In this article, Charlotte Eaton explores the significance of the recent toppling of the Sebastián de Belalcázar statue in Popayán, Colombia. She looks at the decision of the Colombian authorities to commission this, and other statues, to Spanish sculptors in the 1930s. Thus, she argues that the importance of this act by a group of indigenous protestors lies in […]
The shooting of George Floyd sent shockwaves across the world, as protests against police brutality, racism, and symbols of slavery and colonial oppression escalated rapidly, often resulting in physical violence. In this article, Marianna Griffini explores the repercussions of the Black Lives Matter movement on Italy’s vexed relationship with its colonial past.
In the wake of the killing of […]
The protests in Hong Kong pit the forces of Xi Jinping’s China against Hong Kong’s implacable public opinion in favor of democracy and the rule of law. The tension between them has the world on a knife’s edge. Hong Kong is a major financial and media capital. Its movement symbolises resistance to advancing authoritarianism around the world. Whatever the […]
Distinctive, but not exceptional, is the theme of A.G. Hopkins’ new tome American Empire: A Global History. For a book 980 pages long, this tagline may sound like a poor return on the reader’s investment. Such anxiety, however, is consistently expelled by the way in which Hopkins presents what Victor Lieberman has called in another context, “strange parallels”. These comparisons […]
In this post for LSE International History, John Hemmings provides a thought-provoking analysis on the history of imperialism in India and its use in modern-day politics. He argues that concepts such as reparations and justice – a theme at a recent Oxford Union debate – must be addressed in a way that is itself just. Concepts such as reparations […]
Gallery