A decolonial turn in diplomatic theory: unmasking epistemic injustice
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Date
2016
Authors
Zondi, Siphamandla
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Faculty of Humanities, University of the Free State
Abstract
The subject of the decolonisation of knowledge broadly, and the social sciences as they are practiced in
the developing world, is growing. This is linked to the need to decolonise the modern Kantian university
as an important site for the production and reproduction of Eurocentric thought, thus subtly reinforcing
the racist claim that only Europeans know, others only mimic. There is an effort towards negating
Eurocentric thinking that permeates the modern knowledge system, which has failed to give expression
to the experiences, aspirations and needs of people in peripheral areas of the Westernised world. This
article joins this epistemic rebellion by seeking to unmask the structure in the dominant discourses
of diplomatic theory. It seeks to show that in diplomatic theory, there is blatant erasure of diplomatic
experiences and ideas that emanate outside the West and the silencing of voices outside Eurocentrism
in its broad sense. An attempt is made to show that this, like slavery and colonialism, is a serious
injustice produced by coloniality as a model of power that emerged together with the coloniser’s model
of the world in the late 15th century. On this account, there is a need to decolonise the narrative and
discourses on diplomacy, including its dominant theories. The article, therefore, argues that diplomatic
theory is yet to benefit from decolonial perspectives that put forward the need for epistemic justice as a
crucial arena in the long process of decolonising the modern world.
Description
Keywords
Decolonising, Diplomatic theory, Epistemicides, African diplomacy, Coloniality
Citation
Zondi, S. (2016). A decolonial turn in diplomatic theory: unmasking epistemic injustice. Journal for Contemporary History, 41(1), 18-37.