Colonial apologies and the problem of the transgressor speaking

Tom Bentley

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article

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Abstract

Can state apologies help reconciliation between former coloniser and colonised? Much of the literature on political apologies is optimistic regarding their potential to aid reconciliation. Even critical work frequently dispraises particular case studies, while maintaining a normative commitment to apology. Building on a growing postcolonial literature on the subject, this article contributes a more fundamental critique of colonial apology. It argues that its inherent structure entails a format that accords the politician of the transgressor state an elevated speaking position. This results in the ritual being predisposed to problematic representations of the colonised and sanitised narratives of the transgression. The argument is situated within Edward Said’s considerations on representation in the colonial process.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)399-417
Number of pages19
JournalThird World Quarterly
Volume39
Issue number3
Early online date29 Nov 2017
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2018

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reconciliation
transgression
speaking
politician
religious behavior
commitment
narrative
literature

Keywords

  • political apologies
  • voice
  • colonialism
  • Comfort Women
  • narrative

Cite this

Colonial apologies and the problem of the transgressor speaking. / Bentley, Tom.

In: Third World Quarterly, Vol. 39, No. 3, 2018, p. 399-417.

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article

Bentley, T 2018, 'Colonial apologies and the problem of the transgressor speaking', Third World Quarterly, vol. 39, no. 3, pp. 399-417. https://doi.org/10.1080/01436597.2017.1401922
Bentley T. Colonial apologies and the problem of the transgressor speaking. Third World Quarterly. 2018;39(3):399-417. https://doi.org/10.1080/01436597.2017.1401922
Bentley, Tom. / Colonial apologies and the problem of the transgressor speaking. In: Third World Quarterly. 2018 ; Vol. 39, No. 3. pp. 399-417.
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Access to Document

  • Accepted Manuscript

    This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis in Third World Quarterly on 29 Nov 2017, available online: http://www.tandfonline.com/10.1080/01436597.2017.1401922

    Accepted author manuscript, 501 KBLicence: Unspecified