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    Coronil Postcoloniality To Decolonized

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    drseramirez

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    © All Rights Reserved
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    record uoiaiel 1 AE Record 1 oF FYES FNO COND FUTUREDATE 4 Borrower: TAC eReabate: So0L7 iSletuss IN PROCESS 907% iNeedBetore! 607: i ewe lege TNUSCBU) SOT, @UTU HlewueDate: oronily f. 9 Public cuilwe + bulletin of the Project for Transnational Cul [University of Penneylvanias ¢t906 : ica lone anraee HECA 2580 N Kenan Chicago Th 40 ne 4 Fan/ist/ILMG/Lib rate ARIEL TP ADDRESS WING HOTE! ATs $25.00 :COPYRT COMPLLTANC iF Monee $ nist TA 30 571 SHIPPED: “\ rowan 5 the Himits he ceneal ost office. another in oad, There ins of the age, uni- srofundity mediately ‘of blond; 8” going tly satis {eww Order ‘oil, And traffic cop ment 0 lay neo. ‘ed essen fn of un Finsead, asily slips Seat. Me Hinds res. CAN POSTCOLONALITY PE PECOLONZED? IMPERIAL BANALITY AND POSTCOLONIAL POWER FERNANDO CERNE, “Te det yoaly hr senso ve oar paps deat ‘etl Mente Jae serious ply of uesion nd answers the vo of igo lac tin thigh ofeach pron ae oe ese inmanet i te ieson| ‘They dee only nt dogo suaon. Te pene tng he estos srl xen teri tt has beaten Kn» vin econ © ‘eveire aconmticon tree more famaton, emphiefen po "aes, point out ny reson. Mitt Focal ‘Those imerested in postcolonial societies, jus as those interested inthe workings of power anywhere, will undoubtedly find suggestive ideas in Achille Mbembe's "The Banality of Power and the Aesthetics of Vulgaiy in the Postcolony,” for ina few pages be imaginatively east a wide net that ‘covers vast historical and theoretical ering." His aricle explores anes of wer in relation to posicolniality asa general phenomenon, The notion of “The Baaiy of Powe and he Aes of Vela nthe Posey” Public (Glee 472 Sang 19D, 130.1 wish 9 acanetey my poate tLe Frum Tekin, ad Jule Sart wth who cused Meme td shaped my responses to Lemos Jahon, whose insghifl comment lina ey ‘gues and fo Fed Cooper, Broce Mari, sod Rael Sich, wi ped te ooh some rough ees mn espns or te epost svanced be al the reopens ota BE hit eat my pee vi ie 18, * pacounee “postectony.” for hm, “simply refers tothe specific denty of «given his- torealrajectory that of soles receny emerging from te experience of, colonization” 2). His discussion links a number of separa incidexs, re- Sented es sting of brief vignetes and examples, together with series of, {genera propositions. While bis focus on Sub-Saharan Affcs snd most of the eases come from Cameroon and Togo, his examples are used illus- tras a generic “posteolony” whose forms of power -~ or commandement ean ad-embrcing regime of authority — constite the main subject ofthe Stee His clam isto have caught a new view nt only of regimes of power in postcolonial societies but of power ie. Treogaize that Mbembe’s essay may be valued precisely for is mode ‘of vision, forthe abandon with which it explores the murky train where SGesire end power inert in societies fommed by the clash of eonfitng de ‘Slgne nd forts ability to llominte avast tertitory through the reactions fof muliple examples and propositions. In my view, however, there is a Connection betwoen is perspective and is vision; te ances image ofthe postcoony overshadows it insights and ralses questions concerning its Ftandpoint Thus, while I find valve in his effort to explore the informal Field of relations which binds together rulers and rled trough shared con- ‘ventions of quotidian vulgarity and ceremonial grandeur, I emai uncon- vincedby bs approach and by his argument. “Ths discussion of Mbembe's acl refiecs the imporance Tatach 10 dts subject mater as well my concer that thi ext instantates amysiy- fing cuent of socal analysis that draws on certain postmodern theoretical jostultes and stylisie conventions curently in vogue. Thus my response Edveses his argument as mech as he itllctal wave tides o. Paying reapee to Moerbe's provocative contbuton tthe sy ofpostclonality by Blvngclose attention ois text, [have sought to engage our dferences ‘oasuctively ot polemical, in the spr celebrated by Foucaul: with e- pect othe "work of reciprocal elucidation." To facia this dissussion, 1 ‘xamine frst Mbembe'sillasrations of pescoloniaity second, is propo Siionseoncering is character, an hid, he image ofthe postetony that emerges from his work. Iconclade by outlining some propositions forthe Soy of postcolonial, vulgarity, and power. hus Men works, an tate ther metaphor ‘which the the publi isciptin govern fare of W a public out the jeurnalis ‘much of cies whe be west and poli structed colony, fence ep claims. teat, 0 pants. A Tecked it ‘ouside ‘The blesome within € risinfor ‘ute the ‘ican hereter “charge Gazete ofLaie mings fora hazed con- Tatach to amystiye ‘heoredica response $a. Paying colonialiy litfeenees Ae with seussion 1 his propo- colony that ons forthe crn rostaaoMur 8 secocNcr ” ILLustRaTioNs oF Mbembe's examples are taken from the media and from scholarly ‘works, and refer toa varity of stuatons which none way or another ills trae the postcolonial cammandement the use of grotesque bodily political ‘metaphors by the Togolese, Cameroonians and Congolese; an instance in ‘which the Kenyan police beat aman from Busi or fling to slut the ag: the public execution of two men in Cameroon secused of pity crimes; the disciplining of a Kenyan teacher who wore a bedrd against the government's suictures; the ceremonial wansferof office in Cameroon; the lure of Westem commodities among Cameroonians, the funeral ceremony of 8 public officer in Cameroon, and so fot. The information we ae given bout tes illastrations does not extend ch beyond the quotes cited from {Jouralistc or scholarly accounts. Although Mbembe interprets these se- counts with remarkable imagination, he teats them as If they were self- contained and selfevident unis, and thus as if we did not ned to know ‘much of anything abost heir contexts and circumstances or sbout the sci- tries whose character they purportedly illusate, Journalistic stores sem 10 be treated as sours of accurate information, 013s interventions in cultura and political processes which must themselves be situated and decon structed. Novels ae invoked wo lend support to Mbemb's view ofthe post colony, without respect forthe difference between itary and socalsei- fence representational conventions and their related, but different oth claims. Texts seem to float as transparent representation or sources of truth, not as elements in a wider discourse of pover involving other parc pints, Abstacted fom their social circulation, thr sgrificance seems ie locked inside themselves ready tobe unlocked by an autborial gesture from consid ‘The lack of historical density and social specificity is particulary tou blesome inthe case of examples concerning state voleace which ake place within domains marked by terror, symbolic displacement, and deliberate misinformation. While [assume that Mbembe ha tonal means to eval- late the fuller significance of his specifi sources and examples In the ‘Atican context, he does nt share his expertise with readers. For instance, he refers to two men executed by the stein Deval a8 “malefaciors" (16) “charged with minor crimes” 20) onthe bass of an account from La Gazete Perhaps this information is accurate, biti ight of my knowledge ‘of Latin Americ, where the state in colloion vith the medi often ans 2 russe mutes otal dissidents into pny criminal (as wel spt criminals ino “Subversives")2 1 would want know more about the execution ofthese “aefuctrs” before sceping it san example of Ue “bataue character of the poscalony" inte following terms ls eccene md gota of epee is for aha an ‘en positof ered oe pot hanlessess. Obscenity Bee [Ss tns mots of expen at might scem eave were itt ha san [opal pata be sgir of porer ‘This example brings to my min some rather mundane questions. What isthe perspective and social location of La Gazere? What were these men's Crimes and what was their signiicace for this community and forthe state tis ime? Do the events epored reflect a change in the forms and mean- ing of eiminality in the area andor inthe modes of exercising stat author. ity? Who was the audience for this event and why di it celebrate the execu tion with what Mbembe eas “wild applause” (21)? How meaningful is his, tse ofthe “naraive tetue” that Foucault employed in his discussion of repicide, parrcie, and Damiens's punishment, a5 if these situations were ‘mila othose that characterize te punishment of ordinary crimes in post- Colonist societies? I the issue snot so much the different reasons of pun- {Shmen, but the contrasting logics of reasons, why not compare punish ‘ment for similar erimes in bth societies? Tam aware tat these are old {ashioned, and in certain circles, rather vafashionable historical and ethno traphic questions about context and vice, but withou adéessing these and Fintlarconeems I cannot see theze violent deaths a examples of the banal- inyof powe inthe posicolony or accep tht they lend suppor toa concep tion of postolonilty asa stuaton where “the death penalty seems to have fo oer purpose than death (20), "This example leads oa complementary illusration af postcolonial bod Aly discipline. “In the poscolony, We primary objective of the right to pur {ah (represented here bythe execution of the condemned) is however not 10 2 Rorngance rth 1965 Amgro maser in Vez, which arse es swe thepvermen wo svg pass (Wor Pala do upd Alm) Rove bn sso mene ehermen io Cages ucla ‘teed oan sven ner wth cour of bee ers yvarbus ami apes 208 TOSDScaE (Cre str 9s for meee doco m whch ey we ire (Boe uci coe aan bys mara con, ce Bala 992), | cannon well ll Membe crates. W whose s steumen Commit Penta facing ¢ (Commis asking sion of suthort Pos co Mbemt rerop poscol Ye opinion ing at sats pole this placer fong-t tame force sequnse srinals ino nf these hhancter of Mand ite fons, Wha or the state and mean: ste author: the execu agfol is his cussion of ves in pst ‘sof pun re punish- ve are old- tnd ethno: s these and ‘the banal- concep: meinhave nial bod theo pun itso ss gla: Searched resto se eca.oweere a create useful individuals or to increase their productive efficiency. Tiss wel illustated by the misedventures of a teacher .. (18). Yet, from “Mbembe's discussion iis not lea tome what the case of the teacher ls trates, We know that this teacher was disciplined ia connection with evens ‘whose significance, as Mbembe correctly noes, clearly goes beyond in- Strumental considerations of utility or productivity. The Distiet ‘Commissioner visting the, “trouble om congregation” of a independent Pentecostal church in Gitotua asked for opinion concerning “problens facing the Church” Afr the teacher in question voieed hie opinion, the ‘Cormmissioner, “uring in anger, spouted hin and called him othe fret, asking him his ame and occupation” (1). Mbembe concludes th discus Sion ofthis eae (after mentoning the teacher's ongoing trouble withthe futhries on account of his grown beard) with the following genera acon convict, fx iret Kind. Au an gion Seirtols aod make em jo ne ipl and cemone of i conman- ment eg tem sng onc wiggle We odes shut inthe Sn on “Meme uses this example place postcolonial convits and state dsepine ina radically separate world from thelr counterparts in both colonial nd ‘metropolitan contexts, and to presenta view ofthe exerise of power in he posteclony — by common people as much as by the the state — as sl consuming and ukimately poindess. "Yet could we surmise thatthe teacher's punishment is related 1 his ‘opinions concerning &“rouble-tor congregation” and that just as his hav~ ing a beard may have been part of hs larger esitural polities, s0 was the state's mode of punishment? If tis wer the ease, the significance ofthis ‘event could be more adequately ascenained by relating it toa arger fed of politcal and cultaral contestation. Then one could also ask: how differen is this transcoding between politcal and bodily discipline from similar cs- placements in other societies, say, from proceedings against bearded or long-haired men whose opinions ot looks also made the powersthat be “fume with anger” inthe United Stats and sik with seemingly arbieary force on occasion during the sixties? ‘This lack of historical specificity casts doubts on the significance -Mbembeatribats to other examples. For instance, the lure of medals end » mvc qanae ecorations as well as the deste for peicla kinds of meropelitan com tmodiies among some postcolonial peopl, for him lustrates how “inthe postcolony, magnificence andthe desire to shine are not the preogatve of bly those wo command. The people also want to be honoured, o shine, {nd o take pain celebrations" (26). While Mbembe recognize that pes Sure and fashion ae "historical phenomena” as well as “instintions and Stes of power” (27, {fal to See how be has historcized the: or weated them as fel of power. It may bet that “Cameroonian love dick guber- dine suits, Cristian Dior outfis, Yamamoio blouses, shoes o crocodile skin” (quoted by Mbembe: 27). Yet, precisely because desires for these foods are as much the product of history asthe goods themselves, we fut to be atentve to tei historia constitution, lst we expan them a5 the sult ofthe iosyneratic “sie for majesty” (26) ofan enix people. "Thus futher questions again come to mind: Where does his “desire for majesty" come from, who possesses i, and why does it expres: itself 382 Gesire for panicular commodities? How is the longing for prestige com: tmodiies affected bythe social trajectories of different categories of people in postcolonial as well as in metropolitan societies? How is the (Cameroonians love of Christian Dior outs different from the desie for the same objet in the metopole or from the longing for “a New Look. tress" by working-class woman in England (Stedman 19877? Why i it fo ofien assumed that the desie for commodities that amthenticte ‘metropolitan discriminating ate confirms only postcolonial misplaced de Sire for ase? Since Tam concerned with how an imagined srture of de- fie is offen used to stereotype subaliem peoples, and with the re of com tmodiies as markers ofdsinction and makers of identity in Laie America?” 2 Forexanle, ng 1973.80 Venez i boom gd Rae was ceed 2 te cos musts sau, a upper lev anager ed tects ame On, ‘hom a eal of ommsine or er: ese aes became aby“ rom EES Lara nd mame he aren see a te ck timc On tae ‘Sietiand ring 1909 vou in Venera in espns os eas, Op ft lose poe soer eo ces sl apsan srs ny ss We Ps (pled ergo cr suck, The some phenomenon cree Los gels, wie, ‘Ring en Nea wa primary sores Ihe Payless wd at eagao at We ‘aoe csr ele coe places bre yrange mney Ce thy: he gery sts, Nqur ses, acon clang ad ste soc gs ans an ‘Hise G00 7, One comet ade sear aera eae dct om he ra objec lone ding lon conor, a raps Ue oj ele cea rpare would ‘cameros @, Thee posteale From hi cyber imagen Mbems power. “Tat wth oa Wo colonia postcot the vio seocsl imager domi. and igi the sly sifer power yal conte and take oe vie veounne stan came ow “inthe copaive of Io she, shat pea tion ad or weaed lek aber eocodle «for thse selves, me inthemas people "desire or fuel ara sige con- of people ww fs be ‘esr or New Look Why iit hentia placed de- tre of teofeom- Avericn? crceaedes “Di tem ahrorue es, pore Siharwee ‘ey vey ‘es tym be tat pope caw roston.ouuy se peca ee 5 |Lwould like to leam why the lre of metropolitan prestige commodities in ‘Cameroon is an expression ofa supposed “desir shine and be honoured” en. ‘The discussion ofthe ply of he grotesque and of bodily imagery in the postcolony raises as well questions of form, pottonality, and agency. From historical and anthropological studies, we know thatthe body is ev- cexywhere a source of symbolic production ard that social groups use bodily imagery to challenge, confirm, or ply with existing social hierarchies. bere acknowledges thatthe symbolism ofthe body and ofits activites | & universal and not just an African “ingredient inthe production of power" He ads, “Tat ew mast ow isi on ander spec of my argument | wou p> (ertbr he bsstion wih as bebe uso he at hain he soln the commandemen scons engage in poling a mage oh of sd ofthe word — fay Watt esas oe abet a ‘uth har is ejoed spt, 2 wud tat has wo be ised no hem ede ‘Gt yagi hab of pina ebdee (1), ‘Would it be too pedestrian to relat the discussion ofthis alleged post- colonial “obsession with orifices” to violent experiences of colonial and postcolonial domination a an ongoing historical process? (*Pentration” is common image in hs context) Wouldn't the images that postcolonial so- cletes produce of themselves and ofthe worl bring imo play memories of the violence of conquest and colonization with the everyday violence of ‘neocolonial subjection? If this were the ease, decoding bodily and sexual ‘imagery would involve examining it in elation o specific forms of imperial domination, reorganization of domestic relations, languages of sexuality, and idioms of power of particular societies, including metropolitan ones If “the posteoloay is world of anxious virility — hostile wo continence, fr eallty and sobriety” (13), how does this structure of feeling relate to, and lifer fom, the apprehensive hyper masculniaton of polite of imperial tanding finn," and unwilling to “pall out" when threatened by " Just think of the sexual and gendered semiotics of the confrontations between France and Algeria the U.S. and Vietnam: Bush tnd Husscin, Thatcher and Gali. And dos this conception ofthe post- te ne con may lp a i sho spins concen wat tan onl perl ee jue qanae colony 88 word of anxious vsliy mean that women are subsuned within “ortotlly engulfed by masclinisiScologies? Don't they to engender his- tory 38 ssve subjects, inflet their own accents onthe languages of power tnd supply imagery oftheir own? Beyond the domains narowl identified ‘wih women, wha are we fo make of thei presence inthe hight levels of the sate a8 minister, as allies of male figures (Eva Peron), oF 35 matioal leader (Indira Gandhi, Crazén Aquino, Violeta Chaniom0)? “The unconstrained light rom fragmentary examples o vast eneralza- tions about the postcolony hinders the understanding of commonalities mong postcoloaial societies ax well as of diferences distinguishing them. Mbembe offers brief newspaper quote which fers oe end of Ramadan {na Muslim community in Cameroon (“Foe tiny days, members ofthe ‘community ad bees deprived of many things from dawn til use. They r= Framed from drinking, eating, smoking, sexual relations, and ayihing that goes againt the Muslim faith and law") to support his idea tha, "Because the poscolony is characterized, sbove al, by scarcity the metaphor of food “Tends itself to the wide angle lens ofboth imagery and efficacy" (26) In fone quick move, from a journalist's notion of religious fasting as “deprivation” to scholaly observation concerning food imagery (cited shove), we move tothe hypostaizaton of "scarcity" as an omnipresent ‘hamcteritic ofthe postcaony. Asin other eases, Mbembe approaches an ‘meresting esse bu quickly leaps o sweeping assertions. POSTCOLONIALITY . “Matching the fragmentary character of Mbembe's string f examples, his theoretical argument rings forth one speciscular topic after archer in an ‘overflowing steam of proposions. The reader moves quickly fom the ole tf bureaucratic excess tothe function ofthe grotesque, fromthe fetish Character ofthe sate to the zombifcaion of rulers and ruled, from te hax Fiowsness of power tothe simulacram as is specific pragmatics, frm the ‘ilenee of power to powerlessness as quintessential postcolonial violence. “This steam of suggestive but unelaborsted propositions seems wo relate to his ceaval argument in postcolonial societies the banality of power —its arbarines, predictability, vulgarity — binds rulers and rule ina con- ‘vial web of Socal elatons. While Bain located the grotesque among, the plebeian, Mbembe places it within bodh the rules and the ruled, ‘Acconing to im, "the real inversion takes place when, in thei desire for spletdou ragsofp vwrongée cording tertnd's Wester ars, dichot aly of asim forthe: proper: mates ‘Aft colonia tice of tis, co sdesune seins regime: fined it gud eoiony snicing pauwnue sed win coder hi of power idence Tevels of s nan ‘hing tht “Because sof foot *@26).h4 "7 ited nipresent vaches an samples, her ina athe rle he fetish the hoa from ne folence. torelae among ve ruled. lesze for con resenuauy se pecan ” splendour, the masses join in madness and clothe themselves in th ashy rags of power soa to reproduce its epistemology; and when, 100, power, ints own violent quest for grandeur and prestige, makes valgaity and ‘wrongdoing (dlinquance is ain ode of existence” (29). This sit ac- Cording to Mbembe allows him not only to understand the specificcharse ter and aesthetics of power inthe postolony, bu also to breakaway from ‘Westem binary oppositions and dual conceptions of power islf. Wile I am sympathetic otis project, it seems to me that is discussion reproduces ‘dichotomy between the masses and power, forthe powerless mases have ‘nly ashy rags of power (perhaps the smulata of power or the simula (of simulacrum), and powers separate from them (perhaps asa synonym for he state othe roles). Tis also based oa the assumpxion that vlgaity propery belongs tothe masses and that power (le sate) insrunentaly ‘makes i its own “in its quest fr prestige.” ‘Afer claiming to have overcome duaies, Mbembe offers a resoncep- ‘ualization ofthe “postcolonial mode of domination.” For him, te post- Colonial mode of domination sas mucha regime of constrains asa prac- tice of convviality anda stylistic of connivance — marked by inte cau- tion, constant compromises, smal tokens of fealty, and a precipiance 10 Senunciate those who are labelled “subversive™” (21). Sul, here con- ‘rintlconviviality do not seem very diferent from coereioniconsent, or regimelpractic fom stuciuelacion. Thus, this mode of domination is de- fined interme of polis, though they ae so mixed ad ieternal:zed ha some of ther elements have even become innate. OF couse it coud bear ‘ved that by being 50 mixed they cease tobe dualities — that in he post- colony, constrains ae convivial snd convivalty constrains — but this, ‘mixing of underspecified categories sno substitute for theoretical elabora- ‘We obiain a beter sense of Mbembe's nation ofthe postcolonial mode ‘of domination when he compares it with colonial domination. Cooniaity "was a way of disciplining bodies withthe aim of making beter use of theme —ocilty and productivity gong hand in hand (18) fn contrast, “inthe postcolony, the primary objective of the ight 10 punish (represeneé here by the execution ofthe condemned) is however nt to create useful individuals loro increase ther productive efficiency” (18). The dramatization of sate power serves to ereate bonds of intimacy with the people —"the inimacy of tranny” om” pac cunee Ine poscley an inmate ray inks he ne wi he ed at Seay isons spt of uc nd velar he ery cna of Sate power ston apr more case un aught be, sate caer Sisessel tc conan aye cnn! i aan os {elo toe point whee hey repodie in noses all he moro cts fly ie sch svc eos, eal nd sel soi ca ‘ary prctes, ere ave, ade af onsen, se ses, hare ‘devi and hpi enya te bly 2 ‘These daly circumstances are also mulpe sites or sources of identity formation which eeate many possbilies fraction, including die di tancing from the state's dramatization of is autory. Mbembe offer inte esting comments conceming the role of ambiguity se uty in the consti tution of postcolonial subjects and in their practic of convvilty. Yet for him these resources do no poteaaly expand the field of agency, they can el eachother out. Ase puts, "relations of conviviality [ae] also of pow trlessness par excellence — from the point of view either ofthe masters of power or of those whom they crush” (23). The reason for this, we are ol, Is that these processes are “essetlly magical” (23). They “in no way di ‘enscrbe (désinscrire] the dominated from the epstemelogical field of power" (23) Ase had indicated ever inthe article, rlere snd rated p= rar eaupt in a process of “zambifiaton” in which “cach robbed the other ‘oftheir viaiy and [tis] has let them both eapoten (5). Tn Mbembe's ancl dichotomous thinking is programmatically de- sounced, but only partially opposed in tbe analysis sel. Ths, polarities that are rejected in one place end up rearing through the bak door. Inthe final section he recast a distinction between formalfinformal and pub ligintimae dimensions of power without atending to the mutual constiy- tion ofthese apparently separate domains. He concludes by urging re- seachers to focus onthe informal and the intimate. Ashe aay “Ii here, within the confines ofthis intimacy, that the forces of tranny in Sub Saharan Aftica have to be staied 29). One would hope that esearch on ‘his domain would belp unlock the web of informal practices that so entan le ulets et sul wy tender tes" powertens” (29). Bu, wih power so rarowly located and diffuse, with actors so l-detined and so impotent, ‘ith historical ansformaton erased, this hope oo is washed away. ‘contest Fro snaking Mem ferent s ofasta crcial ‘which ¢ ples th sharply ablehe the pra ‘mental posten! Fact th Rather separa ‘at in tis the re iywot modes equnse lien of ta be nore Seat ‘oral >t identi luge die “ers inter she const y- Yet for they car oofpon- asters of are wl, > way di held of ruled ap the other cally de. polaris vor, Inthe tnd pub- powerso ‘potent, FROM THE EMPIRE | hope itis clear that in asking questions, ssking comparisons, and ‘making comments about theary and argument, 1 do not intend to dismiss “Mbembe'simporant concerns, to homogenize phesomena occurring in df= ferent societies, oro force us to dive into the black hoe of “dat in search ofa sable ground. Rather, Jam suggesting that historical analysis ofthese trucial ists should atend to what de Ceneau called the “poetics of de- tals" and explore their significance i the historical and social contexts in ‘which they gun their vitality, rather than Use undesperifed cases as exam- ples that serve to construct postolonialty asa sweeping type — one that ‘Sharply divides postcolonial from other societies and erases their consder- able heterogeneity. Since contexts are abvioutly not found but consiricted, ‘he practice of constracting the relevant contexs,in my view, i a funda- imental prt of the work of producing both textured account of particular Postcolonial societies and general propositions atoutpostolonality, The Fact that contexts are constructed doesnot mean that they are arbizary. Rather, i alls attention to th need, too often denis, o include the erieal examination of the conditions of possibiiy of so:al knowledge a ani feparable moment of social analysis. "Adention tothe detail nd othe contexts ofthe phenomena discussed in thisarile would counter two tendencies tht emerge si rerrning from ie repressed, through the racks of Mbembe's analysis. First, the proclv~ ity to tify colonial peoples on the bass of Few cass, which lads in his instance 1 the conflation of modes of power of “the postcolony” with ‘modes of power that may be exclusive to enain stceies or population in particular historical situations. Second, the inclination to oversimplify and Daturlize the historical atribues of colonized peoples, which threatens to turn, however uawitingy,hstriographc types iad imperil stereos. Despite Mbembe's claims to hstricize phenomena and 1 overcome oaltes, his aniele eonstvets “the postcolony" by recasting commonplace distinctions between the expire and its hers. It does 50, in my view, by Feaing stp 2 paricular“pesimodem” wave energized by its extreme op> position to""modem’” cosmologies of history, society, and the subject. Flowing with this curent, te tex cems to accep implicily a polariy be- tween modernity (-) and postmodemiy(¥, andi say wel onthe side of lone ofits extreme poles. This current, directed against metanaratives of istry, produces disjoinied mininarratives which reinforce dominant 100 pave gare worldviews resting aginst deteminisms, i presents fee-ostng evens: refusing 19 fx identy in srucural categories, it essenilizes identity through difference; resisting the location of power in structures or institu- tions, ifases it throughout society and ulimtely dissolves it Ironically, this popular trend leaves us facing a world of disjointed elements at atime when the globalization of space — marked by integrative and exclusionary processes — makes i intellectully compelling and poliicaly indispensable "0 understand how pas and whole hang together. ‘Given the anicle's mix of fgmentary enamples and proportion not always eas to diseatangleisighfl abservatons from my cralizatons. Were I asked to iu the image ofthe "postolony” that T See emerging from tis text, I would have to say that it bears a dstrbing similarity 19 an old imperial image of the "eolony,” of rater, the ie view ofa place before Civilization arrived, where na {ves subssted, laughed, and tussle ceatlesly to no end, Yet there is a iference. This ime there isnot even the hope, oF threat, of ther being brought ino History by Westem imervention. Ruled again by themselves but within de timescape of the modern world, snared ina magical circle, unable to chart new paths fr their societies oro wead along the tacks set ‘out by others, aimlessly swinging between omnipresent scarcity and ludic ‘exces, with Westem timolacra as their new native tradition, they are trapped in ahistorical limbo. lis as if a sosalgie imperial gaze wer aston ‘exccolonial societies, as if remembering them as places once ruled with rhless excess bat wth productive zealand majestic grandeur, i could now recognize in tem only powerless excess and senseless simulaera, Since their toil and wouble ar of no pancular significance to themselves or much use to the rest ofthe world, their exotic blend of eximinaity,Hibidialty, and convivality may now serve, a least as an object of academic interes (Or, more disturbingly, its as if his imperial image were authorized, how- ver unwittingly, by an insies's perspective. Though Mbembe's exis not ‘marked by Naipaul's bitemess or contempt it aso conjures wp a self-en- closed world with no ext which to easily plays imo dominant views. "This eading — which supposes the reader’ active (te/mis)eonsrtion ofthe text — reveals how posteolonial cultural studies, beyond considera tions of intent, ar inscribed within semantic and instutonal fields satd- rated by imperial histories and imagery. na pas that now seems remote, ‘Carpentier, Fanon, Césize, o give only a few examples, traveled to the ‘metropole, sagged with das in vogue at the ime (surrealism, exisetial- sm, Mat snderst sions. A: ' ing of * Bataille, having much dh dillesi chanme ‘Sul pacity 8 which e sion of beyond agency, 4 ene i this ana | posteok felf0! Axe Iw study LE + ‘ores, idan tiplem it sign produc search orait subject Whet | lessee! ‘ slthouy mucqunee tng evens: es ideniyy ‘Sor insia- Ironically, “xclusionay dispensable sitions, iis "disturbing rather, the tvhere ne Severe isa their being themselves Heal el, tracks st Yand dis duthey are red with 00d now sera. Since eSermuch ibiinaity, ized, how vaselten considers els sa. Jed to he sistent ‘sm, Marsism, psychoanalysis), made them their ovn, and produced critical understandings of their native lands and humanity energized by utopian v- sons. As if mirroring different mes, and perhaps reacting othe founder- Jing of “modern” uiopias, this text Seems to draw on seleced threads of Batalle, Foucault, Baudrillard, Derrida, and de Ceneau which weave a net having no place for wopia or engagement; postrodem enlightenment no 0 rich dispelling Elightenment illusion as recastag them ss neomadern Aisilasions Its as i at this moment of theoretical and historical dis chantent, pessimism at the eral edges of the menopole were rans In nism the hear ofthe perighery. ‘Sil, also feelin the text the wish locate in "the people” cenain ca pacity 1 challenge power, to wip it by laughing ti But in a world in ‘which everyone is laughing, his wish dissipates into a iis apprehen- sion ofthe power of play; laughter, ike death, seems to have no purpose ‘beyond itself. With power so diluted, with no place for emancipatory agency, itis as if irmpatince wih degrading postcolonial regimes could only [verze tos disqualifying oration about poscoosial peoples. Inthe end, {his analysis ofthe banality of power in the postcelony produces a view of postcolonial power as banal. In so doing, however, i calls attention to it Sel, othe standpoint rom which its view is cas AND THE CONSTRUCTION OF DECOLONIZING STANDPOINTS {woul like 19 conclude by outlining some suggestions concerning the study of potcolnialty based on diferent posulas 1. PostcolonialiyiKnowledge. Pethaps mote tan ost analytical ate- sores, “postotonality,” like the domain i addresss i Mud, polysemic, ‘nd ambiguous term that derives its power From is ability wo condense rou tiple meanings and refer to diferent leatlons. At is pont, rather han fx its significance through formal definiionl procedures, [think itis more productive to crcumscribe its meanings by using it within interesting re Search programs. For the purposes ofthis iscssin, se te postcolonial domain in tems of the histrial trajectory of sities which have been, subjected to varying forms of both colonial and neocolonial domination. Whether poscolonial socites emerged recently fom the experience of eol- nization or not (Mbembe's rather underspecified criteria), isn my view Jess relevant than their continued subjection to mezopoitan frces. Thus, although most of Latin America achieved its poieal independence cal in 12 peuccanne the nineteenth century, thas remained in what many analysts consider tobe ‘ neocolonial condition; its wansformation recreates colonial and depen dency relations. I understand colonial and neocolonial relations san or- {ganic inking of intemational and domestic relaons, no san exter im Poston (fora auempt “to bring metopole and colony ino a single analyt- al fed,” see Cooper and Soler 198; fora clasic statement ofthe much ‘misunderstood dependency perspective, see Cardogo and Faleto 1573), ‘When tisaplied to ex-colonial nation that oncopy a subordinate ost tion inthe international system, postcolenialty appears as someting of & euphemism, ane tata once reveals and disguises comtemporary forms of imperialism. As euphemism, it makes it easier to study resent forms of| power within ex-colonial societies as if they wer the exclusive rel of @ ‘colonial pa, and nolo of a neocolonal present. But as term amociated with posstncuraism, pstcolonialty conjures up a body of theory which may help overcome teleological nuratives and illuminate the workings of| ‘ower in soci and cultural spaces reorganized by the circulation of ies, ‘peoples, and goods throughout an increasingly interconnected globe. This erect need not be limited to subordinate nation-states (the 9-alled ‘Thied World) but could slo be applied to sharply marginalized subna- ‘onal groups, such as native peoples inthe Americs (sometimes eee to asthe Fourth Woeld), ort the metropolitan centers themselves, as they are increasingly gopulated and transformed by the presence of pastolonisl peoples (old “First World” nations are being redefined as multacal sei- ‘tie; thei major urban centers, such as New York, London, and Los ‘Angeles, are often refered to as Third Word cites) Posicolosiality could thus be seen situational, in terms of what Frankenberg and Mai, drawing on Gramécianconjuncturalism snd feri- 1st postionalty cal a“igorous politics of location” (1991). AS Hey St, "There are. noments snd spaces in which subject ae ‘driven o grasp thei positioning ane subjecthood as “postcolonial yet there ae ther com ‘ext in which, to apply de term asthe organizing principle of one's analy sis is precsey to al 10 grasp te speciicy” of the location or the mo rent (1991.25. The perspective I propose would weleome complementary undertakings — for instance, the stady of ex-colonial rations that have achieved subsaasal levels of economic growth and occupy nt subd, Fura niga cussion te origins a0 ecg Bs of hi em, 86 Pree 18, boxset Thanh eng Srna serves Det eos fev ‘ee cry apr ier centr. ton (8 pest the ff Mate fala tip on ate ih people ering ingen ann peren Sie shiv Say testa coxmae sider ote nd deper- tema im leanalyt- she much 979), rate post ‘hing of Tors of Forms of cesult of sociated 2 which kings of ‘of ideas, abe. Tie but relatively dominant positions in he interatiralsystem (of course, the ‘riceris of relative subordination or dominance would have tobe specified). ‘Thus, the United States (ndependent since 1776) an Singapore (Slt gov- cerning since 1959) may be regarded as postcolonial societies whose “natona” wansformaton reflect ferent colon experiences an linkages berween domestic and intemasonal factors. Definition discussions of poscolonilty may be productive if we sp- proach them within prblem-cenered research projects. For example, Klor e Alva, editing the infvence on his work of postsmuctraist perspee- ‘ives, hs recently arpoed that colonialism and postcolonialism are (Latin) ‘American mirage, tat these term, as common understood today, prop- ely apply in Lain America ony to marginal porulaons of indigenes, not {0 the major nor-Indian coe tat has constituted, bepnning inthe sixteenth century, the largely European and Cisansociedes on the American ter. tory (1992) | difer from him, fot fel his argunents suppose too clear & szpartion between indigenous and non-indigenous peoples in Amerie, 100 resticted a conception of colonialism (derived from an idealized image of the eflectivenes of modern nonhem European colonial experiences), and an uncritical acceptance of dominant uses ofthese terms. However, his historically grounded srpument cannot help but svancediscusion in thie field 1 possructral and postmadem approaches promise to cast new light fom afield obscured by the marow determinism and dualities associated ‘with modem historical metraraives, they also theaten to weat ex-colonal ‘peoples as bounded wits, ct off rom ther historical contexts. A discon- cetting effect ofthese approaches, despite their caims to have destabilized pera histories, i the way they often allow the insidious reproduction of an imperial viewpoint based on Anglo-American end norlern European ex- Deriences. A this conjuncture, I suggest we congrct a decentered and in- sive perspective tat would overcome Oceidennlisn and permit the sty ‘of wide range of colonial and posteolonia egies and situations 5 by “Oxcenlisn” ea ot fe ees of Oren, bt "ie ese of ep- ‘eet cees ae nbe pele suerte 9 tin difrence mobic ai tse pent rd efor a ‘ents, towers waving, tbe epodocioe of exSing asymmetie power la ‘ons (Cool 1992, 104 pau gunee 2. PowerContet IF itis ue that power ty cannot be analyzed ex- sively witha the boundaries of nation-states this ix epoca the casein ‘postcolonial nations, for they are waversed though and through by he ten- ‘Sion between tee formal sovereignty and thelr effecve subjection. Their {governing states and dominant classes are at once dominant and dominated, ‘They frequen standin an ambiguous socal position, represented both as defenders of rational tration From aggressive lnperil forces, and a ner ‘al agents and emulator of meopolitan civilization, and thus undergo a doubling of entiy that fractures flaions of authority (Bhabha 198: ‘Chaterje 1985; Skursi and Coron 1992). In pat because ofthis tesion, ‘postcolonial nations are tom by the increasing lnterationaization of ma ‘ets and communications that characerzes the contemporary perio. Along, ith the globalization of space, the reconfiguration of national space is be ing redrawn everywhere, often along lines that polarize domestic classes, transform the basis oftheir loyalties and iteress, and erode established ‘egies of domination. These processes are particularly disruptive in post colonial societies whose economies are reoeganzed by the intematonaliea- tion of the market. The effort relate domaine asorated with gender sex unr, (f)production and politics must tke into account the global condi tions within which people in postcolonial societies make their history. 3. Vulgaripymersion/Polics In postcolonial wcities where unstable it history of conquest, clo- jms and imagery ofthe re fined and the vulgar, the high andthe low, form par of a complex semantic Seld characterized bythe mulvocal and shifting character of elements along different hierarchical sales, Terms are saturated with hybrid meanings ‘whose dominant accens depend on circumstance ad intenionaity, Fr in- ‘tance, within postcolonial societies, the lca elite sa nce “igh fom the perspective ofthe postcolonial nation, where it often appears bathed in the light of meopolian civilization, and “low” from te perspective ofthe tempie, which asrocatesit withthe backward and primive. The bale {lanss are generally “low,” but the location and valorisaton oftheir low ‘ness Shifts. From the perspective of mass-ased nationalism, popular sec- tors may move upwards, f they are ented as Sourees of rational vue, from an imperil perspective, they may move downwards if they ae sen erro as the et fronted ¢ atthe 53 think of| leaders dictators Tnve wed A fonce ale ‘models he depic red an ‘There it side the vulgare indergo 2 hha 1985; of mar. x Along seeisbe lasses, tablished in pos Yona: der se sleondi- 9. unstable esteo- ofthe r- ss along neanings y.Forin ah” from bathed in wef the subalern crlowl- valarse2- al vinwe; ‘cnt rosma.cnuY se ecaLoNcer 105 as the embodiment of “savagery."# When postcolonial nations are con- fronted by imperial force, dominant and subalie sectors may be postoned a the same level and share idioms of identification and cooperation. Just think of how descamisadae (shiress ones, commen people) and miliary leaders in Argentina, adversaries in many contexts during the brutal miliary

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