While peace and conflict studies (PACS) is a burgeoning and diverse field, it still grapples with its colonial roots and trajectory. Postcolonial and decolonial approaches have pointed out that research and practice in PACS are based on West-driven epistemological and ontological grounds resulting from colonial structures of power that hinder and often misconstrue our understanding of peace, conflict, and violence and contribute to the reproduction of the structures sustaining different forms of violence. Dominant dynamics of knowledge production in the field have marginalized non-Western and indigenous epistemologies and worldviews. For a critical engagement that contests the effects of colonialism and coloniality of knowledge, scholars have emphasised the need to interrogate and problematise foundational concepts in the different disciplines of Social Sciences. Such endeavour also entails unsettling the patterns of (in)visibility by bringing the voices and different forms of knowledge of traditionally marginalised groups to the centre.
Against this background, the Virtual Encyclopaedia offers an interdisciplinary compilation of crucial theoretical and conceptual debates, empirical analyses, and thorough reflection on methods and knowledge production in the field from de- and postcolonial approaches, with an emphasis on the contributions from the collaborative network Postcolonial Hierarchies in Peace and Conflict. Rather than unambiguous and all-encompassing definitions, the Virtual Encyclopaedia aims to provide readers with the tools to critically approach peace and conflict studies through the lenses of postcolonial theory and decolonial thought.
Taking seriously the critique of the coloniality of knowledge and its effects on the field, the Virtual Encyclopedia aims to address epistemic hierarchies and inequalities by promoting the inclusion of multiple and diverse voices (in terms of fields, regions, and career stages) and plural perspectives, as well as fostering cooperative networks.
Classified into the two clusters ‘Theoretical and conceptual debates’ and ‘Methods, Knowledge production and dissemination’, the entries aim to provide an insight and orientation on key concepts and theories as well as empirical analyses which are important for a post-/decolonial perspective on peace and conflict. Each entry has a number of tags through which it is linked with other entries sharing those tags. The entries are furthermore interconnected and draw from a diverse body of knowledges in dialogue including different formats such as audio, images or storytelling.
‘Terrorism’ continues to dominate headlines, it stirs a wide range of emotions in the general public and the fear of it informs numerous domestic and foreign policies worldwide, many of which have cost countless and many more innocent lives than the acts of violence that were labelled ‘terrorism’ in the first place. But what exactly is ‘terrorism’, and should we care to locate or identify an accurate definition for it?
This article makes the case that the militarised model of peace favoured in the discourse around Cameroon’s Anglophone crisis falls within a hegemonic, liberal/Western conception of peace shaped by the coloniality of power. This top-down perspective makes no space for a pluriversal dialogue, which is essential for resolving the crisis. Drawing on the concepts of decolonial peace and coloniality (of power), the article outlines several pathways for enshrining peace in Cameroon – and in Africa more broadly – within African peoples’ systems of values and knowledge. The core argument is that lasting peace in Cameroon and other conflicts on the continent requires a decolonial and Indigenous approach to peace.
Cette note stratégique aborde un débat aussi urgent que nécessaire : la responsabilité des universités de se confronter activement à leur passé colonial et de dépasser les rapports de violence qui en résultent. Bien qu’une sensibilité grandissante à ce sujet soit à observer, l’absence de directives claires orientant les pratiques et politiques universitaires, essentiellement s’agissant des collections coloniales et du rapatriement de restes humains, demeure. Afin de libérer la recherche de ces bases problématiques, une coopération étroite avec les communautés affectées et les acteurs politiques, de même qu’une réflexion systématique, sont nécessaires. L’Africa Centre for Transregional Research (ACT) de l‘Université de Freiburg (Fribourg-en-Brisgau) est parvenu à obtenir un financement du Ministère des Sciences, de la Recherche et des Arts (MWK) du Baden-Württemberg pour examiner la provenance de reliques issues de l’époque coloniale. Sur la base de cette expérience, ce document d’orientation politique met en lumière des pistes concrètes permettant aux universités de travailler en profondeur leur passé colonial.
