The Colonial Signs of International Relations

Himadeep Muppidi traces the subtle influence of colonial forms of knowledge on modern schools of international relations, following the translation and transformation of this knowledge within postcolonial settings. Concentrating on the way in which individuals and institutions read their historical past in light of contemporary criticisms and concerns, Muppidi finds that certain methods for discussing or representing the colonized have become acceptable while others have been condemned. Both, however, can be equally colonial in intent and purpose, and the difference in their reception lies in the "processes of translation" that make one visible, the other invisible, and ultimately maintain the framework of a global colonial order.