Pursuing the political: A postcolonial rethinking of relations international

Taking its bearings from postcolonial studies, this article probes the meaning of the political in contemporary international life and how it works to block systemic change in North-South relations. The paper begins by attempting to reposition postcolonial criticism, contending that it needs to engage more directly with the politics of global relations today. It then examines the present world order arguing that the political is so constituted as to proscribe dissent. I go on to argue for a politics of difference, paying particular attention to the campaign for democratisation. I further argue that there is a need to take account of everyday life which can represent a politics in the making. The paper concludes by suggesting that the political as it is currently understood works to underwrite the existing order and that what is threatening is relegated to the sphere of the non-political.