Träume von der post-kolonialen Republik

In the organizer's words:

What does democracy have to do with decolonization and what role did Germany play in this? In some states, a development towards democratic structures was successful after independence, but not in others. Various actors intervened in these processes and attempted to influence them with narratives, economic and military interventions, but also with support for independence actors.

The event series Dreams of the Post-Colonial Republic. Past and Future of Democracies after Independence Struggles invites you to explore the complex interactions between decolonization and democracy, to critically examine contradictions and to develop alternative perspectives on past and present challenges of democratization after independence processes. The dreams and ideas of statehood and democracy that actors developed before (formal) independence are thus discussed in relation to actual developments in the post-colonies. In other words: What did the post-colonial republic look like in the utopias, and what became of it later?

A global perspective is adopted throughout: Ideas of democracy in independence efforts against both the European colonial powers and the continental multi-ethnic empires or Soviet hegemony are considered, always taking into account the significance of the processes for Germany. This approach is characterized by the recognition that all states and their societies have been embedded in imperial structures in one way or another. Germany, in other words, is also a state that is part of post-colonial processes and dynamics.

The juxtapositions and joint consideration of decolonization processes in overseas and continental empires are not intended to obscure differences, but rather to highlight their specific preconditions and attempts at solutions, while never losing sight of the processes central to democratization.

Each of the four panels will focus on a period symbolized by a moment: the long 19th century, in which the bourgeoisie broke the dominance of the nobility and nationalism and capitalism asserted themselves as new forms of social organization in a European-dominated global economy and created global hierarchies and imaginary worlds shaped by racism. The Wilsonian moment after the First World War, when the idea of the right to self-determination heralded the end of a colonial consensus and the elites in countries of the Global South founded independence movements. The Bandung moment after the Second World War, when the Non-Aligned Movement formulated alternative ideas to the recently emerged bipolar world order and new independent states established themselves as a political force. And finally, the long present since the collapse of the Soviet power bloc. This moment, named after Francis Fukuyama, the failed prophet of a liberal world order, highlights the emergence of new multilateral order narratives after the interregnum of a US-dominated unipolar period and the central questions this raises for researchers, politicians and activists dealing with countries that have emerged from independence struggles, be they in the Global South or Eastern Europe.

Moderation: Stephanie Rohde.

The events will be recorded.
Registration is not required.

Responsible:

Markus Hengelhaupt(markus.hengelhaupt@bsb.hamburg.de).

Cooperation partners:

Giga, Goethe Institute, Bücherhallen Hamburg

German Institute for Global and Area Studies I Leibniz Institute of Global and Area Studies

Goethe Institute Hamburg

Hamburg Book Halls