In this guest contribution for the Frankfurter Rundschau, Benjamin Schütze and Jan Wilkens (GIGA Institute) discuss current attempts at discrediting postcolonial theory and call for an open space for debate.
Schütze and Wilkens criticize that contributions of critical academia are oftentimes marked as political and delegitimized morally, instead of challenged through open debate. Using the example of the volume "Attack on the West: Postcolonial Theory in Academia, Politics, and Society", published by the Konrad Adenauer Foundation, they argue that postcolonial theory is increasingly being made out to be an academic enemy. In doing so, the boundaries of legitimate academic controversy are being crossed: "What sounds like the defense of an open order turns out, upon closer inspection, to be an attempt to push a field of critical theory out of the realm of legitimate thought and speech. This can hardly be called a nuanced debate."
Especially in times of multiple crises and wars, they see it as crucial to critically analyze power dynamics and openly discuss even politically sensitive terms.