From September 5-9, 2023 the 16th Pan-European Conference on International Relations (Pec23) took place at the University of Potsdam. Numerous scholars gathered to present and discuss their research from empirical, political or theoretical perspectives under this year’s topic ‘Envisioning a New Normal”. The research center TraCe was represented at the Conference with its own panel on justice for (colonial) violence.
Organized and chaired by Dr Mariel Reiss, the TraCe panel titled “Seeking Truth, Justice, and Reparations after (Colonial) Violence: Postcolonial and Feminist Accounts in and from the Global South” took place on the third day of the conference, on September 8, from 11:15 – 13:00. Prof. Dr Susanne Buckley-Zistel discussed the various contributions by TraCe scholars that aimed to explore the multifaceted dynamics of norms and institutions from a postcolonial as well as feminist perspective and to unpack the complexity of accessing justice in highly contested areas.
The first contribution by Dr Kaya de Wollf and Jephta Nguherimo, Founder of the OvaHerero People’s Memorial and Reconstruction Foundation thus illustrated these dynamics along the example of the Oveherero- and Nama-genocide and the ongoing struggles for reparatory justice.
Lina Schneider continued by presented on “Europe’s Rediscovered Conscience – Institutions of Transitional Justice Reappraising Colonial Violence”, while Dr Mariel Reiss discussed the anti-LGBTQ+ legislations in Uganda as well as the access to justice for LGBTQ+ people and the colonial legacies in these norms. Lastly, TraCe Associate Fellow Fellow Álvaro Okura de Almeida talked about the impact of subject positions within the processes of the Brazilian National Truth Commission in his contribution titled “Voice, Victims, Institutions: Subject Positions in the Brazilian Transition to Democracy”.
TraCe scholars also joined the international exchange at the conference in addition to the TraCe panel. As such, Dr Jonas J. Driedger joined a panel on “Small states geopolitics: managing spheres of influence and great power constellations” with a paper titled “Not in my Backyard?” Does ‘Intrusion’ Into Great Powers’ ‘Spheres of Influence’ Cause Military Conflict?”. Also, on September 7th, Prof. Dr Susanne Buckley-Zistel organized and chaired a panel on “Postcolonial Hierarchies in Peace and Conflict”.
The Pan-European Conference on International Relations is organized by the European International Studies Association (EISA) annually. More information on the conference can be found here.