Done with decolonisation? The perils and possibilities of a concept

Abstract

Has decolonisation, as an analytical concept and political horizon, reached a dead-end? Some argue the term has been so overused – and misused – that it has lost meaning and should be confined to the era of formal empire. Yet, abandoning it obscures the endurance of imperialist, colonial and settler-colonial structures and forfeits a theoretical apparatus vital for confronting them. This article argues that decolonisation remains analytically and normatively indispensable, provided its meanings and political horizons are clarified. The authors map how scholars and movements have variously understood the concept, identifying different modalities of decolonisation that, by privileging certain elements over others, blunt its radical potential and even cover for reactionary agendas. Against this backdrop, the article recovers a militant and revolutionary modality: mid-twentieth-century Marxist-inspired projects that transcended the limits of juridical and economistic decolonisation, grappled critically with epistemic decolonisation, and reimagined anti-colonial political communities and futures. The authors term this revolutionary approach worldly Marxism and suggest it can revitalise contemporary theories and practices of decolonisation.