Notes on the "Post-Colonial"

Author(s): Ella Shohat

Source: Social Text, No. 31/32, Third World and Post-Colonial Issues (1992), pp. 99-113
Published by: Duke University Press
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Notesonthe "Post-Colonial"
ELLA SHOHAT

The academicoppositionto theGulfWarmobilizeda number

of familiar
terms- "imperialism," "neo-colonialism," "neo-imperialism"- in a
verbalcounter-strike againsttheNew WorldOrder.But conspicuously
absent fromthe discussionwas the term"post-colonial,"even from
speechesmadeby itsotherwise prominent advocates.Giventheextraor-
dinary circulationof the term in recentacademic conferences, publica-
tions and curricularreformulations,this sudden invisibilitywas
somewhatpuzzling.Was this absence sheercoincidence?Or is there
something abouttheterm"post-colonial"thatdoes notlend itselfto a
geopoliticalcritique,or to a critiqueof thedominant media's GulfWar
macro-narratives? Whenlinesdrawnin thesandstillhauntThirdWorld
geographies,it is urgentto ask how we can chartthe meaningof the
"post-colonial."It is frommyparticular positionas an academicArab-
Jewwhoseculturaltopographies are(dis)locatedinIraq,Israel/Palestine,
and theU.S.A. thatI wouldlike to exploresomeof thetheoretical and
politicalambiguities of the"post-colonial."
Despiteits dizzyingmultiplicity of positionalities,
post-colonialthe-
ory has curiously not addressed the politicsof location of theveryterm
"post-colonial."In what I to an
follows, propose begin interrogation of
theterm"post-colonial," its
raisingquestionsabout ahistoricaland uni-
versalizingdeployments, and its potentially depoliticizing implications.
The risinginstitutional endorsement of theterm"post-colonial"and of
post-colonialstudiesas an emergentdiscipline(evidentin MLA job
announcements callingforspecializationin "post-colonial is
literature")
fraughtwithambiguities.My recentexperienceas a memberof the
multiculturalinternationalstudies committeeat one of the CUNY
branchesillustrates some of theseambiguities.In responseto our pro-
posal, the generallyconservativemembersof the college curriculum
committee strongly resistedanylanguageinvokingissuessuchas "impe-
rialismand thirdworldistcritique,""neo-colonialism and resistingcul-
turalpractices,"and "thegeopoliticsof culturalexchange."Theywere
visiblyrelieved,however, at thesightof theword"post-colonial." Only
thediplomaticgestureof relinquishing theterrorizing terms"imperial-
ism"and"neo-colonialism" in favorofthepastoral"post-colonial" guar-
anteedapproval.

99

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100 Notesonthe"Post-Colonial"

My intention hereis notmerelyto anatomizetheterm"post-colonial"

semantically, to situateit geographically,
but and institution-
historically
ally,while raisingdoubts aboutits The
politicalagency. questionat stake
is this.Whichperspectives arebeingadvancedinthe"post-colonial?" For
whatpurposes?And withwhatslippages?In thisbriefdiscussion,my
pointis neitherto examinethevarietyof provocativewritings produced
undertherubricpost-colonialtheory, norsimplyto essentializetheterm
"post-colonial," butratherto unfoldits slipperypoliticalsignifications,
whichoccasionallyescape theclearlyoppositional intentions ofitstheo-
reticalpractitioners.HereI willarguefora morelimited, historicallyand
theoretically specific,usageof theterm"post-colonial," one whichsitu-
atesitin a relationalcontextvis-a-visother(equallyproblematic) catego-
ries.
The "post-colonial"did not emergeto fill an emptyspace in the
languageof political-cultural analysis.On thecontrary, its wideadapta-
tionduringthelate eightieswas coincidentwithand dependent on the
eclipse of an olderparadigm, thatof the "Third World." The terminolog-
ical shiftindicatesthe professionalprestigeand theoreticalaura the
issues haveacquired,in contrastto themoreactivistauraonce enjoyed
by "ThirdWorld"withinprogressiveacademiccircles.Coined in the
fiftiesin Francebyanalogyto thethirdestate(thecommoners, all those
who wereneitherthenobilitynortheclergy),the term "Third World"
gained international currencyin bothacademicand politicalcontexts,
particularly in referenceto anti-colonialnationalistmovements of the
fiftiesthrough theseventiesas wellas to thepolitical-economic analysis
of dependencytheoryand worldsystemtheory(Andr6GunderFrank,
ImmanuelWallerstein, SamirAmin).
The lastdecade has witnesseda terminological crisisaroundthecon-
cept of the "Third World." The three worlds theoryis indeed,as many
criticshave suggested, highlyproblematic.' one thing,thehistorical
For
processesofthelastthreedecadesoffered a number ofverycomplexand
politicallyambiguousdevelopments.The period of so-called "Third
Worldeuphoria"- a briefmomentin whichit seemedthatFirstWorld
leftistsand ThirdWorldguerrillas wouldwalkarmin armtowardglobal
revolution - has given way to the collapse of the Soviet Communist
model,thecrisisof existingsocialisms,thefrustration of thehoped-for
tricontinental revolution(with Ho Chi Minh,FrantzFanon,and Che
Guevaraas talismanicfigures),therealizationthatthewretched of the
earthare not unanimously revolutionary(nor necessarilyallies to one
another),and therecognitionthatinternationalgeo-politicsand theglobal
economic systemhave obliged even socialist regimesto make some kind
of peace withtransnationalcapitalism. And despite the broad patternsof
geo-political hegemony,power relations in the Third World are also
dispersed and contradictory.The First World/Third World struggle,fur-

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EllaShohat 101

thermore, takesplace notonlybetweennations(India/Pakistan, Iraq/Ku-

wait), but also withinnations,withthe constantly changingrelations
betweendominant and subalterngroups,settlerand indigenouspopula-
tions, as well as in a situationmarkedby waves of post-independence
immigrations toFirstWorldcountries (Britain,France,Germany, and the
U.S.) andtomoreprosperous ThirdWorldcountries (theGulfstates.)The
notionof thethreeworlds,in short,flattens heterogeneities, maskscon-
tradictions, andelidesdifferences.
Thiscrisisin "ThirdWorld"thinking helpsexplainthecurrent enthu-
siasm forthe term,"post-colonial," a new designationforcriticaldis-
courseswhichthematize issuesemerging fromcolonialrelationsandtheir
aftermath, coveringa longhistoricalspan(includingthepresent.)Drop-
pingthe suffix"ism" from"post-colonialism," theadjective"post-colo-
nial" is frequently attachedto thenouns,"theory," "space,""condition,"
"intellectual," while it often substitutesfor the adjective"ThirdWorld"
in relationto the noun"intellectual."The qualifier"ThirdWorld,"by
contrast, morefrequently accompaniesthenouns,"nations,""countries"
and "peoples."More recentlythe"post-colonial"has been transformed
intoa noun,used bothin thesingularand theplural("postcolonials"),
designating thesubjectsof the"postcolonialcondition."2 The finalcon-
secrationof the termcame withtheerasureof the hyphen.Oftenbut-
tressedby thetheoretically connotedsubstantive "post-coloniality," the
"post-colonial"is largelyvisiblein Anglo-American academic(cultural)
studiesin publicationsof discursive-cultural analysesinflected by post-
structuralism.3
Echoing "post-modernity," "postcoloniality" marksa contemporary
state,situation, condition orepoch.4Theprefix"post,"then,aligns"post-
colonialism"witha seriesofother"posts"- "post-structuralism," "post-
modernism," "post-marxism," "post-feminism," "post-deconstructionism"
- all sharingthenotionof a movement beyond.Yet whilethese"posts"
referlargelytothesupercession ofoutmoded philosophical,aestheticand
politicaltheories, the"post-colonial" impliesbothgoingbeyondanti-co-
lonialnationalist theory as wellas a movement beyonda specificpointin
history, thatof colonialismandThirdWorldnationalist struggles.In that
sense theprefix"post"alignsthe"post-colonial"withanothergenreof
"posts"- "post-war," "post-coldwar,""post-independence," "post-rev-
olution"- all of whichunderlinea passage into a new periodand a
closureofa certainhistorical eventorage, officially stampedwithdates.
Althoughperiodizationsand the relationshipbetween theoriesof an era
and thepracticeswhichconstitutethatera always formcontestedterrains,
it seems to me thatthe two genresof the "post" are nonethelessdistinct
in theirreferentialemphasis,the firston disciplinaryadvances character-
istic of intellectualhistory,and the latteron the strictchronologies of
historytout court. This unarticulatedtensionbetween the philosophical

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102 Notesonthe"Post-Colonial"

and thehistoricalteleologiesin the"post-colonial,"

I wouldargue,par-
tiallyunderliessome of theconceptualambiguities theterm.
of
Since the"post"in the"post-colonial"suggests"after"thedemiseof
colonialism,it is imbued,quiteapartfromits users'intentions,withan
ambiguousspatio-temporality. Spreading from India intoAnglo-Ameri-
can academiccontexts,the"post-colonial"tendsto be associatedwith
ThirdWorldcountrieswhichgainedindependence afterWorldWarII.
to
However,italso refers theThird Worlddiasporiccircumstances of the
last fourdecades- fromforcedexile to "voluntary"immigration -
withinFirstWorldmetropolises. In somepost-colonialtexts,suchas The
Empire WritesBack: Theoryand Practice in Post-Colonial Literatures,
toincludeall Englishliterary
theauthorsexpandtheterm"post-colonial"
productionsbysocietiesaffected
bycolonialism:
of African
...theliteratures countries,Australia,
Bangladesh,Canada,
Caribbeancountries, India,Malasia,Malta,New Zealand,Pakistan,
Singapore,SouthPacificIslandcountries, andSriLankaareall post-
colonialliteratures.Theliterature oftheUSA shouldalso be placedin
thiscategory.Perhapsbecauseofitscurrent positionofpower,andthe
neo-colonizing role it has its
played, postcolonial naturehasnotbeen
generally recognized. But its with
relationship the centre
metropolitan
as it evolvedoverthelast twocenturieshas beenparadigmatic for
post-colonialliterature everywhere. Whateachoftheseliteratureshas
in commonbeyondtheirspecialanddistinctive regionalcharacteris-
ticsis thattheyemerged in theirpresentformoutof theexperienceof
colonizationand assertedthemselves by foregrounding thetension
withtheimperialpower,and by emphasizing theirdifferences
from
theassumptions of theimperialcentre.It is thiswhichmakesthem
distinctivelypost-colonial.
This problematicformulationcollapsesverydifferentnational-racial
formations - theUnitedStates,Australia,and Canada,on theone hand,
and Nigeria,Jamaica,and India,on theother- as equally"post-colo-
nial." PositioningAustraliaand India, forexample,in relationto an
imperialcenter,simplybecause theywere bothcolonies,equates the
to theEuropeansat the"center"
relationsof thecolonizedwhite-settlers
withthatofthecolonizedindigenous populations totheEuropeans.Italso
assumesthatwhitesettlercountriesand emerging ThirdWorldnations
brokeaway fromthe"center"in thesame way.Similarly, whiteAustra-
are placed in thesame"periphery,"
lians and AboriginalAustralians as
thoughtheywereco-habitatants vis-a-visthe"center."Thecriticaldiffer-
ences betweentheEurope'sgenocidaloppressionof Aboriginals in Aus-
tralia, indigenous peoples of the Americas and Afro-diasporic
communities,and Europe's dominationof European elites in thecolonies
are leveled withan easy strokeof the"post." The term"post-colonial,"in
this sense, masks the white settlers' colonialist-racistpolicies toward
indigenouspeoples not only beforeindependencebut also afterthe offi-

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EllaShohat 103

cial breakfromtheimperialcenter,whilealso de-emphasizing neocolo-

nial globalpositionings ofFirstWorldsettler-states.
I am notsuggesting thatthisexpandeduse of the"post-colonial"is
or
typical paradigmatic.6 The phrase "post-colonial society" might
equally evoke Third World nation-states
afterindependence. However,
thedisorienting space of the "post-colonial"generatesodd couplingsof
the"post"andparticular geographies,blurring theassignment ofperspec-
tives.Does the"post"indicatetheperspective and locationoftheex-col-
onized(Algerian),theex-colonizer (French),theex-colonial-settler (Pied
Noir), or thedisplacedhybridin FirstWorldmetropolitans (Algerianin
France)?Since theexperienceof colonialismand imperialism is shared,
albeitasymmetrically, by (ex)colonizerand (ex)colonized,itbecomesan
easy moveto applythe"post"also to FirstWorldEuropeancountries.
Since mostoftheworldis nowlivingaftertheperiodofcolonialism,the
"post-colonial"can easilybecomea universalizing categorywhichneu-
tralizessignificantgeopoliticaldifferences betweenFranceand Algeria,
Britainand Iraq, or the U.S. and Brazilsince theyare all livingin a
"post-colonialepoch." This inadvertent effacement of perspectives,I
should add, resultsin a curiousambiguityin scholarlywork.While
colonialdiscourserefersto thediscourseproducedbycolonizersin both
thecolonyand themotherland and,at times,to itscontemporary discur-
sive manifestations in literatureand mass-mediated culture,"post-colo-
nial discourse"does notreferto colonialistdiscourseafterthe end of
colonialism.Rather,it evokes the contemporary theoreticalwritings,
placedinboththeFirstandThirdWorldsgenerally on theleft,andwhich
attemptto transcendthe(presumed)binarismsof ThirdWorldistmili-
tancy.
Apartfromits dubiousspatiality, the"post-colonial"rendersa prob-
lematictemporality. First,thelack of historicalspecificityin the"post"
leads toa collapsingofdiversechronologies. Colonial-settler states,such
as thosefoundintheAmericas, NewZealand,andSouthAfrica,
Australia,
gainedtheirindependence, forthemostpart,in theeighteenth and nine-
teenthcenturies.Most countriesin Africaand Asia, in contrast, gained
independencein the twentieth century,some in the nineteenthirties
(Iraq), othersin thenineteenforties(India,Lebanon),and stillothersin
the nineteensixties(Algeria,Senegal) and thenineteenseventies(An-
gola, Mozambique),whileothershave yetto achieveit. Whenexactly,
then,does the"post-colonial" begin?Whichregionis privilegedin such
a beginning?Whatare the relationships betweenthesediversebegin-
nings? The vague startingpoint of the "post-colonial" makes certain
differentiations difficult.It equates earlyindependencewon by settler-co-
lonial states, in which Europeans formedtheirnew nation-statesin non-
European territoriesat the expense of indigenouspopulations,with that
of nation-stateswhose indigenous populations struggled for indepen-

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104 Notesonthe"Post-Colonial"

dence againstEurope,butwon it,forthemostpart,withthetwentieth

century collapseofEuropeanEmpires.
If one formulates the"post"in the"post-colonial" in relationtoThird
Worldistnationaliststrugglesof thefiftiesand sixties,thenwhattime
framewould applyforcontemporary anti-colonial/anti-racist struggles
carriedunderthebannerofnationalandracialoppression, forPalestinian
writersforexample,like Sahar Khalifehand MahmoudDarwish,who
writecontemporaneously with"post-colonial"writers? Shouldone sug-
gest that theyare pre-"postcolonial?"The unifiedtemporalityof
"postcoloniality" risksreproducing thecolonialdiscourseofan allochro-
nic other,livingin anothertime,still laggingbehindus, the genuine
postcolonials.The globalizinggestureofthe"postcolonialcondition," or
"post-coloniality," downplaysmultiplicities of locationand temporality,
as well as thepossiblediscursiveandpoliticallinkagesbetweeen"post-
colonial" theoriesand contemporary anti-colonial, or anti-neo-colonial
struggles and discourses. In otherwords, contemporary anti-colonial and
anti-neocolonial resistantdiscoursesfrom centralAmericaandtheMiddle
East to SouthernAfricaand thePhillipinescannotbe theoretically dis-
missedas epigons,as a mererepetition of theall too familiardiscourses
ofthefifties andsixties.DespitetheirpartlyshareddiscourseswithThird
Worldnationalism, thesecontemporary strugglesalso mustbe histori-
in
cized, analyzed a present-day context,whenthe"non-aligned" dis-
courseof revolutionsis no longer in the air. Such an approachwould
transcend theimplicitsuggestion of a temporal "gap" between"post-co-
lonial" and thepre-"postcolonial" discourses,as exemplified in theme-
langeofresistant discoursesandstruggles intheIntifada.7 Whathastobe
negotiated, then,is therelationship of difference and sameness,rupture
and continuity.
Since,on one level,the"post"signifies"after,"itpotentially inhibits
forcefularticulations of whatone mightcall "neo-coloniality." Formal
independence for colonized countries has rarely meant the end of First
Worldhegemony. Egypt's formal independence in 1923 did not prevent
European,especiallyBritish,domination whichprovokedthe1952revo-
lution.AnwarSadat's openingto the Americansand theCamp David
accordsin theseventieswereperceivedby Arabintellectuals as a rever-
sion to pre-Nasserimperialism, as was Egyptiancollaboration withthe
U.S. duringtheGulfwar.8The purposeof theCarterDoctrinewas to
partiallyprotectperennialU.S. oil interests (our oil) in theGulf,which,
withthehelpofpetro-Islamicist regimes,havesoughtthecontrolofany
forcethatmightpose a threat.9 In LatinAmerica,similarly, formal"cre-
ole" independencedid not preventMonroe Doctrine-stylemilitaryinter-
ventions,or Anglo-Americanfree-tradehegemony.This process sets the
historyof Central and South America and the Caribbean apart fromthe
restof thecolonial settler-states;fordespitesharedhistoricaloriginswith

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EllaShohat 105

NorthAmerica,includingthegenocideof theindigenouspopulation, the

enslavementof Africans,and a multi-racial/ethnic composition these
regionshavebeensubjectedtopoliticalandeconomicstructural domina-
tion,on some levels moresevere,paradoxically, thanthatof recently
independent ThirdWorldcountriessuch as Libya and even India. Not
accidentally, Mexican intellectuals and independent labor unionshave
excoriatedtheGringostroika 0oof therecentTradeLiberalization Treaty.
Formalindependence did notobviatetheneedforCubanor Nicaraguan-
stylerevolutions, or fortheIndependista movement in PuertoRico. The
term"revolution," once popularin theThirdWorldcontext,specifically
assumeda post-colonialmoment, initiatedby officialindependence, but
whosecontenthadbeena suffocating neo-colonialhegemony.
The term"post-colonial" carrieswithit theimplication thatcolonial-
ism is now a matterof thepast,undermining colonialism'seconomic,
political,and culturaldeformative-traces in thepresent.The "post-colo-
nial"inadvertently glosses over the factthat globalhegemony, eveninthe
post-cold war era,persists in forms otherthan overt colonial rule.As a
signifierof a new historicalepoch, theterm "post-colonial,"when com-
pared with neo-colonialism, comes equippedwithlittleevocationofcon-
temporary powerrelations;it lacksa politicalcontentwhichcan account
fortheeightiesand nineties-style U.S. militaristicinvolvements in Gra-
nada,Panama,andKuwait-Iraq, andforthesymbiotic linksbetweenU.S.
politicaland economicinterestsand those of local elites. In certain
contexts, furthermore, racialand nationaloppressionsreflectclearcolo-
nialpatterns, forexampletheoppression ofblacksbyAnglo-Dutch Euro-
peansin SouthAfricaandintheAmericas,theoppressionofPalestinians
and MiddleEasternJewsby Euro-Israel.The "post-colonial"leaves no
space,finally, forthestruggles ofaboriginals in Australiaandindigenous
peoplesthroughout theAmericas, in otherwords, ofFourthWorldpeoples
dominated by both FirstWorld multi-national corporations and byThird
Worldnation-states.
The hegemonicstructures and conceptualframeworks generatedover
thelastfivehundred yearscannotbe vanquishedby wavingthemagical
wandofthe"post-colonial." The 1992unification ofEurope,forexample,
strengthens cooperationamongex-colonizing countriessuchas Britain,
France,Germany andItalyagainstillegalimmigration, stricter
practicing
borderpatrolagainstinfiltration by diverseThird World peoples:Algeri-
ans, Tunisians,Egyptians,Pakistanis,Sri Lankans, Indians, Turks,
Senegalese,Malians,andNigerians.Thecolonialmasternarrative, mean-
while, is being triumphantlyre-staged.Millions of dollars are poured into
internationalevents planned for the quincentenaryof Columbus's so-
called voyages of discovery,climaxingin theGrandRegatta,a fleetof tall
ships from40 countries leaving fromSpain and arrivingin New York
Harbor forU.S. IndependenceDay, theFourthof July.At the same time,

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106 Noteson the"Post-Colonial"

an anti-colonial narrativeis beingperformed via theview-from-the-shore

projects,the Native American commemorations of annihilated communi-
tiesthroughout theU.S. andtheAmerican continent, andplansforsetting
up blockadesat thearrivalofthereplicasofColumbus'scaravels,sailing
intoU.S. ports.What,then,is themeaningof "postcoloniality" when
certainstructural conflictspersist?Despitedifferent historicalcontexts,
theconflictbetweentheNativeAmericanclaimto theirlandas a sacred
and communaltrustand theEuro-American view of land as alienable
property remainsstructurally the same. How thendoes one negotiate
samenessanddifference withintheframework ofa "post-colonial" whose
"post"emphasizesrupture and deemphasizes sameness?
Contemporary culturesare markedbythetensionbetweentheofficial
end of directcolonial rule and its presenceand regeneration through
hegemonizing neo-colonialism withinthe FirstWorldand towardthe
ThirdWorld,oftenchannelledthrough thenationalist patriarchalelites.
The "colonial"in the"post-colonial" tendstobe relegatedtothepastand
markedwitha closure- an impliedtemporalborderthatundermines a
potentialoppositional thrust. For whateverthe philosophical connotations
ofthe"post"as an ambiguouslocusofcontinuities anddiscontinuities, "
itsdenotation of"after"- theteleologicallure of the "post" - evokes a
celebratory clearingofa conceptualspace that on one levelconflicts with
thenotionof "neo."
The "neo-colonial,"likethe"post-colonial" also suggestscontinuities
anddiscontinuities, butitsemphasisis on thenewmodesandformsofthe
old colonialistpractices,not on a "beyond."Althoughone can easily
imaginethe"post-colonial"travelling intoThirdWorldcountries(more
likelyvia theAnglo-American academythanvia India),the"post-colo-
nial" has littlecurrency in African,MiddleEasternand LatinAmerican
intellectualcircles,exceptoccasionallyin therestricted historicalsense
oftheperiodimmediately following theend of colonial rule.Perhapsitis
of
theless intenseexperience neo-colonialism, accompanied bythestrong
sense of relativelyunthreatened multitudes cultures,languagesand
of
ethnicitiesin India, thatallowed forthe recurrent usage of theprefix
"post"overthatof the"neo." Now thatdebt-ridden India,where"post-
colonialdiscourse"has flourished, has had to place itselfunderthetute-
lage of theInternational MonetaryFund,and now thatits non-aligned
foreignpolicyis givingwayto politicaland economiccooperation with
theU.S., one wonderswhether theterm"neo-colonial"willbecomemore
pervasivethan"post-colonial."'2
The "post-colonial" also formsa critical locus for moving beyond
anti-colonial nationalistmodernizingnarrativesthat inscribeEurope as
an object of critique, toward a discursive analysis and historiography
addressing decentered multiplicitiesof power relations (for example,
between colonized women and men,or betweencolonized peasantryand

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EllaShohat 107

thebourgeoisie).The significance of suchintellectual projectsstandsin

ironiccontrastto the term"post-colonial"itself,whichlinguistically
reproduces, onceagain,thecentrality ofthecolonialnarrative. The"post-
colonial"impliesa narrative ofprogression in whichcolonialismremains
thecentralpointofreference, ina marchoftimeneatlyarranged fromthe
pre to the"post,"but which leaves ambiguous itsrelationto new formsof
colonialism,i.e. neo-colonialism.
Considering theterm"post-colonial" in relationto othertermssuchas
and
"neo-colonial" "post-independence" allows formutualillumination
of theconcepts.Although "neo-colonial,"like"post-colonial," impliesa
of
passage,ithastheadvantage emphasizing a repetitionwithdifference,
a regeneration of colonialismthrough othermeans.The term"neo-colo-
nialism"usefullydesignatesbroadrelationsof geo-economic hegemony.
Whenexaminedinrelationto"neo-colonialism," theterm"post-colonial"
undermines a critiqueof contemporary colonialiststructures of domina-
tion,moreavailablethrough therepetitionand revivalof the"neo." The
term"post-independence," meanwhile,invokesan achievedhistoryof
resistance,shifting theanalyticalfocusto theemergent nation-state.In
thissense,theterm"post-independence," precisely because it impliesa
nation-state telos, providesexpandedanalyticalspace forconfronting
suchexplosiveissuesas religion,ethnicity, patriarchy,genderandsexual
orientation,noneof whichare reducibletoepiphenomena ofcolonialism
and neo-colonialism. Whereas"post-colonial"suggestsa distancefrom
colonialism,"post-independence" celebratesthenation-state; butby at-
tributing power to the it
nation-state also makesThirdWorldregimes
accountable.
The operationof simultaneously privileging and distancingthecolo-
nial narrative,movingbeyondit,structures the"in-between" framework
of the "post-colonial."This in-betweeness becomesevidentthrougha
kindof commutation test.Whileone can positthedualitybetweencolo-
nizer/colonized and evenneo-colonizer/neo-colonized, it does notmake
muchsense to speak of post-colonizers and post-colonized. "Colonial-
ism"and "neo-colonialism" imply both oppression and the possibilityof
resistance.Transcending suchdichotomies, theterm"post-colonial" pos-
its no clear domination, and calls forno clear opposition.It is this
structured ambivalenceof the "post-colonial,"of positinga simulta-
neouslyclose and distanttemporalrelationto the "colonial," thatis
appealingin a post-structuralist academiccontext.It is also thisfleeting
quality,however,thatmakesthe"post-colonial"an uneasytermfora
geopolitical critiqueof thecentralizeddistributionof power in theworld.
Post-colonial theoryhas dealt most significantlywithculturalcontra-
dictions, ambiguities, and ambivalences. 13 Through a major shift in
emphasis,it accounts fortheexperiencesof displacementof ThirdWorld
peoples in the metropolitancenters,and the culturalsyncretismsgener-

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108 Notesonthe"Post-Colonial"

ated by theFirst/Third worldsintersections, issues less adequatelyad-

dressedby ThirdWorldnationalist and worldsystemsdiscourses,more
rootedin thecategoriesofpolitical-economy. The"beyond"ofpost-colo-
nial theory,in thissense,seemsmostmeaningful whenplacedinrelation
to ThirdWorldnationalist discourse.The term"post-colonial" wouldbe
moreprecise,therefore, ifarticulated
as "post-First/ThirdWorldstheory,"
or "post-anti-colonialcritique,"as a movementbeyonda relatively
binaristic,fixedand stablemappingof powerrelationsbetween"colo-
nizer/colonized" and "center/periphery."Such rearticulationssuggesta
morenuanceddiscourse,whichallowsformovement, mobilityandfluid-
ity.Here, the prefix"post" would make sense less as "after"thanas
following,going beyondand commenting upon a certainintellectual
movement- thirdworldistanti-colonialcritique- ratherthan beyond
a certainpoint in history - colonialism;for here "neo-colonialism"
wouldbe a less passiveformofaddressing thesituation ofneo-colonized
countries, anda politicallymoreactivemodeofengagement.
Post-colonialtheoryhas formednotonlya vibrantspace forcritical,
even resistant scholarship, butalso a contestedspace,particularly since
somepractitioners of variousEthnicStudiesfeelsomewhat displacedby
theriseofpost-colonialstudiesin NorthAmerican Englishdepartments.
If therisinginstitutional endorsement of theterm"post-colonial"is on
theone handa successstoryforthePCs (politicallycorrect), is itnotalso
a partialcontainment of the POCs (people of color)? Before PO-CO
becomes the new academic buzz-word,it is urgentto addresssuch
schisms,specifically intheNorthAmerican context,14, whereone has the
impressionthatthe "post-colonial"is privilegedpreciselybecause it
seemssafelydistantfrom"thebellyofthebeast,"theUnitedStates.The
recognition of thesecracksand fissuresis crucialif ethnicstudiesand
post-colonialstudiesscholarsare to forgemoreeffectiveinstitutional
alliances.
Havingraisedthesequestionsabouttheterm"post-colonial," it re-
mainsto addresssomerelatedconcepts,and to exploretheirspatio-tem-
poralimplications. The foregrounding of"hybridity" and"syncretism" in
post-colonial studiescalls attention
to themutual imbrication of "central"
and "peripheral" cultures."Hybridity" and "syncretism" allow negotia-
tionof themultiplicity of identities
andsubjectpositionings whichresult
fromdisplacements, immigrations andexileswithout policingtheborders
of identity along essentialistand originary lines. It is largelydiasporic
ThirdWorldintellectualsin the FirstWorld,hybridsthemselves,not
coincidentally,who elaboratea framework whichsituatestheThirdWorld
intellectualwithina multiplicityof culturalpositionalitiesand perspec-
tives. Nor is it a coincidence, by the same token,thatin Latin America
"syncretism"and "hybridity"had already been invoked decades ago by
diverse Latin Americanmodernisms,whichspoke of neologisticculture,

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EllaShohat 109

ofcreolite,ofmestizaje,andofanthropophagy.'5 The culturally syncretic

protagonists of the Brazilianmodernists of the nineteentwenties,the
"heroeswithout character" coinedbyMariode Andrade, mightbe seenas
"postcolonial hybrids" avant la lettre.The cannibalist theoriesof the
Brazilianmodernists, and theirelaborations in theTropicalistmovement
of thelatenineteensixtiesand earlynineteen seventies,simplyassumed
thatNew Worlderswere culturallymixed,a contentiousamalgamof
indigenous, African, European,Asian,andArabidentities.
At thesame time,theproblematic spatio-temporality implicitin the
term"post-colonial"has repercussions fortheconceptualization of the
past in post(anti)colonial theory.The rupture implicitin the"post"has
been reflected in therelationship betweenpastand presentin post-colo-
nial disourse,withparticular reference to notionsof hybridity. At times,
the anti-essentialist emphasison hybrididentitiescomes dangerously
close to dismissing all searchesforcommunitarian originsas an archaeo-
logical excavationof an idealized,irretrievable past. Yet, on another
level,whileavoidinganynostalgiafora prelapsarian community, or for
and
anyunitary transparent identitypredating the fall,we must also ask
whether itis possibleto forgea collectiveresistance without inscribing a
communalpast. Rap musicnarratives and video representations which
construct resistant invocations of Africaand slaveryare a case in point.
For communities whichhave undergone brutalruptures, nowin thepro-
cess of forging a collectiveidentity, no matterhow hybridthatidentity
hasbeenbefore,during, andaftercolonialism, theretrieval andreinscrip-
tionofa fragmented pastbecomesa crucialcontemporary siteforforging
a resistantcollectiveidentity. A notionof thepastmightthusbe negoti-
ateddifferently; notas a staticfetishized phasetobe literally reproduced,
butas fragmented setsofnarrated memories andexperienceson thebasis
ofwhichtomobilizecontemporary communities. A celebration ofsyncre-
tismandhybridity perse, ifnotarticulated inconjunction withquestions
ofhegemony andneo-colonialpowerrelations, runstheriskofappearing
to sanctify thefaitaccompliofcolonialviolence.
Thecurrent metropolitan discursive
privileging ofpalimpsestic syncre-
tismsmustalso be negotiatedvis-a-visFourthWorldpeoples. It must
account,forexample,forthe paradoxicalsituationof the indigenous
Kayapo in theAmazonforestwho,on theone hand,use video-cameras
and thusdemonstrate theirculturalhybridity and theircapacityformim-
icry,butwho,on theother,use mimicry preciselyin orderto stagethe
urgency ofpreserving theessentialpracticesandcontours oftheirculture,
includingtheirrelationto therainforestand thecommunalpossession of
land. The defacto acceptance of hybridityas a productof colonial con-
quest and post-independencedislocationsas well as therecognitionof the
impossibilityof going back to an authenticpast do not mean that the
politico-culturalmovementsof various racial-ethniccommunitiesshould

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110 Notesonthe"Post-Colonial"

stop researchingand recyclingtheirpre-coloniallanguagesand cul-

tures.'6Post-colonial theory'scelebrationofhybridity risksan anti-essen-
tialistcondescension towardthosecommunities obligedbycircumstances
toassert,fortheirverysurvival,a lostandevenirretrievable past.In such
cases, theassertionof culturepriorto conquestformspartof thefight
againstcontinuing formsofannihilation. If thelogicofthepost-structur-
alist/post-colonial argument weretakenliterally, thentheZuni in Mex-
ico/U.S.wouldbe censuredfortheirsearchforthetracesof an original
culture,and theJindyworobak in Australiacriticizedfortheirturnto
Aboriginallanguageand cultureas partof theirown regeneration. The
question,in otherwords,is not whetherthereis such a thingas an
originary homogeneous past,and ifthereis whether it wouldbe possible
to returnto it,or evenwhether thepastis unjustifiably idealized.Rather,
thequestionis: who is mobilizingwhatin thearticulation of thepast,
deploying what identifications
identities, and representations, and in the
nameof whatpoliticalvisionand goals?
Negotiating and positionalities
locations,identities, in relationto the
violenceof neo-colonialism is crucial if hybridity not to becomea
is
figurefortheconsecration ofhegemony. As a descriptive catch-allterm,
"hybridity" perse failsto discriminate betweenthediversemodalitiesof
hybridity, forexample,forcedassimilation,internalized self-rejection,
politicalcooptation,social conformism, culturalmimicry, and creative
transcendence. The reversalof biologicallyand religiously racisttropes
- thehybrid, thesyncretic - on theone hand,and thereversalof anti-
colonialistpuristnotionsofidentity, on theother,shouldnotobscurethe
problematic of
agency "post-colonial hybridity." In contexts suchas Latin
America,nationhoodwas officially articulated in hybridterms,through
an integrationist ideologywhichglossedoverinstitutional anddiscursive
racism.Atthesametime,hybridity hasalso beenusedas partofresistant
critique,forexamplebythemodernist andtropicalist movements inLatin
America.As in the term"post-colonial,"thequestion of location and
perspective has to be addressed,i.e. thedifferences betweenhybridities,
or morespecifically, ofEuropeansandtheiroff-shoots
hybridities around
theworld,andthatof (ex)colonizedpeoples.Andfurthermore, thediffer-
ences amongand betweenThirdWorlddiasporas,forexample,between
AfricanAmericanhybrids speakingEnglishin theFirstWorldand those
of Afro-Cubans andAfro-Brazilians speakingSpanishandPortuguese in
theThirdWorld.
"Hybridity," like the"post-colonial," is susceptibleto a blurring of
perpectives. "Hybridity" must be examined in a non-universalizing, dif-
ferentialmanner,contextualizedwithinpresentneo-colonial hegemonies.
The cultural inquiry generated by the hybridity/syncretism discourse
needs re-linkingto geopolitical macro-levelanalysis. It requiresarticula-
tion with the ubiquity of Anglo-Americaninformationalmedia (CNN,

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EllaShohat 111

BBC, AP), as wellas witheventsof themagnitude of theGulfWar,with

itsmassiveandtraumatic transfersofpopulations. ThecollapseofSecond
Worldsocialism,it shouldbe pointedout,has notalteredneo-colonial
policies,andon somelevels,hasgenerated increasedanxietyamongsuch
ThirdWorldcommunities as thePalestiniansand SouthAfricanBlacks
concerningtheirstruggleforindependencewithouta Second World
counter-balance.
The circulation of "post-colonial" as a theoretical frametendsto sug-
a
gest supercession of neo-colonialism and the Third Worldand Fourth
Worldas unfashionable, evenirrelevant categories.Yet,withall itsprob-
lems,the term "Third World" does stillretain heuristicvalueas a conve-
nientlabel forthe imperializedformations, includingthosewithinthe
FirstWorld.The term"ThirdWorld"is mostmeaningful in broadpoliti-
cal-economicterms,andbecomesblurredwhenone addressesthediffer-
ently modulatedpolitics in the realm of culture,the overlapping
contradictory spaces of inter-mingling identities. The conceptof "Third
World"is schematically productive if it is placed undererasure,as it
were,seenas provisionalandultimately inadequate.
Atthispointin time,replacingtheterm"ThirdWorld"withthe"post-
colonial"is a liability.Despitedifferences andcontradictions amongand
withinThirdWorldcountries, theterm"ThirdWorld"containsa common
projectof (linked) resistancesto neo/colonialisms. Withinthe North
Americancontext,morespecifically, it has becomea termof empower-
mentforinter-communal coalitionsofvariouspeoplesofcolor."Perhaps,
it is thissense of a commonprojectaroundwhichto mobilizethatis
missingfrompost(anti)colonial discussions.If theterms"post-colonial"
and"post-independence" stress,indifferent ways,a rupture inrelationto
colonialism,and the "neo-colonial"emphasizescontinuities, "Third
World"usefullyevokesstructural commonalities of struggles.The invo-
cationof the"ThirdWorld"impliesa beliefthatthesharedhistoryof
neo/colonialism and internal racismformsufficient commongroundfor
alliancesamongsuchdiversepeoples.If one does notbelieveorenvision
suchcommonalities, thenindeedtheterm"ThirdWorld"shouldbe dis-
carded.It is this difference of alliance and mobilizationbetweenthe
concepts"ThirdWorld"andthe"post-colonial" thatsuggestsa relational
usage of theterms.My assertionof thepoliticalrelevanceof suchcate-
goriesas "neo-colonialism," andeventhatof themoreproblematic Third
and FourthWorldpeoples,is notmeantto suggesta submissionto intel-
lectual inertia,but to pointto a need to deploy all the conceptsin
differentialand contingent manners.
In sum, the concept of the "post-colonial" must be interrogatedand
contextualizedhistorically,geopolitically,and culturally.My argumentis
not necessarily thatone conceptual frame is "wrong" and the other is
"right,"but thateach frameilluminatesonly partial aspects of systemic

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112 Noteson the"Post-Colonial"

modesofdomination, ofoverlapping collectiveidentities,andofcontem-

poraryglobal relations.Each addresses specificand even contradictory
dynamicsbetweenand withindifferent worldzones.Thereis a needfor
moreflexiblerelationsamongthe variousconceptualframeworks - a
mobileset of grids,a diverseset of disciplinaryas well as cultural-geo-
politicallenses- adequateto thesecomplexities.Flexibleyetcritical
usagewhichcan addressthepoliticsoflocationis important notonlyfor
pointingout historicaland geographicalcontradictions and differences
butalso forreaffirminghistoricalandgeographical links,structural
anal-
ogies,and openingsforagencyandresistance.
Notes
1. See, forexample,Aijaz Ahmad,"Jameson's Rhetoricof Otherness andthe'National
Allegory,"' Social Text17 (Fall 1987);ArjunAppadurai, "Disjuncture andDifference inthe
Global CulturalEconomy,"Public Culture2.2 (1990); RobertStam,"Eurocentrism,
Afrocentrism, Polycentrism: Theoriesof ThirdCinema,"Quarterly Reviewof Filmand
Video vol. 13, nos. 1-3 (Spring,1991); ChandraTalpade Mohanty, "Cartographies of
Struggle:ThirdWorldWomenand thePoliticsofFeminism" in ThirdWorldWomenand
thePoliticsof Feminismed. by ChandraTalpadeMohanty, AnnRusso,LourdesTorres
(IndianaUniversity Press,1991).
2. Does thatcondition echothelanguageofexistentialism, or is ittheechoofpost-mod-
ernism?
3. The relationships between"post-colonial," "post-coloniality" and "post-colonialism"
haveyetto be addressedmorerigorously.
4. For a readingof therelationships betweenpost-modernism andpost-colonialism, see
KwameAnthony Appiah,"Is thePost-inPostmodernism thePost-inPostcolonial?,"Criti-
cal Inquiry17 (Winter1991).
5. Bill Ashcroft, GarethGriffiths, Helen Tiffin,The EmpireWritesBack: Theoryand
PracticeinPost-ColonialLiteratures (London:Routledge,1989),p. 2.
6. For a radical formulationof resistantpost-colonialsee GayatriChakravorty
Spivak,"Poststructuralism, Marginality, Postcoloniality and Value,"in LiteraryTheory
Today,PeterCollierandHelga Geyer-Ryan eds. (London:PolityPress,1990).
7. Read forexample,ZacharyLockmanandJoelBenineds.,Intifada:ThePalestinian
Uprising AgainstIsraeliOccupation(Boston:SouthEndPress,1989),specifically Edward
W. Said,"Intifada andIndependence," pp.5-22;EdwardW.Said,After theLastSky(Boston:
PantheonBooks,1985).
8. This perspectiveexplainsthe harshrepression of movements in oppositionto the
U.S.-Egyptallianceduringthewar.In fact,theCampDavid treaty linkedto
is intimately
theOpenDoor economicpolicywithitsdismantling oftheEgyptian publicsector.Referred
to as the shadowgovernment of Egypt,USAID is partlyresponsibleforthepositions
EgyptianandmostArabgovernments tookduringtheGulfWar.
9. The rigidimposition of Islamiclaw in Saudi Arabiais linkedto efforts to maskthe
regime'santi-regional collaboration withimperial interests.
10. "Gringostroika" is thecoinageofMexicanmulti-media artist Guillermo Gom6z-Pen~.
11. Fordiscussionsofthe"post,"see forexample,RobertYoung,"Poststructuralism: the
End of Theory,"OxfordLiterary Reviewvol. 5, nos. 1-2 (1982); R. Radhakrishnan, "The
Postmodern Eventand theEnd of Logocentrism," Boundary2, Vol. 12 #1(Fall 1983);
Geoffrey Bennington, "PostalPoliticsandtheInstitution oftheNation,"inHomiK. Bhabha
ed. NationandNarration(London& New York:Routledge,1990)
12. As thesenoteson the"post-colonial" are on theirway to print,a relevantarticle
appearedinTheNation,PrafulBidwai,"India'sPassagetoWashington, 20, 1992.
"January,
13. See forexample,Homi K. Bhabha,"The Commitment to Theory,"in Questionsof
ThirdCinema,ed. byJimPinesandPaul Willemen(London:British FilmInstitute,1989);
TrinhT. Minh-ha,Woman, Native,Other(Bloomington: IndianaUniversity Press,1989).
14. The "post-colonial" replacement ofthe"ThirdWorld"is ambiguous, especiallywhen
post-structuralist/post-colonialtheoriesareconfidently deployedwithlittleunderstanding

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Ella Shohat 113

ofthehistorical-material legacyofcolonialism,neo-colonialism,racism,and anti-colonial

resistance.These slippageshavecontributed to faciledismissalsofFrantzFanon'sformu-
lationsas vulgar.
15. On theBrazilianmodernists and theconceptof anthropophagy, see RobertStam,
SubversivePleasures:Bakhtin,CulturalCriticismand Film (Baltimore:JohnsHopkins
University Press,1989.)
16.Foranother criticalconsideration
ofhybridity andmemory see also ManthiaDiawara,
"The NatureofMotherinDreamingRivers,"ThirdText13 (Winter1990/1991).
17. Aijaz Ahmadinhis"'ThirdWorldLiterature' andtheNationalist Ideology"(Journal
ofArtsand Ideas #17-18,June1989) offersan important critiqueof theusagesof Third
Worldin theU.S. academy.Unfortunately, he ignoresthecrucialissue of empowerment
taking placeundertherubric ThirdWorldamongdiversepeoplesofcolorinNorthAmerican
intellectualandacademiccommunities.

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