What do we mean when we talk about decolonisation?
Decolonisation is a term that has been around for a while but has come to mean much more than when it was first used. Initially, the term was mostly linked to the ending of physical occupation and the process of handing over power from the (former) coloniser to the (former) colony itself. In this view, decolonisation is regarded as an event, a certain moment in time. However, over the years, it has become clear that decolonisation is much more than a dot on a timeline as it is not something that is ‘completed’ when a (former) coloniser has left a (former) colony and officially handed the power back over. Actually, colonialism often lingers on long after colonies gain their formal independence. In fact, many practices and attitudes in our current system are implicit continuations of the colonial era and thereby reproduce colonial dynamics and beliefs to this day. Acknowledging this means that we cannot see decolonisation as a one-off event. One of the interviewees we spoke to for this research, mentioned that it might be more helpful to regard decolonisation as a mindset. This mindset should then be used when designing and implementing development projects and practices and, for example, also in lobby activities.
Both a literary review and the interviews conducted for this research showed that there is no single definition of what this decolonial mindset means exactly. However, most definitions align regarding what they are about at their core. Liliana Jauregui, Senior Advisor of Environmental Justice at IUCN NL and one of the interviewees, summarised this core in her own words as follows:
“decolonisation consists of three components (1) recognizing, (2) challenging and in the end also (3) dismantling existing power structures – also referred to as ‘the system’ – that oppress colonised people”.
– Liliana Jauregui, IUCN NL
Despite this being the core of most definitions, it is still very broad as it does not tell us anything about what each of these components actually means or how it is ‘achieved’. This is because each ‘step’ can take many different forms, depending on the specific context and may never be fully completed or achieved.
The fact that the term is still so broad can be a valuable asset as it allows many different players and NGOs to engage with it. Besides, it can also bring various organisations together that might otherwise not have. Are you interested in reading about some good practices regarding decolonisation in the sector? Read more about this in The Partos Future Brief: Decolonisation of the development sector!
On the other hand, this research has also shown that the term is so broad comes with certain risks when it becomes ‘popular’. When decolonisation becomes a buzzword and its meaning is unclear, it risks being misused and eventually emptying of its meaning, as anyone can use the term for anything. A joint narrative could be a very useful tool to prevent this from happening. We will come back to this later in this article.
What do we mean when we talk about climate justice?
Just as is the case for decolonisation, the concept of climate justice also does not have one single definition. In one of the interviews, Dr Margit van Wessel, researcher and professor at Wageningen University, argued that she feels the concept of climate justice is even more open to interpretation than is the case for decolonisation.
“We are still very much in the orientation phase when it comes to conversations about climate justice. Many development organisations are still trying to grapple with the concept and are trying to find out what it means to them and how important it is within their organisation”.
– Dr. Margit van Wessel, Wageningen University & Research
However, just as is the case for decolonisation, what it means in its core seems widely accepted. As mentioned earlier, climate justice specifically focuses on setting straight the skewed relation between those creating and contributing most to the climate crisis and the ones most vulnerable to the consequences. However, there is no clear roadmap or list of things to tick off about how this ‘setting straight’ can or should be achieved. This also came back in the interview with Janna Lenders from WECF, where she argued:
“climate justice is not a fixed thing or a set of principles which you just have to tick off.”
– Janna Lenders, WECF
Again, on one side, it is great that the concept allows for some interpretative flexibility, meaning that different actors can construct different meanings of the concept as they engage in interpretative processes. Interpretations can overlap but can also be (partially) conflicting, leading to debates and negotiations regarding the concept’s meaning and purpose. Just as is the case for decolonisation, this flexibility allows different groups to engage with the concept that might otherwise not have cooperated. We will come back to this in the following paragraph.
On the other hand, the concept of climate justice runs the same risk of misuse as that of decolonisation. During an interview with Dr Margit van Wessel she mentioned that:
“organisations can sort of use ‘climate justice’ as an umbrella term under which all sorts of different projects can be financed that are not necessarily rooted in a desire for justice, exactly because of the vagueness surrounding what it actually means”.
– Dr. Margit van Wessel, Wageningen University & Research
Dr Van Wessel added that she has the impression that multiple development organisations are carrying out projects in whatever field their focus is (e.g. gender, water, conservation) and see an opportunity to get funding for these projects by making them fit under the umbrella of ‘climate justice’, locally led adaptation’, ‘localisation’ etc. with just some minor adjustments. This is something to be wary of, and again, a joint discourse/narrative could be very helpful.
Decolonisation and Climate Justice through a social science lens
To make a bit more sense of what it means, what was presented in the previous paragraphs, this research has linked the information provided above to several concepts from the field of social science. This paragraph briefly summarises these concepts and their relevance to this topic.
First of all, the research has identified both decolonisation and climate justice as floating signifiers. Simply put, a floating signifier is a word over which there is contestation between different groups about what that concept or idea means. The best or correct use of it has not been solidified (yet). Floating signifiers find themselves in between hegemonic signifiers, which are concepts whose meaning has been more or less solidified, and on the other side empty signifiers, concepts that can essentially mean anything to anyone. Both decolonisation and climate justice fit this description as there is some consensus about the concept’s core. However, there is still a lot of room for contestation and discussion around the specifics of the meaning of the terms.
Building on this, work by Fiasco and Massarella (2022) argues that a lot of empty and floating signifiers function very well as so-called ‘boundary objects’. A boundary object is another well-known concept from the social science field. The concept was initially coined by Star and Griesemer (1989) and refers to an object that possesses the unique ability to bring together different interpretations and meanings for various groups while still maintaining coherence and consistency. They act as a shared language, enabling different actors to interact and work together that might otherwise not have collaborated.
A boundary object does not have to be a physical entity, though, it can be a concept or an idea too (Bowker & Star, 1999). This is precisely why theory surrounding this is very valuable regarding making sense of how different actors engage with the concepts of decolonisation and climate justice. As became apparent in the previous paragraphs, both decolonisation and climate justice seem to fit the characteristics of being broad or flexible enough to appeal to different actors whilst also being robust enough to have somewhat of a shared identity between all those different groups that engage with the concepts. The Partos Climate Justice CoP is living proof of this as it unites employees of many development NGOs with different thematic focuses to collaborate in the name of climate justice. In other words, it fosters collaborations that might otherwise not have occurred.
The need for a joint narrative
As explained before, formulating a joint narrative for Climate Justice in which decolonisation has a prominent place can help prevent that these terms from being misused. Besides, it could also help keep each other accountable when working on financed projects based on the back of such terms.
Discourse theory is a concept from the social sciences that might help to guide the process of formulating such a joint narrative. A discourse can be seen as a dominant understanding of a certain idea or concept. In this case, the joint narrative will eventually be our (dominant) discourse. An inherent part of the creation of discourse is that of exclusion: exclusion of alternative meanings of elements that are part of a certain idea or concept. Exclusion happens through interaction and discussion about the discourse. For example, if we are working on a joint narrative surrounding climate justice, we will label certain aspects as not important or relevant enough to be part of the narrative (at this moment in time). In discourse theory terms, this would mean these alternative meanings are (temporarily) excluded from the discourse and ‘banned’ to the so-called field of discursivity. The field of discursivity is a sort of reservoir for the ‘surplus of meaning’ that constantly keeps challenging the dominant discourse.
The Partos Climate Justice CoP has already started working on a rough draft of this joint narrative, which is meant as a basic and broadly agreed manifest to ‘mobilise concerted action’ by Partos members in pursuit of Climate Justice as well as a guiding source for their individual communications vis-à-vis their respective constituencies and external audiences. However, we are still very much in the initial phase and lots of work still has to be done. Therefore, we would like to invite you to work on this joint narrative during our workshop on the decolonising development cooperation symposium organised by Partos on July 4th. Adding to this, as the joint narrative will be one of the key outputs of the climate justice learning and innovation trajectory and additional sessions surrounding this will be organised to further develop the narrative. Interested to share your thoughts? Register for the symposium here, contact Partos’ Climate Justice lead Sonja at Sonja@partos.nl and/or keep an eye out for future sessions!
Linking Climate Justice and Decolonisation
Besides looking into what both terms actually mean, this research also looked into the link between the two concepts and how this link is being made by development NGOs. For a very long time, these two concepts were not necessarily linked to one another. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has been coming out with reports that compile the findings of thousands of scientific papers that are written on the topic since 1990. It was not until 30 years later, in the sixth assessment report, that the word ‘colonialism’ finally made its way into the publication. It now lists colonialism “not only as a driver of the climate crisis but also as an ongoing issue that is exacerbating communities’ vulnerability to it” (Funes, 2022). This acknowledgement of climate change being caused by, or at least connected to, colonisation means “recognising that historic injustices are not consigned to history: their legacies are alive in the present” (Verso Books, 2018).
The link between the two themes was acknowledged in all of the interviews that were conducted for this research. In confirming this, interviewees also agreed that this means you cannot claim to work on climate justice if you do not work with a decolonial lens/mindset. Isabelle Geuskens, employee of Milieudefensie, argues
“I could never work on a project that is about climate justice which does not include an analysis on the systemic injustices, which are in turn rooted in colonial patterns”.
– Isabelle Geuskens, Milieudefensie
In other words, this research confirmed the common Dutch saying: who says a (climate justice), also has to say b (work with a decolonial mindset). Even though the link is acknowledged by all those we spoke to for this research, the link is not always made explicit in programs and projects. Further research could look dive deeper into this. Adding to this, the joint narrative can play an important role in bringing this link under the attention more. This is something that can be discussed during the workshop that will be held at the symposium.