Justice Archives - Rewriting peace and conflict

Memory and Justice in a Postcolonial World

Memory is a crucial driver of justice in postcolonial contexts, mediating the identities, temporalities and power relations embedded in colonial hierarchies. It bridges past atrocities, present inequities and future possibilities, offering both diagnostic insight and emancipatory potential. While memory studies and postcolonial studies have flourished, the conceptual link between memory and postcolonialism remains underexplored. Memory’s diagnostic, performative and projective dimensions collectively enable societies to confront enduring colonial legacies, cultivate hope, and construct politically and ethically grounded visions of the future.

Documentary: Peñas Coloradas

“Peñas Coloradas: Memories carried by the river” is an emotional journey into the heart of the memories of a displaced community in Caquetá, Colombia. Through collective memory exercises, the documentary relives what it meant to build their village from scratch on the banks of the Caguan River, before their forced displacement by the Army in 2004. Although return is not their goal, these resilient voices demand their recognition as collective victims of the armed conflict and reflect on a future that honors their history and dignity. Beyond the pain, this work is a testimony of struggle for justice and the preservation of their community identity.

Decolonial Solidarity

This entry sheds light on the concept and practice of decolonial solidarity. Drawn from Indigenous theory, settler colonial theory and critical race theory, decolonial solidarity interrogates the involvement of dominant, privileged actors who attempt to act ‘in solidarity’ with oppressed, colonised and marginalised groups. This entry first outlines the contradictions and problems that emerge from solidarity across power asymmetries. It then shows that through a process of decolonising solidarity, both in the actions of activists and through a political and ethical commitment to challenge structures of domination, it may be possible to engage in effective solidarity.

Re-thinking Peace and Conflict Studies in a Postcolonial World

Organised by the competence network Postcolonial Hierarchies in Peace and Conflict in cooperation with the Merian Centre for Advanced Studies in the Maghreb (MECAM), the conference Re-thinking Peace and Conflict Studies in a Postcolonial World, took place in Tunis in October 2025. The event marked the culmination of four years of collaborative research by members of the network, while also opening a space for collective reflection on the implications of the network’s contributions to the field. Over the four days in Tunis the discussions demonstrated the deep relationship between knowledge production and global hierarchies, showing that rethinking peace and conflict studies necessarily entails confronting epistemic foundations while remaining attentive to the ongoing geopolitical developments, uneven power relations and political economies that continue to shape the field.