The process of decolonization redefined the status of territorial borders established by European powers in Africa and Asia, but it also involved a reorganization of ideological, cultural, and social border regimes. The establishment of independent states in postcolonial territories was bolstered by the nationalization of resources, political institutions, cultures and consciousness. These material, discursive and ideological shifts had varied consequences for everyday people. For Asians and Africans in post-colonial settings, decolonization might be described as a process of rebirth, enclosure, or erasure.

While histories of the end of colonialism abound, they often privilege a familiar narrative, outlining anti-colonial political struggles, European concessions and the negotiated takeover of political and economic institutions of power by westernized elites. In emphasizing this trajectory, histories of decolonization have insufficiently examined alternative outcomes. Decolonization had far-reaching consequences for those outside the ruling classes, many of whom embraced and promoted alternative visions of postcolonial identities than the ones ultimately enforced by political elites. Decolonization involved both the reorganization of power and processes of disempowerment for many, but narratives of decolonization have masked or erased our understanding of these dynamics and their persistence into the post-colonial landscapes. A renewed examination of decolonization should focus on the individual and communal journeys taken by Africans and Asians toward the assumption or rejection of postcolonial identities and ideologies, and the consequences of their intertwinement in this ideological trajectory.

A special issue of the journal Hagar: Culture, Polity and Identities will be dedicated to a re-evaluation of the notion of “decolonization,” as well as the narratives that have described this process until now. The editors seek submissions that enhance our understanding of processes of decolonization as they unfolded in specific locations, but might also offer a more general interrogation of the notion of “decolonization” as both a process and a concept. We invite original submissions from a wide range of disciplines and regional focuses.

Please send papers to Ruth Ginio (rginio@bgu.ac.il) or Lynn Schler (lynnsch@bgu.ac.il) no later than April 15, 2009. For instructions of manuscript preparation, see: http://hsf.bgu.ac.il/hagar/

Hagar is a multi-disciplinary journal for critical scholarship that addresses the intersection between the humanities and the social sciences. Focusing on a view from the periphery inward, Hagar explores the constitution of geographic, political and historical realms and identities. Special emphasis is placed on the different modes of power employed in these processes, and the ways in which they illuminate central debates and controversies.