Postcolonial Theory

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This chapter represents the springboard for the further development of the paper. Through a postcolonial analysis, it will explain the theoretical framework that will provide the argument of this dissertation. It intends to align the postcolonial critique of mainstream International Relations with the developments in U.S. foreign policy. Although analyzing U.S. foreign policy from a postcolonial perspective is not a common theme, there is relevance in using postcolonial theory for the analysis of U.S. foreign policy because it can help us to understand how the histories of the Global North and South have always been intertwined and how the colonial and postcolonial epoch has influenced the racial dimensions in contemporary U.S. foreign policy.…show more content…
Postcolonial scholars have sought to understand the impact centuries of colonial rule and exploitation have had on countries and peoples once ruled as colonies in order to combat the consequences of colonial oppression that have been carried over into the new, postcolonial environment. This postcolonial environment is also characterized by lingering colonial hierarchies of race, class and gender despite the loosening ties to the former colonial power. Hence, postcolonial theory also represents intellectual challenges to the contexts of racial oppression. An important claim of postcolonial scholars is that mainstream IR theories have helped to secure the domination of the Global North over the Global South and that global hierarchies of subordination and control are made possible through the social construction of racial, gendered, and class differences. Hence, postcolonial scholars question whether mainstream IR theories can be really helpful in explaining the complexities of contemporary world politics without continuing and justifying the subordination and control of the Global South by powerful Western interests (Seth 2011; Henderson 2013; Sylvester…show more content…
Hence, there is relevance in using postcolonial thinking in analyzing U.S. foreign policy in order to assess the impact of the role of race in specific foreign policy actions. Through an examination of the interconnectedness between racial frameworks of analysis and processes of foreign policy making, postcolonial theory can help us to acknowledge the racial dimensions of U.S. foreign policy. In making the social construction of race visible, it can also help us to explore to what extent the election and presidency of Barack Obama as the first African American president has influenced the role of race in U.S. foreign
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