‘Post’ interventions: Postcoloniality, poststructuralism and questions of ‘after’ in world politics
| Date | 01 November 2017 |
| DOI | 10.1177/0263395717722135 |
| Published date | 01 November 2017 |
| Subject Matter | Special Section Introduction |
https://doi.org/10.1177/0263395717722135
Politics
2017, Vol. 37(4) 367 –370
© The Author(s) 2017
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DOI: 10.1177/0263395717722135
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‘Post’ interventions:
Postcoloniality,
poststructuralism and
questions of ‘after’ in
world politics
Penny Griffin
UNSW Sydney, Australia
Abstract
Thinking about ‘after’ and ‘afterwards’ in world politics necessitates thinking about complex,
ambiguous and socially disruptive processes, practices, and methods of governance. Focused
on locating the ‘afterwards’ in moments of world politics marked by ongoing, and consistently
unsuccessful, responses to crisis, conflict, and questions of social, political, and economic
legitimacy, this themed section spotlights two areas of particular concern. First, the section asks
what it might mean to theorise ‘after’, and ‘afterwards’, in world politics. Second, it explores
what opportunities are afforded in thinking about the relationship between ‘afterwards’ in
terms of postcoloniality, governmentality, and the machinery of state building. Interested in
diverse ways with ‘thresholds’, and the ambiguity of threshold environments, this section
demonstrates the necessity of thinking about complex, ambiguous, and socially disruptive
processes, practices, and methods of governance, including how the enduring impacts of past
‘events’ encroach upon the present in intimate and significant ways, influencing the lives, and
life chances, of people throughout the world.
Keywords
afterwards, intervention, postcolonial, poststructural
Received: 8th June 2017; Accepted: 9th June 2017
In September 2015, a small but steely group of scholars met at the European International
Studies Association (EISA) meeting in Sicily to present their (many and varied) ideas on
questions of ‘after’ in world politics. They had been asked to address two areas in par-
ticular: what it might mean to theorise ‘after’, and ‘afterwards’, in world politics, and what
opportunities are afforded in thinking about the implications of ‘afterwards’ in terms of
Corresponding author:
Penny Griffin, School of Social Sciences, UNSW Sydney, Anzac Parade, Kensington, Sydney, NSW 2052,
Australia.
Email: penny.griffin@unsw.edu.au
722135POL0010.1177/0263395717722135PoliticsGrifn
research-article2017
Special Section Introduction
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