the war-torn, former Yugoslavia; exemplify the European experiment in multiculturalism; and reveal the tensions between (humanitarian) intervention and imperialism. 

Moreover, these constitutional moments reveal multiple aspects of hybridity, as well as several (ideal) types of hybrid arrangements—providing for a sociological account that addresses the possibility of a new, “hybrid” type of constituent power and the possibility of newly emerging state institutions to accumulate democratic legitimacy through the mechanisms of hybridity—within a deeply-fractured society.  Hybridity, no doubt, is a thorny concept, but perhaps these constitutional moments might help us understand its meaning—outside of the criminal tribunal—and—outside of literary criticism. 

To what extent were Africans themselves responsible for the decolonisation of British Africa?

by Patrick Longson

This essay will seek to understand and analyse the process of decolonisation in British Africa in the period following... more This essay will seek to understand and analyse the process of decolonisation in British Africa in the period following the Second World War. The main goal will be to determine the extent to which Africans seized their independence from British colonial rule. This question has attracted many scholars, and has resulted in a polarization of opinion amongst some. It will be argued that three tiers of influence all played their part in defining the pace and manner of independence: 1) Metropolitan; 2) International; 3) Colonial.