What is decolonisation?
I began by briefly tracing where the concept of decolonisation comes from, drawing on Decolonization: A Brief History of the Word by Raymond F. Betts. Decolonisation refers to the act of gaining sovereignty from a colonial state. As John D. Hargreaves (1996: 244) explains, its ‘central theme’ was ‘the creation of self-governing nation-states’. Decolonisation was initially understood as a political phenomenon but was soon extended to include all elements incurred through the colonial experience, ‘whether political, economic, cultural or psychological’. (Gardinier, 1968)
Frantz Fanon expands this understanding by foregrounding the psychological and embodied dimensions of colonialism and decolonisation. In The Wretched of the Earth (1961), Fanon argues that colonialism does not only operate through political or economic domination, but also through the internalisation of inferiority, violence, and alienation within the colonised subject. Decolonisation is a radical and often painful process of psychic, cultural, and social transformation.
After the Second World War, decolonisation had its greatest impact, as many former colonies claimed political independence. However, the legacy of colonialism remains visible, particularly in the global domination of wealth and power. The effects of colonialism continue economically, psychologically, and structurally.
Fanon also warns that decolonisation can fail if it only replaces colonial rulers with national elites who reproduce colonial power structures. (1961) In this sense, some formerly colonised countries have gone on to mirror the hierarchies and systems of domination established by their former colonisers, exerting power over weaker groups. This complicates the idea of decolonisation as a completed or purely liberatory process.
The Relationship between Decolonisation and the University
In Decolonizing the University: New Directions, Achille Mbembe identifies multiple areas within the university that require decolonisation, including knowledge production, elitist structures, accessibility, classroom culture, authoritative and hierarchical systems, and the commodification of education. (2016) What these systems share is that they were largely created by white men and continue to be recognised as universal. As a result, they remainhegemonic and resistant to alternative ways of knowing and being. (Mbembe, 2016)
It is also important to acknowledge that marginalised groups who have grown up in the UK and marginalised international students experience these structures differently. Their positionalities, histories, and relationships to colonial power are not the same, and this shapes how decolonisation is understood and lived within the university.
In the UK context, discussions of decolonisation often focus on the relationship between the West and the ex-colonies. However, each marginalised group in the university has distinct experiences of colonialism and its aftermath. Depending on where individuals are from and where they grew up, decolonisation is perceived and enacted differently. It should therefore not be simplified into a narrative in which “the West” is positioned as the singular enemy of decolonisation, as this risks reinforcing a bipolar opposition such as West versus non-West. (Chen, 2010)
Betts, R.F. (2012) ‘Decolonization: A brief history of the word’, in Bogaerts, E. and Raben, R. (eds.) Beyond Empire and Nation: The Decolonization of African and Asian Societies, 1930s–1970s. Leiden: Brill, pp. 23–35.
Chen, K.-H. (2010) Asia as Method: Toward Deimperialization. Durham and London: Duke University Press
Fanon, F. (1961) The wretched of the earth. Translated by C. Farrington. Harmondsworth: Penguin.
Gardinier, D. (1968) ‘Decolonization’, in Dunner, J. (ed.) Handbook of world history: concepts and issues. London: Owen, pp. 268–272.
Mbembe, A. J. (2016) ‘Decolonizing the university: New directions’, Arts and Humanities in Higher Education, 15(1), pp.29–45. doi: 10.1177/1474022215618513.
Hargreaves, J. D. (1996) Decolonization in Africa. 2nd edn. London: Longman. (The Postwar World).