A postcolonial international relations?

Almost a decade ago it was said that international relations and postcolonialism “pass like shipsin the night”.1 Each knowledge formation steered its own course and neither acknowledged the other.Despite occasional attempts by a few scholars to promote dialogue, the two discourses continued on theirseparate ways, to all intents and purposes each unaware of the other. Suddenly the position is changing.Over the past couple of years, there have been calls at the margin of international relations for anengagement with postcolonialism. These have been coupled with indictments of the discipline for itscomplicity in the maintenance of a neo-imperial order, for its racism, and for its erasure of colonialviolence and dispossession. It can thus be said that a postcolonial international relations is now on theagenda.