Postcolonial Belgium

Abstract

Belgium Congo Congolese historiography postcolonial memory postcolonial migrationBelgium recently celebrated a number of major anniversaries related to its colonial history. This coincides with great societal interest in the Congo and the appearance of an abundance of new books. Strikingly, the prior decade's debates over Leopold II's 'genocide' and the assassination of Lumumba appeared to be over. Instead, there was great nostalgia for the Belgian Congo. A single and less critical narrative dominated, epitomized by David Van Reybrouck's bestseller on Congolese history and by the sustained monopoly of Leopold II monuments. This situation drastically contrasts with the postcolonial memory in neighbouring countries, particularly the Netherlands. The Belgian particularity can be explained by the Belgian identity crisis following the rise of Flemish nationalism and the years of government negotiation. But it should also be accounted for by the absence of counter-voices and viewpoints. The traditional left-wing criticism of postcolonial triumphalism was limited to Internet publications that were given scant attention by a broader readership. Academic historians published extensively on the Congo, but embarked on 'new imperial history' and avoided debate. There was no opposition from another traditionally critical angle: scholars in the former colony or postcolonial migrants in the former metropole. Congolese historians were only marginally given the floornot a single one has been translated into Dutchand Belgium has the smallest interventions, 2015 Vol. 17, No. 3, 434-451, http://dx.

Decolonizing Flanders fields: Flemish Great War commemoration and the agency of literature

“…In their groundbreaking book on postcolonialism in the Low Countries, Elleke Boehmer and Sarah De Mul (2012: 6) have noted that conventional postcolonial ideas such as hybridity and creolization find little purchase in the Flemish context. Similarly, most historical scholarship in Belgium’s colonial legacy originates abroad, and is at times inattentive to the specificity of the Belgian situation (Goddeeris, 2015). What goes for postcolonial scholarship also goes for memory studies: particular inflections of colonial aphasia, human rights discourses, and cosmopolitan memory need to be understood “from within” before they can productively enter into dialogue with other contexts and conceptual paradigms.…”

“…Flanders' marked deviation from the situation in France or the United Kingdom (Wellings and Sumartojo, 2018), then, points to a larger failure to confront either the postcolonial reality of contemporary Flemish society or Belgium's colonial legacy. Idesbald Goddeeris (2015) has underlined, for instance, that the memory of the Congo is still dominated by a "nostalgic and triumphalist" (p. 436) narrative.…”

“…is slowly, if hesitantly, growing in Europe,” even if it has not totally remedied “a long-standing failure across the continent to link the memory of World War One to the memory of European colonialism.” Flanders’ marked deviation from the situation in France or the United Kingdom (Wellings and Sumartojo, 2018), then, points to a larger failure to confront either the postcolonial reality of contemporary Flemish society or Belgium’s colonial legacy. Idesbald Goddeeris (2015) has underlined, for instance, that the memory of the Congo is still dominated by a “nostalgic and triumphalist” (p. 436) narrative.…”

Subnational Predictors of Racially Motivated Crime

“…In fact, “Belgium has the smallest postcolonial immigration of all former colonial empires. Only since the 1990s has it allowed greater numbers of Congolese within its borders” (Goddeeris, 2015, p. 434). Specifically, the fact that Finland, Slovakia, and Sweden only recently experienced a sudden, substantial inflow of minority group members means that the increasing share of foreign-born population may be particularly likely to be perceived as a threat.…”

After Empire: The Politics of History Education in a Post-Colonial World

“…In Belgium, a number of anniversaries have provoked greater interest in the colonial period and Belgium has formally acknowledged mistakes and post-colonial contrition. However Belgian politicians remain reluctant to publically criticise Belgium's imperial past and continue to present an overly-positive portrait of its distinction as idealist colonizers (Goddeeris, 2015).…”