A decolonial turn in diplomatic theory: unmasking epistemic injustice

dc.contributor.authorZondi, Siphamandla
dc.date.accessioned2016-11-15T07:54:54Z
dc.date.available2016-11-15T07:54:54Z
dc.date.issued2016
dc.description.abstractThe 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.en_ZA
dc.description.versionPublisher's version
dc.identifier.citationZondi, S. (2016). A decolonial turn in diplomatic theory: unmasking epistemic injustice. Journal for Contemporary History, 41(1), 18-37.en_ZA
dc.identifier.issn0258-2422 (print)
dc.identifier.issn2415-0509 (online)
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/11660/4439
dc.identifier.urihttp://dx.doi.org/10.18820/24150509/jch.v41i1.2
dc.language.isoenen_ZA
dc.publisherFaculty of Humanities, University of the Free Stateen_ZA
dc.rights.holderFaculty of the Humanities, University of the Free State
dc.subjectDecolonisingen_ZA
dc.subjectDiplomatic theoryen_ZA
dc.subjectEpistemicidesen_ZA
dc.subjectAfrican diplomacyen_ZA
dc.subjectColonialityen_ZA
dc.titleA decolonial turn in diplomatic theory: unmasking epistemic injusticeen_ZA
dc.typeArticleen_ZA
Files
Original bundle
Now showing 1 - 1 of 1
Loading...
Thumbnail Image
Name:
contemp_v41_n1_a2.pdf
Size:
674.57 KB
Format:
Adobe Portable Document Format
Description:
License bundle
Now showing 1 - 1 of 1
No Thumbnail Available
Name:
license.txt
Size:
1.76 KB
Format:
Item-specific license agreed upon to submission
Description: