Fatal misconceptions: colonial durabilities, violence and epistemicide in Africa’s Great Lakes Region

Charlotte Mertens*, Stéphanie Perazzone, David Mwambari

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalEditorialpeer-review

6 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

The contributions of this special issue explore the concept of colonial durabilities in a bid to unearth both the concrete and invisible sites through which coloniality continues to circulate and materialise in the African Great Lakes Region (GLR). Colonial durabilities, we argue, are non-linear dynamic processes that suffuse the realities and structures of international and national politics, as well as the conduct of daily life. These become particularly evident in the knowledge economy of the GLR, in endeavours as broad as state building and everyday practices, within international development and peacebuilding interventions, and in academic theorising, methodologies and writing formats. We introduce the papers in this special issue that urge us to address an important question: Can we truly decolonise if we do not fully understand the coloniality of the present and its effects? We argue a careful investigation of the structural conditions that enable coloniality to actively form and re-form is essential to accurately understand real-world ramifications of asymmetrical power relations, a crucial aspect of the process of decolonisation. Lastly, we reflect on avenues for re-thinking the effects of colonial durabilities and to work towards generating anti-/de-colonial knowledges to perhaps achieve ‘epistemic freedom’.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)2-18
Number of pages17
JournalCritical African Studies
Volume14
Issue number1
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2022

Keywords

  • coloniality
  • decolonization
  • epistemic violence
  • Great Lakes Region

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