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Restitution or Cooperation? Competing Visions of Post-Colonial Cultural Development in Africa
[working paper]
Corporate Editor
Käte Hamburger Kolleg / Centre for Global Cooperation Research (KHK/GCR21)
Abstract This paper provides a critical and historical perspective on the use of the language of ‘development cooperation’ in characterizations of post-colonial relations between the West and Africa. Using the example of the post-colonial debates over cultural and economic restitution between Congo and its f... view more
This paper provides a critical and historical perspective on the use of the language of ‘development cooperation’ in characterizations of post-colonial relations between the West and Africa. Using the example of the post-colonial debates over cultural and economic restitution between Congo and its former colonizer Belgium, this paper narrates the historical process by which the post-colonial relations between the two countries became defined as ‘development cooperation’, and the implications of that process. The paper shows that since its political independence in 1960 until the late 1980s, the language in which Congo/Zaire described its ‘cooperation’ with its former Belgian colonizer was one that emphasised restitution, while Belgium insisted on a language of ‘development cooperation’ (ontwikkelingssamenwerking). The paper argues that the prevalence of the use of the development cooperation language today not only obscures the historical process behind its ascent; it also masks inequalities that are deeply characteristic of the post-colonial relations between the two countries.... view less
Keywords
Belgium; international relations; post-colonialism; museum; cultural development; Africa; cultural heritage; reparation; cooperation; Congo, Republic of the
Classification
International Relations, International Politics, Foreign Affairs, Development Policy
Document language
English
Publication Year
2015
City
Duisburg
Page/Pages
25 p.
Series
Global Cooperation Research Papers, 12
DOI
https://doi.org/10.14282/2198-0411-GCRP-12
ISSN
2198-0411
Status
Published Version; peer reviewed