Liberation through violence in Fanon's The Wretched of the Earth : Historical and contemporary criticisms

Abstract

Fanon wrote The Wretched of the Earth in the face of the horror of the Algerian civil war and in the broader context of anti‐colonial liberation struggles in Asia, Africa, and the Americas. Such experiences had showed that violence is necessary both to impose domination and to break free from it. It comes as no surprise, then, that Fanon puts his faith in revolutionary violence. In dissent from some recent interpretations, this article argues that Fanon considered physical violence a useful tool both to free people from the constraints of colonialism and to build a society free from oppression. The article also discusses the limits of such a theory of violence: Beginning with Hannah Arendt's 1969 criticisms of Fanon's ideas, the article deals with some questions that Fanon failed or did not want to ask himself, and that the peace studies scholars could benefit from considering carefully.