Margaret Kohn - Political Theories of Decolonization. Postcolonialism and the Problem of Foundations [2011][A]

Book Description
Publication Date: March 16, 2011
Political Theories of Decolonization provides an introduction to some of the seminal texts of postcolonial political theory. The difficulty of founding a new regime is an important theme in political theory, and the intellectual history of decolonization provides a rich--albeit overlooked--opportunity to explore it.
Many theorists have pointed out that the colonized subject was a divided subject. This book argues that the postcolonial state was a divided state. While postcolonial states were created through the struggle for independence, they drew on both colonial institutions and reinvented pre-colonial traditions. Political Theories of Decolonization illuminates how many of the central themes of political theory such as land, religion, freedom, law, and sovereignty are imaginatively explored by postcolonial thinkers. In doing so, it provides readers access to texts that add to our understanding of contemporary political life and global political dynamics.

Reviews
"This is a welcome book--one of the very few to provide an overview of anti-colonial struggles and post-colonial experiences from Latin America and Africa to India and Asia. The authors should be congratulated for eloquently demonstrating the relevance of these struggles and experiences for contemporary political theory. Decolonization for the authors is not simply an accomplished fact--because colonialism still persists in many guises and post-colonialism itself conjures up unresolved issues. The most prominent issue is how anti-colonial struggles can lead to a regime without unjust domination, that is, how democracy can be a form of genuine 'self-rule.'" --Fred Dallmayr, Professor of Political Science and Philosophy, University of Notre Dame, and author of Beyond Orientalism and Dialogue among Civilizations

"This book fills an important gap in the rich field of post-colonial studies. It allows us, for the first time, to see in a systematic way the deep and subtle thinking and links among those who did the actual mental and physical work of decolonization--work performed without the theoretical hubris of assuming a blank slate. Kohn and McBride have made an important contribution in a crowded field." --Uday Singh Mehta, Professor in the Social Sciences, Amherst College, and author of Liberalism and Empire and The Anxiety of Freedom

"Kohn and McBride's important volume is the beginning, rather than the end, of a conversation that points toward fascinating directions for future thinking. It should not only be compulsory reading for any political theorist interested in questions of power, domination, exploitation and privilege (or lack thereof), it should spur conversations about the decolonization of political theory itself, through new answers and new questions that emerge from the postcolonial world."--Theory & Event

"The authors demonstrate the importance of postcolonial political thought in thinking about the timeless questions of political theory in wholly new, innovative, and ultimately emancipatory ways. This timely book is a welcome contribution to the ways that contemporary political reality is understood. Essential." --CHOICE

"Authoritarianism, civil and ethnic conflict, and political instability have characterized many postcolonial states, and the theories of decolonization analyzed by Kohn and McBride shed light on why this has been the case. The authors clearly explain why these problems need to be understood as legacies of colonial institutions and practices. A distinctive feature of Political Theories of Decolonization is its focus on "the voice of the colonized." Equally important is the authors' attentiveness to the multiple, and at times contradictory, messages and programs offered by theories of decolonization. The authors need to be commended for reminding political scientists that the challenging questions about global justice, democratic citizenship, and human rights can no longer be addressed without a careful examination of colonialism and its legacies." --Perspectives on Politics

About the Authors
Margaret Kohn is Associate Professor of Political Science at the University of Toronto.
Keally McBride is Associate Professor of Politics at the University of San Francisco.