Colonial legacies, postcolonial ‘selfhood’ and the (un)doing of Africa

Abstract

The debate triggered by recent publications and research justifying colonialism demands an intellectual engagement with the histories of colonialism, and their impact on postcolonial trajectories of development, peace and conflict. The argument that colonialism inspired development in societies that embraced its modernity project, enlightened governance and efficient administration -which in turn inspired national consciousness embedded in anti-colonial struggles -has been extensively critiqued. However, less attention has been paid to colonialism's enduring everyday impact and visible continuities. We argue that the present political moment defined by right-wing, conservative and insular nationalisms and racisms -particularly in Western politiesrequires deeper critique. It demands an intensive re-engagement with colonialism's legacies, the politics of race and racism and the postcolonial (un)making of 'selfhood' and 'nation-statehood' evidenced in many parts of the world. This collection revisits the impact of colonialism on the postcolonial politics and decolonial developments in Africa; its focus is to reinvestigate the endurance and efficacy of the power relations devised and propagated by the European colonial projects and their continued presence in African states and societies. On retelling 'old' storiesIn 2020, a year marked by one of the most catastrophic pandemics of the modern era, which has exacerbated global inequalities, the 'Black Lives Matter' (BLM) movement took the world by storm. Since 2013, the BLM movement has highlighted how coloniality and racism continue to determine social relations, political exchanges, cultural hierarchies, epistemic erasures and strategic silences in normalising a predominantly white, Euro-American world order. The BLM movement itself built on other activist calls including the 'Rhodes Must Fall' protests in Cape Town, South Africa, in 2015, to bring down the statue of Cecil Rhodes, a well-known and celebrated imperialist. The original protests escalated into a wider movement in South Africa, the UK and the US to bring down statues of institutionally exalted former colonialists and imperialists.

Fatal misconceptions: colonial durabilities, violence and epistemicide in Africa’s Great Lakes Region

“…For a good overview on the differences between postcolonial and decolonial thought, see Bhambra 2014. See also the special issue released early 2021 on Colonial Legacies and the Undoing of Africa (Parashar and Schulz 2021). 8.…”

African Migrants Plight in China: Afrophobia Impedes China’s Race for Africa’s Resources and Markets

“…A current political movement particularly advocated in the former colonial powers and shaped by right-wing, conservative nationalism, embracing racism, offers once again a justification of the colonial endeavour. However, the prejudice that colonialism, despite its multiple fallacies, had inspired development in African societies that subsequently followed the trait of ‗modernisation', including democracy, enlightened governance and efficient administration, which in turn inspired national consciousness and national liberation struggles, underwent harsh scholarly critique (Parashar & Schulz, 2021). In this respect, it is quite understandable that many Africans regarded Beijing's engagement in Africa as relief from the century-old 'civilizing mission' of the former colonial powers.…”

Introducing the Special Issue: Interview with Swati Parashar about Women and Feminism in Global Politics

“…-You worked in Africa and published an excellent paper in "Third World Quarterly" [Parashar, Schulz 2021].…”