IRTD - Chapter 13: Post-Colonialism §

Does traditional IR theories apply to countries colonized by the west (Europe)?

Postcolonialism comes from colony countries or former colonies who stresses the varying contexts of power, identity, and value across time and space

The White Man Effect: the belief that Western society, thought, and values are superior than the rest of the world.

1.1. How did colonialism impact identity between citizens of colonial powers and colonies? §

Colonization: European referred to culture, arts, and science from colonies as folklore and myths

Decolonization → Native scholars, artists, and scientists see themselves as equals of the world

Problems with studying postcolonialism

• Colonies embrace western culture, knowledge, ideologies. diversity leads to confusion
• Postcolonialism is confined to studies of ethnic, cultural, and regional studies programmes or departments

1.2. What are the characteristics of postcolonialism? §

• Creation of truth that advances justice, peace, and political pluralism

  • Europe does not always have best practice
  • Applies local memories, arts, and science to History, Literature, Philosophy

• Postcolonialism support revolts and revolutions by slaves and colonial populations against moral, legal, and cultural foundations of their enslavement

• Rejects ‘native essentialism’ where natives bore essential and timeless features

  Because Western powers and elites use this to try to retain their power after colonialism

• In the production of knowledge and policy making, stress the relations Freedom $\leftrightarrows$ Politics

2. International Morality and Ethics §

Postcolonial critics want common society of the world but against method Europe use to try to make it.

What were European forms of colonial administrations for its colonies?

• protectorates (based on treaties of protection)
• indirect rule (dual control by a colonial administration and native rulers)
• direct rule (total administrative control)

Why did natives dislike European colonization and settlements?

• Protests against European forced insertion of political entities in treaties of concession and capitulation for colonies

• Europe built systems of international order, community, and/or society that is exploitative to colonies

  → Postcolonialism support revolts and revolutions by slaves and colonial populations against moral, legal, and cultural foundations of their enslavement created by the west

2.1. Postcolonialism and Knowledge §

Assumes knowledge: what is said to be true is never a full account of events

Gaps between what is said to have happened and what actually happened

→ explained by examining how colonial structures shape academic research

Ex: European research for ‘universal truths’ with the world’s natives as research subjects

Problems:

• Didn’t involve use of native knowledge or concerns
• Findings not universally accessible: natives are illiterate and in poverty

Postcolonialism disputed validity of

• The idea and commonplace of ‘expert knowledge’ about former colonial expanses

  → Used to justify imperialism

• Propositions by rationalists & critical theorists that rationalism & humanism is enough context for critique of imperialism

  • The West thought it has sole responsibility for charting the course of human history

• Prevailing rationalities and historical justifications of imperialism

  → self-serving assumptions

• The scientific understanding of natives by their cultures with their customs, and habits as reflected by European’s own ‘caste of mind’

  → divided humanity into races, ethnic groups, heathens, and barbarians

What is the idea and commonplace of ‘expert knowledge’ about former colonial expanses?

2.2. A postcolonial critique of the Western tradition §

Postcolonialism accepts western traditions of

• the natural validity of western attempts and their scholars (Herodotus, Machiavelli, Kant)
• that Europe and the West responsible for spread of civilization

Postcolonialism rejects §

Immanuel Kant’s ideas for foundation of an international order, without recognition of Kant’s gaps in representation of 18th century slavery

Because

• He lived when slavery was normal
• He lived when three revolutions happened (in the US, France, and Haiti): one from slaves demand for freedom
• 3 treatises on ‘love’ for humanity and moral sentiments cannot be true to slaves and former slaves

Postcolonialism has 3 conclusions to the origins and how cosmopolitanism can be attained:

1. It’s not enough for theorists to embrace categories of international order, international society, and international ethics as they are still political.

   → They represent Europe as as the righteous teacher of others without context, purpose of engagement, and nature of behaviors.

2. Western universalism and moral philosophy fails to mention Western origination of modern forms of political violence, including Nazism, Fascism, Stalinism, total war

3. Western institutional narratives mistake desire of universalism as reality

   → unpredictable/dangerous actions disguised as liberation (invasion of Iraq) or humanitarian intervention (Somalia).

Postcolonialism’s perspectives of other theories §

Postcolonialism sees Cosmopolitanism to risk becoming a tangle of self-serving misrepresentations of reason, solidarity, and the common good.

• hegemony disguised as universal humanism

Post colonialism sees Constructivism’s ‘mutuality’ and ‘co-constitution’ of norms trying to embellish entry of constitutionally-weakened and politically-defeated postcolonies into existing international regimes.

3. Orientalism and identities §

European Refers to Eastern/Asian people as

• backward looking people
• lacking high culture
• lacking imagination/creativity

Postcolonialism appropriates historical representations of natives such as identities and culture for their legitimate uses in more fluid postcolonial contexts.

• Culture & identity is not fixed, it’s flexible and can change

Ex: Postcolonial theorists wouldn’t call African ‘nations’ as they aren’t linguistically or culturally coherent entities outside of a European frame of reference.

4. Power and legitimacy in the international order §

• Postcolonialism begins with the obvious truth that it is both unconventional and dysfunctional for a singular group of Eurocentric perspectives, wills, desires, values, and interests to remain hegemonic in global politics as well as in the development of such concepts as ‘international order’, ‘international morality’, and ‘international law’.
• The key to postcolonial difference is the contrast of the experiences of the conquered and colonized and those of the conquerors and colonizers
• Example: African Union chose not to endorse military action during uprising → led to downfall of Gaddafi (he was a Libyan revolutionary, politician and political theorist)
  • Some observer think that the decision made by African Union is due to Gaddafi’s role as a power in Africa. This view is both misinformed and offensive
    • Misinformed: because African has depended on European and Western aid
    • Offensive (Racist and Orientalist sort): Africans do not hold coherent views of the world, political objectives and strategies and this may collide with the west.
  • To the west, this view of Africa as unthinking was useful at the time of intervention. And it also reduce African concerns about constitutional and social questions behind the uprising and intervention

Humanitarian concerns become a pretext for widening the global democratic deficit.

4.1 Western actions/intervention in Libya : §

• The west proclaim itself the bearer of the universal will - one consequence of this is to predicate intervention.
  • For example: NATO’s intervention → UNSC Resolution 1973
• The U.S. : Intend to install the Transitional National Council (TNC)
• Strikes, Western alliances has embraced assassination as a policy, France has delivered weapons despite the ban on weapons

4.2 Western actions/intervention in the republic of Congo §

• There are a number of UNSC resolution authorizing peacekeeping activities in the former Belgian colony
• The aim of the west quickly move from instilling stability (the initial aim) to creating government under the leadership of an unelected clientele.
  • As reaction to this, Egypt, Ghana and Guinea ordered their troops to disobey UN orders and to support the elected prime minister and head of government.

Why President Ahmadou Toumani Toure of Mali would not join the West in Libya situation? §

• The west and TNC reveal a culture of intolerance
• It is likely that the outcome of the Libya intervention would be the same as Congo (a group imposed by imperial powers and bolstered in its position as representative of the people by those powers would have no incentive to adopt a constitutional order and institutions that render it accountable to its populations, which extends beyond ‘the people’

Why would Africans object to the liberation of Libya? §

• The coup that brought Gaddafi to power was bloodless
• Gaddafi financially supported and protected the King’s family
• Gaddafi help to establish the OPEC, support non-aligned movement, and African Unity

The violence associated with Gaddafi ’s regime was still an object of criticism for many Africans, but this criticism in no way legitimated violent intervention by the West

5. Case study: The Suez Canal Crisis §

5.1 What is “The Suez Crisis”? §

• The Suez Crisis was precipitated by Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser ’s decision in July 1956 to nationalize the 120-mile Suez Canal, which had been jointly controlled by Great Britain and France, in part to fund construction of the Aswan Dam across the Nile River, a project that Western countries had refused to finance.
• This crisis illustrates the ambiguous legacy of decolonization
  • First: it demonstrates the desire to make permanent Western authority over others based on regimes of truth that legitimized the implied violence and commandment that legalized the subordination of the native to Western power.
  • Second: the resolution of the Suez Crisis shows the manner in which the US sought to update the commandment to account for postcolonial sensibilities but without relinquishing it.

5.2. Background §

• The Nasser’s ambition to nationalize the canal resulted in a wat of aggression against Egypt by Britain, France, and Israel.
  • U.S. was a NATO ally of Britain and France
  • Soviet Union was allied with Egypt, so it promised to defend Egypt
• From military point of view: at the end, the Franco-British-Israeli was successfully take the canal
• From geopolitical perspective: it proved a diplomatic and ideological disaster for Britain and France and also was the Israel occupation of the Egyptian Sinai

5.3 Questioning conventional accounts of the Suez Crisis §

• To postcolonialism:
  • The letter of the Suez agreements are not unimpeachable
  • The decision by Britain, France, and Israel to wage war on Egypt was illogical, adsorb and reckless
• Germany could claimed proprietorship of the Kiel Canal sue to its location but Egypt could not claim the Suez in account of colonial understanding (Egypt was a British colony)

Great powers have the greatest influence in the world

6. Conclusion §

• Postcolonialism aspires to produce new forms of politics based in contingent and empathetic understandings of the trajectories of human societies
• Postcolonialism convey a sense of ethical and political possibilities after colonialism
• Postcolonialism favors an ethos of egalitarianism, social justice, and solidarity
• Postcolonialism is also certain of its responsibility and duty toward other members of the international community
• Postcolonialism aspires to a different kind of universalism
• Postcolonialism maintains consistent positions on politics that do not distinguish between the domestic, national, and international spheres
• Postcolonialism embraces fluxes and the resulting opportunities, including the hybridity of culture and identity.

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IRTD - International Relations Theories Discipline and Diversity