Southside-up: imagining IR through Latin America

Lucy Taylor
Department of International Politics, Aberystwyth University, Wales, UK.
0190 !"" 01 lft#aber.ac.$%
Abstract:
What wo$l& happen to the &iscipline of international relations 'I() if it were re*invente& thro$+h
,atin American e-perience. /his is the startin+ point of this paper which see%s to e-pose some of the
veile& ass$mptions an& hi&&en norms which fo$n& the &iscipline by locatin+ I( in ,atin America an&
the 0aribbean. If we &o so, I ar+$e that 'at least) two overloo%e& e-periences rise to prominence1
colonialism an& slavery.
/he contemporary prominence of in&i+eno$s politics in ,atin America has reveale& afresh
the vivi& e-periences of colonialism an& its en&$rin+ i&eas, practices an& str$++les. /his challen+es
conventional I( beca$se originario political an& c$lt$ral resistance e-poses the fra+ility of the ,atin
American nation*state with its &efine& bor&ers, liberal fo$n&ations an& notions of
possession2soverei+nty. In response, I will s$++est that approachin+ I( thro$+h inter*comm$nity
'rather than inter*state) relationships * foc$sin+ on peoples not places * wo$l& allow $s to thin%
abo$t I( &ifferently. I( mi+ht, for e-ample, move away from a preocc$pation with inter*state wars
'of which there are few in ,atin America) to foc$s on inter*comm$nity str$++les 'of which there are
many). It wo$l& shift the foc$s away from U3 interventions in the re+ion to hi+hli+ht the U3A4s
colonial con&ition an& ma%e visible 5ative American peoples an& their en&$rin+ colonial e-perience.
,ocatin+ I( in ,atin America an& the 0aribbean also places slavery an& its conse6$ences at the heart
of +lobal relationships 7 a screamin+ absence in conventional I(. It wo$l& not only raise the
prominence of race, b$t also reveal the &iversity of slave e-periences across the re+ion 7 from 8aiti
to Ar+entina 7 an& &ifferent $n&erstan&in+s of race an& the international. /hese steps wo$l& help to
&islo&+e the colo$rless mantle which shro$&s the &iscipline an& practice of international relations,
not only by revealin+ the presence of 9lac%ness in +lobal life b$t also its Whiteness.
Conference Paper:
I m$st be+in this paper by layin+ some car&s on the table 7 I am a ,atin Americanist who
wor%s in a &epartment of International Politics &ominate& by I( 7 Aberystwyth. I am happy
there an& I li%e my collea+$es, b$t my intellect$al interactions with them confirm that there
is a profo$n& &isconnection between these two &isciplinary fiel&s. :ne of my intellect$al
pro;ects at the moment involves tryin+ to wor% o$t why that connection &oesn4t wor%. /his
is somewhat flawe&, in that nat$rally I start from my own intellect$al an& s$b;ect position
which t$rns o$t to be critical of I(. It is very har& to &o otherwise 7 I have &iscovere& that it
is far easier to call for self*criticism than it is to really stan& in the intellect$al shoes 'or the
empisteme) of another in any meanin+f$l way. <y wor% is for personal satisfaction an&
cons$mption, then, b$t I also thin% that it reveals 6$ite a lot abo$t I( an& prompts a very
&ifferent rea&in+ of =the international4, which I tho$+ht it mi+ht be interestin+ to share.
I want to ar+$e that ,atin America is invisible to I(, an& that ta%in+ the re+ion serio$sly
$nsettles the &iscipline in two %ey ways, especially if we embrace an e-plicitly ,atin
American postcolonial perspective. >irstly, it places early colonial an& slave e-periences at
the heart of international relationships. /his 6$estions I(4s en&$rin+ emphasis on state
soverei+nty an& inter*state war by fore+ro$n&in+ what I call inter*polity relationships an&
reco+nisin+ inter*polity str$++les. 3econ&ly, rea&in+ I( thro$+h ,atin America 7 from the
so$th*si&e $p 7 +ives $s a &ifferent perspective on the U3A, one which reveals its coloniality
in the past, an& 'more importantly) in the present. I ar+$e that the very special relationship
between ,atin America an& the U3A, so often $n&erstoo& as bein+ simply imperialistic,
mi+ht be tho$+ht of as a comple- mi- in which ,atin America is both &ifferent an& the same,
both =other4 an& =a%in4. (eco+nisin+ this comple- relationship opens new ways of thin%in+
abo$t the re+ion 7 an& international relations.
It is intri+$in+ that International (elations har&ly tal%s abo$t ,atin America at all 7 be it
conventional I( or in&ee& more postie or constr$ctivist approaches
1
. <ost covera+e of the
1
I have &evelope& these ar+$ments in m$ch +reater &epth in a &raft article s$bmitte& to the (eview of
International 3t$&ies ?3eein+ ,atin America1 coloniality an& the politics of representation in I(@. >or the
&isc$ssant1 &$rin+ that st$&y, I cons$lte& aro$n& thirty te-tboo%s foc$se& on a ran+e of topics an& aime& at
vario$s levels. :f especial relevance were1 Aohn 9aylis, 3teve 3mith an& Patricia :wens, 'e&s.), The
Globalization of World Politics, 4 ed., ':-for&1 :-for& University Press, "00B)C Antony 9est, A$ssi 8anhimD%i,
Aoseph A. <aiolo an& Kirsten E. 3ch$lFe, An International History of the Twentieth Century, ',on&on1
(o$tle&+e, "00G)C <ichael E. 9rown, 'e&.), Grae !ew World" #ecurity Challenges in the Twentieth Century,
'Heor+etown1 Heor+etown University Press, "00G)C 9r$no 9$eno &e <es6$ite, Princi$les of International
Politics, % ed., 'Washin+ton1 0I Press, "000)C Peter 0alvocoressi, World Politics since &'4(, ed., ',on&on1
,on+man, "000)C Aohn ,. Ha&&is, We !ow )now" *ethin+ing Cold War History, ':-for&1 :-for& University Press,
199)C K.8.8olsti, International Politics" a ,ra-ewor+ for Analysis, . ed., ',on&on1 Prentice 8all, 199J)C (obert
Aac%son, The Global Coenant" Hu-an Conduct in a World of #tates, ':-for&1 :-for& University Press, "000)C
0harles Ke+ley an& E$+ene Witt%opf, World Politics" Trends and Transfor-ations, / ed., '9oston1 9e&for& 3t
<artins, "001)C William Keylor, The Twentieth Century World and 0eyond" an International History since &'11,
J ed., ':-for&1 :-for& University Press, "00!)C (ichar& <ansbach an& Kirsten (afferty, Introduction to Global
Politics, ',on&on1 (o$tle&+e, "00)C Anthony <cHrew an& Pa$l ,ewis, Global Politics, '0ambri&+e1 Polity,
199")C 9r$ce ($ssett, 8arvey 3tarr an& Davi& Kinsella, World Politics" the 2enu for Choice, . ed., ',on&on1
Wa&sworth, "00K)C /revor 3almon an& <ar% Imber, 'e&s.), Issues in International *elations, % ed., ',on&on1
(o$tle&+e, "00B)C Aan Aart 3cholte, Globalization" a Critical Introduction, '9asin+sto%e1 Pal+rave, "000)C 3teve
3mith, Amelia 8a&fiel& an& /im D$nne, ,oreign Policy" Theories, Actors, Cases, ':-for&1 :-for& University
Press, "00B)C Peter 3$tch an& A$anita Elias, International *elations" The 0asics, ',on&on1 (o$tle&+e, "00)C Pa$l
(. Liotti an& <ar% L, Ka$ppi, I* and World Politics" #ecurity, 3cono-y, Identity, % ed., ',on&on1 Prentice 8all,
"001)C :&& Arne Westa&, Global Cold War, '0ambri&+e1 0ambri&+e University Press, "00)C 9rian White,
(ichar& ,ittle an& <ichael 3mith, 'e&s.), Issues in World Politics, '9asin+sto%e1 Pal+rave, "00J)C Aohn Mo$n+ an&
Aohn Kent, International *elations since &'4(" a Global History, ':-for&1 :-for& University Press, "00K). I also
ma&e a closer rea&in+ of the followin+ more critical te-ts1 A. <arsall 9eier, International *elations in
4nco--on Places" Indigeneity, Cos-ology and the 5i-its of International Theory, '9asin+sto%e1 Pal+rave,
"00J)C Heeta 0how&h$ry an& 3heila 5air, Power, Postcolonialis- and International *elations" *eading *ace
and Gender, ',on&on1 (o$tle&+e, "00K)C (o-anne Doty, I-$erial 3ncounters" the Politics of *e$resentation in
!orth6#outh *elations, '<inneapolis1 University of <innesota Press, 199!)C Aenny E&%ins an& <aya Nehf$ss,
re+ion is abo$t the Unite& 3tates &oin+ somethin+ to or in ,atin America an& s$ch activities
are frame& either as a =le+itimate sec$rity concerns4, or as reflectin+ a barely conceale&
imperialism. /he conte-t$al or historical wor% foc$ses on U3 interventions 's$ch as 0hile,
H$atemala or 5icara+$a) an& ,atin America is &eploye& in ca$tionary tales abo$t iss$es
s$ch as economic instability, political corr$ption, violent societies an& the &r$+s tra&e. ,atin
Americans also become international actors if they are mi+rants, b$t only if they attempt to
set foot on U3 soil. /hese iss$es are mostly &ealt with as bein+ U3 forei+n policy concerns
an& the impact on ,atin Americans themselves is sel&om consi&ere&. /his emphasis on U3
actions an& its forei+n policy an-ieties is on one level very $n&erstan&able, +iven the
prominence of the U3A in +lobal politics an& its $nerrin+ ass$mption that it hol&s the
position as re+ional lea&er. It is also perhaps e-plaine& by the &ominance of U3 scholarship
in I( more +enerally, an& of U3 scholarship abo$t ,atin America in partic$lar 7 this is their
intellect$al bac%yar& as m$ch as their +eopolitical one
"
. Especially for conventional
approaches to I(, ,atin America4s importance lies in its position on the Whiteho$se or 0IA
a+en&a an& as s$ch, it is mostly seen as a place of threat 'or pity), as a caricat$re of barbaric
&an+er, characterise& by violence, terror, economic chaos, an& &r$+s.
In this way, ,atin America is portraye& as a passive recipient of U3 actions, or if it is an
a+ent, it is a &an+ero$s one. /he re+ion is $nnervin+ly &an+ero$s beca$se its threats are
$n&er*han& an& not inter*state wars * one of the c$rio$s characteristics of the re+ion is that
remar%ably few inter*state wars have ta%en place over the last "00 years. /his ren&ers ,atin
America invisible as an a+ent 'beca$se ma%in+ wars or peace is a %ey*si+n of a+ency for I()
yet visible as a sha&owy, menacin+ presence. /he re+ion is therefore a place to be %nown
Global Politics, ',on&on1 (o$tle&+e, "009C Aim Heor+e 7iscourses of Global Politics" A Critical *e6Introduction to
International *elations, '9o$l&er1 ,ynne (ienner,199K)C 5aeem Inayat$llah an& Davi& ,. 9laney, International
*elations and the Proble- of 7ifference, ',on&on1 (o$tle&+e, "00G)C Hilbert <. Aoseph, 0atherine 0. ,e+ran&
an& (icar&o D. 3alvatore, 'e&s.), Close 3ncounters of 3-$ire" Writing the Cultural History of 4#65atin A-erican
*elations, 'D$rham1 D$%e University Press, 199B)C 3an%aran Krishna, Globalization and Postcolonialis-"
Hege-ony and *esistance in the Twenty6first Century, ',anham1 (owman O ,ittlefiel&, "009)C ,.<.8. ,in+,
Postcolonial International *elations" Con8uest and 7esire between Asia and the West, '9asin+sto%e1 Pal+rave,
"00")C Karena 3haw, Indigeneity and Political Theory" #oereignty and the 5i-its of the Political, ',on&on1
(o$tle&+e, "00B)C Davi& 3later, Geo$olitics and the Post6colonial" *ethin+ing !orth6#outh *elations, ':-for&1
9lac%well, "00!)C 0ynthia Weber, International *elations Theory" A Critical Introduction, 9 ed,. ',on&on1
(o$tle&+e, "009).
2
Arlene /ic%ner, =8earin+ ,atin American Loices in International (elations 3t$&ies4, International #tudies
Pers$ecties, vol.K, no.K, '"00G) pp.G"J*J0. 8er lar+e research pro;ect confirms the &ominance of Western I(1
Arlene 9. /ic%ner, =,atin America1 3till policy &epen&ent after all these years.4, in Arlene 9. /ic%ner an& :le
Waever, 'e&s), International *elations #cholarshi$ Around the World, ',on&on1 (o$tle&+e, "009).
about beca$se it was feare&
G
, not as a place to warrant investi+ation on its own terms, a
so$rce of policy sol$tions or where si+nificant an& &ifferent %nowle&+e mi+ht be +enerate&.
It seems that ba& economics, corr$ption an& &ema+o+$ery is what I( 7 or at least the
conventional sort 7 is pre*pro+ramme& to ta%e notice of. /his ma%es it impossible for I( to
=see4 ,atin America, which in t$rn $n&ermines its claim to ma%e sense of the worl&.
An alternative startin+ point for thin%in+ abo$t the +lobal thro$+h ,atin America is
the i&ea of coloniality which &raws on the wor% of Per$vian AnPbal I$i;ano an& Ar+entinian
Walter <i+nolo
K
. It is frame& by an important bo&y of critical thin%in+ emer+in+ from ,atin
America itself, incl$&in+ intellect$al movements of the 1B90s '0$ban AosQ <artP) an& the
19G0s 'Per$vian <ariRte+$i), as well as &epen&ency theory '0ar&oso an& >alleto) an&
liberation philosophy 'D$ssel, Haleano), pl$s the wor% of the ,atin American 3$baltern
3t$&ies Hro$p
J
. 0oloniality has also been inspire& by in&i+eno$s political action an&
philosophies which have emer+e& partic$larly since the mi&*1990s. /hese incl$&e the
Napatistas in <e-ico an& the in&i+eno$s movement in 9olivia, which has +enerate& a ra&ical
+overnment $n&er Evo <orales who too% over the presi&ency in "00J
!
.
0onventionally, colonialism is seen as a phase $receding mo&ernity, b$t <i+nolo an&
others ar+$e that coloniality is entwine& with, an& $art of, mo&ernity, it is its hitherto
$nac%nowle&+e& face

. ,i%e mo&ernity, coloniality is both the term for a social con&ition an&
the name of an on*+oin+ process an& relationship. Partic$larly, <i+nolo shows how
mo&ernity2coloniality is fo$n&e& on a racialise& relationship which stretches from the +lobal
to the national, local an& intimate arenas. >or him, =international4 enco$nters 'in what <ary
,o$ise Pratt calls the =contact Fone4 between c$lt$rally &istinct peoples) mo$l& i&entities
3
/his is a central tension in ,atin American 3t$&ies 7 especially in the U3A.
4
AnPbal I$i;ano, =0oloniality of Power, E$rocentrism an& ,atin America4, 5epantla1 Liews from the 3o$th,
vol.1, no.G, '"000), pp.JGG*JB0C Walter <i+nolo, Idea of 5atin A-erica. 3ee also Enri6$e D$ssel, Twenty
Theses on Politics, 'D$rham1 D$%e University Press, "00B).
5
,a$ra ,omas, Translating 3-$ire" :ose 2arti, 2igrant 5atino #ub;ects, and A-erican 2odernities, 'D$rham1
D$%e University Press, "009)C >ernan&o Enri6$e 0ar&oso an& EnFo ,aletto 7e$endency and 7eelo$-ent in
5atin A-erica 9er%eley1 University of 0alifornia Press, 199"C D$ssel Twenty Theses...C E&$ar&o Haleano 5as
<enas Abiertas de A-=rica 5atina ><Q-ico D>1 3i+lo Leinti$no E&itores, 191)C Ileana (o&ri+$eF, =(ea&in+
3$balterns Across /e-ts, Disciplines an& /heories1 >rom (epresentation to (eco+nition4 in, Ileana (o&ri+$eF,
'e&.), The 5atin A-erican #ubaltern #tudies *eader, 'D$rham1 D$%e University Press, "001), pp.1*G"C 3ara
0astro*Klaren, =Postin+ ,etter1 Writin+ in the An&es an& the Para&o-es of the Postcolonial Debate4, in <abel
<oraSa, Enri6$e D$ssel an& 0arlos A. AR$re+$i, 'e&s), Coloniality at 5arge" 5atin A-erica and the Postcolonial
7ebate, 'D$rham1 D$%e University Press, "00B), pp.1G0*1J.
6
>or e-ample, ami&st a vast biblio+raphy, 5ancy Hrey Postero !ow we are Citizens" Indigenous Politics in
Post-ulticultural 0oliia 3tanfor&1 3tanfor& University Press, "00.
7
Walter <i+nolo 5ocal Histories?Global 7esigns, p.J".
an& notions of &ifference which ;$stify ine6$ality an& capitalist e-ploitation
B
. As s$ch, the
coloniFation of the Americas is not seen as merely a rehearsal for the =main event4 of
colonialism 'nineteenth cent$ry imperialism in Africa an& Asia), it is a fo$n&ation*stone of
the contemporary worl& or&er. <i+nolo places =the +lobal4 at the heart of his $n&erstan&in+
of =America4 'an& =E$rope4), in&ee& ?the very i&ea of America cannot be separate& from
coloniality1 the entire continent emer+e& as s$ch in the E$ropean conscio$sness as a
massive e-tent of lan& to be appropriate& an& of people to be converte& to 0hristianity, an&
whose labo$r co$l& be e-ploite&@
9
.
<ore than that, coloniality is not over. As <oraSa, D$ssel an& AR$re+$i e-plain, it
?encompasses the transhistoric e-pansion of colonial &omination an& the perpet$ation of
its effects in contemporary times@. As s$ch, it is still a profo$n&ly infl$ential 7 an&
international 7 &ynamic of power
10
. >or ori+inal peoples across the re+ion, the colonial era
has not en&e&, its core episteme an& practice has merely been consoli&ate& thro$+h a
re+ime of in&epen&ent settlers
11
. >or native people, placin+ the colonial e-perience at the
centre of an $n&erstan&in+ of the worl& is important to recapt$re the political a+en&a an&
to open $p s$ppose&ly =settle&4 an& =$niversal4 norms, s$ch as1 the nee& for &evelopmentC
the primacy of the in&ivi&$alC the s$bor&ination of nat$reC the &esirability of liberal
&emocracy. /his %nowle&+e*challen+e is not a theoretical e-ercise, b$t a political strate+y
bein+ p$t into practice. As scholars, o$r eyes an& tho$+hts are &rawn towar&s the
e-perience of ori+inal peoples who have been most oppresse& by coloniality2mo&ernity, yet
beca$se this powerf$l con;$nction is all encompassin+, an& if we follow <i+nolo,
coloniality2mo&ernity also mo$l&s people from across the racial an& economic spectr$m. In
this way, the creole b$siness woman is as ca$+ht $p in coloniality2mo&ernity as a mi-e&
race African2Aymara2Aewish23panish tan+o sin+er. In&ee&, if we follow this line of thin%in+ 7
that coloniality is an inte+ral element of mo&ernity 7 then this i&ea has +lobal relevance,
con&itionin+ i&eas an& actions far beyon& the Americas an& E$rope.
8
/he wor% of I( scholars 5aeem Inayat$lla an& Davi& 9laney in International *elations and the Probel- of
7ifference ',on&on1 (o$tle&+e, "00G) complements this wor%.
9
<i+nolo Idea of 5atin A-erica, p..
10
<oraSa, D$ssel O AR$re+$i, =0olonialism an& its (eplicants4, in, Coloniality at 5arge, op.cit., pp.1*"0, p.".
11
DarPo Aran&a, =El :tro 9icentenario4, Pagina &%, '9$enos Aires1 "J2J2"010),
http122www.pa+ina1".com.ar2&iario2elpais21*1K!"9G*"010*0J*"J.html, accesse& 1B2B2"010C Evo <orales,
=Disc$rso &el Presi&ente 0onstit$cional &e la (epTblica Evo <orales Aima4 ',a PaF1 "" Aan$ary "00!),
http122www.bolivia.com2Especiales2"00!2transmisionUman&o2&isc$rso.asp, accesse& 112B210.
/here are many implications for I( from this position, most of which I have yet to
thin%*thro$+h, b$t perhaps the most important is the 6$estion of soverei+nty. /he colonial
enco$nter between in&i+eno$s people an& the con8uistadores &i& not ta%e place between
states 7 the in&i+eno$s polities were comple- systems b$t they weren4t states in the
Westphalian sense, an& 0ristobal 0olVn was an a&vent$rer bac%e& by a royal family an& the
0atholic 0h$rch, while the slave tra&e was a commercial enterprise in the main, amon+ both
Africans an& E$ropeans. At present, these en+a+ements are invisible to I(. Met if we are to
accor& these enco$nters with the portent an& impact that they &eserve, we nee& to fin& a
way to thin% of these as enco$nters between social a+ents actin+ in coherent +ro$ps 7 as
bein+ polities. /his involves separatin+ =soverei+nty4 from the i&ea of the state. 8ere, some
I( scholars have pave& my way by e-plorin+ the partic$lar ori+ins of state soverei+nty an& in
revealin+ the c$lt$ral partic$larity of the =he+emonolo+$e4, to 6$ote <arshall 9eier
1"
. 5ative
Americanists in partic$lar reveal its $se as a power*tool of oppression an& provi&e insi+ht
into alternative cosmolo+ies of soverei+nty. /h$s Peter &4Errico4s wor% &emonstrates how
the le+alistic &evice of soverei+nty*as*fenceable*property in the U3A &ispossesse& native
peoples of lan& which was theirs an& confine& them to state*appointe& places
1G
. 3oren
,arsen, on the other han&, reveals an alternative notion of soverei+nty within the Da%elh
people of 9ritish 0ol$mbia who $n&erstan& =o$r territory4 'or +eyah) as =the area in which
one wal%s4, lin%in+ it to a physical an& emotional belon+in+ to the lan&scape associate& with
the tas%s of maintainin+ trails, trap*lines an& shelters
1K
. 0ontestin+ the bo$n&aries of the
soverei+n state, as well as the empisteme which is woven into its very i&entity an&
instit$tional fabric, is also a central +oal for many in&i+eno$s movements in the so$thern
Americas. /he str$++le for a$tonomy, the ascen&ance of non*E$ropean lan+$a+es, le+al
systems an& reli+ions, an& the &en$nciation of oppressive an& racist practices at the heart
of ,atin America4s nation states challen+es their e-istence as territorial an& instit$tional
entities which claim the le+itimacy of soverei+nty. /his clearly has si+nificant implications for
the theory an& practice of international relations.
12
A. <arshall 9eier International *elations in 4nco--on Places" Indigeneity, Cos-ology and the 5i-its of
International Theory '5ew Mor%1 Pal+rave2<acmillan, "00J)C Karena 3haw Indigeneity and Political Theory"
#oereignty and the 5i-its of the Political ',on&on1 (o$tle&+e, "00B).
13
Peter &4Errico ?5ative Americans in America1 A /heoretical an& 8istorical :verview@ in >re&eric% E. 8o-ie,
Peter 0. <ancall an& Aames 8. <errell 'e&s) A-erican nations" 3ncounters in Indian Country, &/(1 to the
Present '5ew Mor%1 (o$tle&+e, "001).
14
3oren 0. ,arsen ?/he >$t$re4s past1 Politics of /ime an& /erritory amon+ Da%elh >irst 5ations in 9ritish
0ol$mbia@ 'Heo+rafis%a Annaler1 3eries 9, BB, 5o.G1 G11*G"1).
/a%in+ a view of international relationships from the lon+ si-teenth cent$ry also
re&irects o$r attention to another worl&*transformin+ e-perience playe& o$t in the
Americas 7 transatlantic slavery 7 an& the closely associate& yet s$rprisin+ly overloo%e&
iss$e of racism
1J
. /ransatlantic slavery &evelope& beca$se the in&i+eno$s women an& men
of the Americas, enslave& to service the con8uistadores, ha& been &ecimate& by br$tality,
sla$+hter an& &isease. Enslave& Africans were then ca$+ht $p in the coloniality2mo&ernity
whirlwin& by the &eman&s of capitalist e-pansion an& in t$rn their e-perience f$rther
&eepene& an& sprea& its impact. /he conse6$ences of slavery profo$n&ly shape& the
contemporary worl& or&er, not only in terms of the massive pop$lation movements, the
establishment of slave societies an& the social holoca$st in Africa, an& not only for its
intimate role in +eneratin+ an& s$stainin+ the E$ropean in&$strial revol$tion an& en&$rin+
patterns of +lobal capitalism. It was also a central plan% of coloniality2mo&ernity4s
normative framewor% an& the hi&&en racialisations of liberalism
1!
.
/a%in+ an Americas perspective places slavery centre*sta+e in worl& politics an&
history. /o &o so as%s bi+ 6$estions of an I( 7 especially the mainstream %in& 7 which
sel&om ta%es race serio$sly. <oreover, it mar%s slavery as an Americas*wi&e phenomenon
an&, if we loo% closer, as a hi+hly variable one. It is overloo%e& by many 7 incl$&in+ ,atin
Americanists 7 that slavery ma&e a si+nificant impact on ,atin American society. 9y 1B00
slaves were not only a ma;ority of 9raFilian society b$t lar+e 9lac% pop$lations also e-iste&
in Ar+entina, 0olombia, 0osta (ica, Panama an& LeneF$ela, an& si+nificant pop$lations
&evelope& in 0hile, Ec$a&or, <e-ico, 5icara+$a, Per$ an& Ur$+$ay
1
. African slaves were
central to the &evelopment of capitalism in ,atin America1 their force& labo$r pro&$ce& the
+oo&s for international tra&e, b$t they also wor%e& as enslave& petty entreprene$rs an&
fo$+ht in the wars of in&epen&ence, some risin+ to the ran% of Heneral
1B
. If nation states of
the Westphalian mo&el were bein+ for+e& in ,atin America, Afro*&escen&ants were inte+ral
to this process.
15
>or a criti6$e, see1 9ranwen Hr$ffy&& Aones, =(ace in the :ntolo+y of International :r&er4, Political #tudies,
vol.J!, '"00B), pp.90*9"C (obert Litalis, =/he Hracef$l an& Henero$s ,iberal Hest$re1 <a%in+ (acism Invisible
in American International (elations4, 2illenniu-, vol."9, no.", '"000), pp.GG1*GJ!.
16
<i+nolo Idea of 5atin A-erica, pp1*J0. 3ee also1 Davi& /heo Hol&ber+, The *acial #tate, ':-for&1 9lac%wells,
"00")C Inayat$llah an& 9laney International *elations..., pp.K*91.
17
Heor+e (ei& An&rews, Afro65atin A-erica, &/116%111, ':-for&1 :-for& University Press, "00K), map1.
18
Heor+e (ei& An&rews, The Afro6Argentines of 0uenos Aires, &/116&'11, '<a&ison1 University of Wisconsin
Press, 19B0).
/he position of Africans in the Americas is comple- from a postcolonial point of view,
in that they are neither coloniFer nor coloniFe&. Well, they are coloniFers in that they are
not originario or ori+inal peoples an& they are inte+ral to the operation of capitalist
mo&ernity. Met they clearly occ$py a s$bor&inate& an& racialise& position in the +lobal
hierarchy which stems from the sense 'an& sometimes the reality) of absol$te &omination
by the =master4 7 a %in& of in&ivi&$alise& coloniFation. /he comple-ity of the patterns of
&omination is still si+nificantly $n&er*theorise&, in my view, an& I4m not s$re that I am the
one to &o it. 9$t at the very least, $n&erstan&in+ that there are at least two =others4 in this
colonial scenario brea%s &own the binary of coloniFer2coloniFe& which contin$es to
characterise a lot of postcolonial thin%in+ an& so easily writes*o$t less obvio$s colonial
e-periences
19
.
/he coloniality thesis presents a si+nificant challen+e to conventional I( which
separates colonialism an& mo&ernity, even in m$ch of the critical writin+, an& places val$e
on in&epen&ence specifically beca$se this si+nifies a state soverei+nty +ro$n&e& in self*
&etermination. >rom this perspective, in&i+eno$s ,atin Americans are invisible, transporte&
Africans are a bl$r in the past, an& the re+ion is lar+ely irrelevant. 9y foc$sin+ on
contin$ities across time, the i&ea of coloniality problematiFes the stat$s of =self*
&etermination4 an& =in&epen&ence4 so important to soverei+nty b$t it also, an& importantly,
challen+es the i&ea that coloniFe& 'or enslave&) people are witho$t a+ency in this enco$nter
of comm$nities. It is in or&er to capt$re the political personhoo& of native an& enslave&
peoples that I ar+$e for the nee& to reco+nise soverei+nty as h$man a+ency, associatin+ it
with the i&ea of a polity 'or loosely &efine& political comm$nity) rather than the presence of
a state which occ$pies a fi-e& territory.
:f co$rse, shiftin+ o$r loc$s of +aFe anywhere to the =so$th4 an& $sin+ %nowle&+e
+enerate& somewhere else than the U3A or E$rope wo$l& have a &ramatic effect on how I(
is $n&erstoo&. In&ee& ,atin America is not $ni6$e in how it is viewe& by mainstream I( 7
other places are i+nore&, other peoples are caricat$re&, other %nowle&+es are &ispara+e&.
What ma%es it &istinctive, tho$+h, is its ambivalent +lobal position an& its intimate
connection to the core of I(.
19
>or e-ample, those of 0hinese in&ent$re& labo$r in nineteenth cent$ry Per$ or 3o$th Asian In&ians in
H$yana. Even more obvio$sly e-cl$&e& are -estizos?as who embo&y the coloniFer2coloniFe& tension. 9$t that
is another story.
,et me ret$rn to the iss$e that I starte& with 7 the sense that ,atin America is
irrelevant to I( in its own ri+ht an& appears as the ob;ect of U3 fears an&2or as the s$b;ect of
U3 interventions. :n the one han&, the Americas are $n&erstoo& as a binary, &ivi&e& by the
(io Hran&e. /his split emer+e& &$rin+ the mi&*nineteenth cent$ry an& was vocalise& by the
>rench intellect$al <ichel 0hevalier. 8e &rew on E$ropean $n&erstan&in+s of themselves as
bein+ &ivi&e& between the ,atin, 0atholic, so$thern, 'poorer), co$ntries an& the /e$tonic,
Protestant, northern, 'richer) co$ntries
"0
. /his basic &istinction was transpose& onto the
Americas, settin+ $p a binary thro$+h which 0ana&a is l$mpe& in with the U3A an& the
0aribbean is e-cise&. /his sense of a binary in the Americas has been astonishin+ly en&$rin+C
the role of ,atin America is to act as an =other4 an& it plays a pivotal role in the ma%in+ of U3
i&entity thro$+h imperialism. Met on the other han&, ,atin America4s position in the global
or&er is not as a =/hir& Worl& other4 b$t rather as an e-treme manifestation of the :cci&ent,
of E$rope. /his view was establishe& at the o$tset, as Walter <i+nolo e-plains1 ?D$rin+ the
si-teenth cent$ry, when =America4 became concept$aliFe& as s$ch by... intellect$als of the
5orth..., it was implicit that America was neither the lan& of 3hem 'the :rient) nor the lan&
of 8am 'Africa) b$t the enlar+ement of the lan& of Aapheth@
"1
. /his i&ea &erive& from the
ass$me& s$periority of the con6$erin+ classes who saw native Americans as bein+ incapable
of &evelopin+ the f$ll potential of the Americas, which le+itimise& their appropriation of the
territory. In&ee&, these s$ppose&ly primitive peoples were 'an& still areW) often consi&ere&
to be more a part of the e-ploitable nat$ral worl& than the h$man one
""
. /he notion that it
was the E$ropeans who =ma&e4 the Americas 'both north an& so$th) is still an operational
ass$mption an& is one of the fo$n&ations of <anifest Destiny.
/his intri+$in+ &o$bleness 7 E$ropean sameness2&ifference 7 lies at the ambi+$o$s heart of
the Americas, b$t it is m$ch more plain to see in the 3o$th. /his is partly beca$se in&i+eno$s
peoples are far more prominent 7 n$merically an& politically 7 in the 3o$th, b$t also
beca$se the e-treme s$ccess of the U3A ma%es it very har& to ar+$e a+ainst as a mo&el for
20
Walter <i+nolo, The Idea of 5atin A-erica, ':-for&1 9lac%well, "00J), pp.J1*B". Inayat$llah an& 9laney
e-plain that the fi+$re of the =Wil& man4 of the Americas was a central metaphor &eploye& &$rin+ the
intellect$al battles of the si-teenth an& seventeenth cent$ries.
21
Walter <i+nolo, 5ocal Histories?Global 7esigns" Coloniality, #ubaltern )nowledges and 0order Thin+ing
'Princeton1 Princeton University Press, "000), pp.JB*J9.
22
Danielle LaLa6$e*<anty ?/here are In&ians in the <$se$m of 5at$ral 8istory@ 'Wicazo #a *eiew Lol.1J,
5o.1, "000, pp.1*B9).
the =+oo& life4. Met if we ta%e the lon+ view from 1K9", an& if we start o$r thin%in+ abo$t the
Americas from the so$th, the U3A be+ins to loo% very &ifferent. /his in t$rn has some bi+
implications for I(.
/he face which the U3 presents to the worl& is one of a reconcile& an& settle& settler society
an& its economic an& social =s$ccess4 ;$stifies the ri+ht to prono$nce on the political an&
economic fitness of co$ntries, to set +lobal policy a+en&as or to intervene, where &eeme&
necessary. It is precisely beca$se ,atin America is the Unite& 3tates4 alter*e+o 7 its self an&
other, its &isrep$table co$sin 7 that it is a perfect foil for the U3 when loo%in+ from the top*
&own, ma%in+ obvio$s the &evelopment, sophistication an& s$ccess of the co$ntry. If we
t$rn this relationship on its hea&, tho$+h, an& loo% from the bottom*$p, the so$thern
Americas become i&eally place& to parochialiFe the +lobal he+emon, an& to reveal the
in;$stice, contin+ency an& sheer coloniality of the U3A
"G
. >ore+ro$n&in+ the intimate
connection between coloniality an& mo&ernity invites $s to open the =hi&&en4 colonial si&e
of the U3, a place which not only ha& colonial relationships bac+ then b$t also reflects
colonial e-periences right now.
It is this $nsettlin+ of this s$ppose&ly settle& settler society 7 the raisin+ of 6$estions abo$t
its colonialist relationships an& the ac%nowle&+ement of its contin+ency 7 which is ,atin
America4s most powerf$l criti6$e of its &ominant nei+hbo$r. ,atin America e-poses the
frailty of the U3A not thro$+h an attac% on its imperialist pretentions, then, b$t by revealin+
its coloniality within. /he profo$n& criti6$e of soverei+nty which emer+es from en+a+ement
with 5ative American history an& philosophy, stri%es at one of the fo$n&ations of =act$ally
e-istin+4 I( in many of its formats, as the incisive wor% of 9eier an& Inayat$llah an& 9laney
so ably &emonstrates. :penin+ $p the U3A as a place of c$riosity an& contin+ency, as a
place that is $neven an& hi+hly conteste&, serves to challen+e many of the normative
ass$mptions fo$n& on the pa+es of I( te-tboo%s an& the policy &oc$ments of international
politics. If I mi+ht ta%e for +rante& 7 here at the <illenni$m conference 7 that p$nct$rin+
the &isc$rsive armo$r of oppressive $niversalist thin%in+ is an important political pro;ect,
then ,atin America is not a peripheral actor in this str$++le, b$t rather occ$pies a vital
23
Dipesh 0ha%rabarty, Proincializing 3uro$e" Postcolonial Thought and Historical 7ifference, 'Princeton1
Princeton University Press, "000).
strate+ic location from which to criti6$e I( precisely beca$se of its close relationship to I(4s
heartlan& 7 the U3A. At the very least, loo%in+ past the &aFFlin+ power of the U3 helps $s to
catch a +limpse of the other +lobal stories of this mi+hty, colonial place.
I hope that I have +iven yo$ foo& for tho$+ht. Do$btless there are many holes in my
ar+$ment an& many a$thors I sho$l& have rea&, an& maybe it has been pres$mpt$o$s of a
,atin Americanist to inter;ect her i&eas within a &iscipline not her own. 9$t it seems to me
that embracin+ cross*&isciplinary approaches is vital to e-pose the ass$mptions of o$r
canons an& to brin+ a fresh pair of eyes to well*worn topics. I hope, in&ee&, that one of yo$
will consi&er comin+ to the 3ociety of ,atin American 3t$&ies Ann$al 0onference in April
"011 'its in 3t. An&rews) in or&er to reveal o$r blin&ness to the international in o$r own
parochial st$&ies.