Interventions - Rewriting peace and conflict

Against simplification

Written for students, journalists, practitioners and decision-makers, the entry responds to simplifying accounts of postcolonialism and discusses the main points of convergence and divergence between the fields of de-/postcolonial thought and peace and conflict studies. Using the current global political situation and the heated debates about ‘woke gender and postcolonial ideologies’ as a starting point, the first section of this entry outlines the broad field of postcolonial thought, highlighting three lines of argument. First, de-/postcolonial approaches deal with colonial continuities. Second, they form part of a broader movement to critically assess the impact of interests and standpoints on knowledge production, and to use language for the reconstitution of subjectivity, identity, and politics. Third, de-/postcolonial thought and practice are intrinsically linked to resistance in diverse forms. The second part section of this the entry turns to the field of peace and conflict studies and spells out how it connects to these three lines of arguments. The entry is an invitation to delve deeper into the field, and to think ahead.

Anika Oettler

Becoming an Author in Times of Asymmetric Ignorance

As we all know, writing – and by extension, becoming an author – begins with reading. And still, on occasion, scholars sheepishly confess to never having read certain foundational or canonical texts – a show of modesty intended to underscore their competence in other areas. Take, for example, a sociologist who has never read Weber’s Protestant Ethic or a philosopher who has never sat down with Kant’s Critique of Pure Reason. Assuming the person has already achieved a certain status in their discipline, such gaps in education can be spun as a creative virtue. Yet plenty of scholars have never read a single text from whole regions of the non-Western world and rarely feel such shame about it, as no one expects them to be familiar with such works as a standard of competence in their field. This shamelessness signals what postcolonial theorists have described as “sanctioned ignorance” among elite theorists (Spivak, 1999: x), or an asymmetrical ignorance between the European centre of knowledge production and its “Third World” periphery – an asymmetry that, according to Dipesh Chakrabarty, constitutes “the very nature of social science pronouncements”.

Manuela Boatcă

Policy Paper: „Menschliche Überreste” in Universitätssammlungen

Dieses Policy Paper greift eine dringend notwendige Debatte über postkoloniale Hierarchien in der Forschung auf. Im Zentrum steht die Verantwortung von Universitäten, sich kritisch mit ihrer kolonialen Vergangenheit auseinanderzusetzen und fortbestehende Gewaltverhältnisse zu erkennen und zu überwinden. Trotz wachsender Sensibilität fehlt es bislang an klaren Richtlinien für universitäre Praxis und Politik, insbesondere im Umgang mit kolonialen Sammlungen und der Rückgabe menschlicher Überreste. Um Forschung von diesen problematischen Grundlagen zu befreien, braucht es eine systematische und methodologische Auseinandersetzung sowie eine enge Zusammenarbeit mit betroffenen Gemeinschaften und politischen Akteuren. Das Africa Centre for Transregional Research (ACT) der Universität Freiburg beantragte erfolgreich eine Förderung beim Ministerium für Wissenschaft, Forschung und Kunst (MWK) in Baden-Württemberg, um die Herkunft kolonialer Relikte zu erforschen. Basierend auf diesen Erfahrungen zeigt dieses Policy Paper konkrete Wege auf, wie Universitäten ihre koloniale Vergangenheit aufarbeiten können.

Richard Tsogang Fossi & Andreas Mehler

Policy Paper: Mobilisation, Resistance and Popular Memory

Scientific scholarship does not always recognize the knowledges produced by activist actors as valid or rigorous, often marginalizing their insights from academic and policy-oriented debates. This exclusion is both problematic and paradoxical, particularly given that those most directly affected by (state) violence in its various manifestations are continuously engaged in critical inquiry —analyzing the conditions that shape their lives and actively developing responses and pathways out of politically complex, often violent, situations. As authors of this policy paper, we are primarily concerned with creating a communication channel to uplift activist and academic voices, thereby contributing to position them at the center in both scientific and practice-oriented discussions. In March 2024, we met virtually with social movements and activists from the cities of Santiago de Chile and Santiago de Cali (Colombia) for an exchange of experiences and reflections on the mass protests that took place at different times between 2019 and 2021 in each city. This document compiles the key reflections from the exchange. It aims to convey the insights of an illustrated policy report originally written and published in Spanish. This translated English version seeks to reach a broader audience at the intersection of urban protests, the politics of memory,

Viviana García Pinzón & Fabricio Rodríguez

Illustrated Report: Movilización, Resistencias y Memoria Popular

En marzo de 2024, movimientos sociales y activistas de las ciudades de Santiago de Chile y Santiago de Cali (Colombia) e investigadores del Arnold Bergstraesser Institut (ABI) de Friburgo se reunieron virtualmente para un intercambio de saberes y experiencias tomando como referencia las protestas masivas que tuvieron lugar en cada ciudad. Esta iniciativa tuvo como premisa central el reconocimiento que las comunidades y los movimientos sociales son parte activa de las dinámicas de producción de espacio y gobernanza de la ciudad, así como productores y portadores de diferentes formas de conocimiento. La reunión de movimientos sociales e iniciativas populares de Colombia y Chile estuvo motivada por el objetivo de crear conexiones reflexivas como lazos personales y colectivos entre los actores y experiencias de cada ciudad. Este documento recopila algunas de las principales reflexiones del intercambio.

Viviana García Pinzón & Fabricio Rodríguez

Policy Paper: „Restes humains” dans les collections universitaires

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.

Richard Tsogang Fossi & Andreas Mehler