Abstract:
African voices and experiences have been erased from the canon of mainstream IR
theory, and even in well‐intentioned accounts that take the power dynamics
between the developed and underdeveloped world into account. This is a product of
a worldview that sees the European experience of modernity as a template for what
the world should look like. Denying the experiences of slavery, colonialism and
imperialism as pivotal in understanding international relations, as well as refusing
to acknowledge the philosophical and intellectual contributions of African thinkers,
and the agency of African actors, is detrimental to our understanding of the
international, and to IR. There is a new generation of young intellectuals,
including women from the Global South, who are rewiring the African experience
and offering new theoretical insights.
