Lecture "Colonial violence and postcolonial identity: in search of self-determination in West Africa" on July 8, 2025

On 8 July 2025, Dr. Kokou Azamede (University of Lomé/Togo) will give a lecture on the topic of colonial violence and postcolonial identity.

The effects of German colonialism - exploitation, forced labor, deportations, repression, destruction of traditional order - can still be felt in West Africa today. The inadequacies of African elites in leading their populations out of manifest identity and development crises are closely linked to this painful history. Postcolonial identity is central to the search for emancipation and appropriate development strategies - and this remains shaped by colonial experience.

The lecture will outline the socio-cultural changes in the formerly colonized societies and explain how an honest debate on colonial injustice can enable West African societies to reconcile with their fractured identity and achieve self-determination.

Organizer: Africa Centre for Transregional Research in cooperation with the Research Training Group 2571 "Empires. Dynamic Change, Temporality and Post-Imperial Orders" and the initiative De/Coloniality Now