Securitising Decolonisation

1. Why did you choose this topic?

My research is rooted in the Collaborative Research Center 138 ›Dynamics of Security‹, which explores historical shifts in the conception of security. In this context, our project compared international administrations transitioning from colonialism or conflict, specifically examining UN trusteeships following World War II and UN peacebuilding missions after the Cold War. Given my prior experience in Togo, I specifically concentrated on the anticolonial Ewe and Togoland unification movement.

2. What new perspectives does your book offer?

The book redirects attention to a consequential but often neglected chapter in the history of international relations. Its innovation lies in applying securitisation in a postcolonial reading, offering a theory-driven examination of decolonization history. In turn, the critical examination of the UN Trusteeship System, especially its petition system, serves as a primary empirical reference for this still emerging theoretical framework of postcolonial securitisation.

3. What makes your topic relevant for current research debates?

Recently, securitisation theory and its originators have become embroiled in a racism debate, which, on a broader scale, confronts International Relations with its imperial origins. However, the book empirically elucidates how securitisation and postcolonial theory complement each other. Additionally, the critical evaluation of the UN Trusteeship System opposes its recurring proposal for reactivation. Lastly, it provides the historical depth often demanded in peace- and state-building literature.

4. Choose one person you would like to discuss your book with!

I would select Meera Sabaratnam for discussion of my book because her research emphasis on colonial and postcolonial dimensions in international relations, particularly in state- and peacebuilding, resonates with my own. Additionally, I view my book as a direct response to her call for historical engagement with state- and peacebuilding, as articulated in her seminal work ›Decolonising Intervention‹.

5. Your book summary in one sentence:

An inquiry into the power dynamics of (anti)colonial security discourse within the framework of United Nations decolonisation mandates.