What is post-colonialism, and , with a focus on reflexivity, what is Essay

What is post-colonialism, and , with a focus on reflexivity, what is its significance for understanding international relations - Essay Example post-colonial period can be defined as the period where formerly colonised countries came to discover their national identities and this was done in such a manner that there was an emphasis on the freedoms and greatness of local peoples and cultures over those of the colonisers. Therefore, post-colonialism follows an epistemological approach that attempts to address the politics of knowledge in such a manner that ensures a study of the decolonised people and its impact on their identity in the contemporary world. Post-colonialism is essential for the understanding of international relations because it not only compares relations between states before, during, and after colonialism, but it also provides an understanding have come to handle their colonial legacy in the context of interactions with other states. Reflexivity is normally considered to be a constant assessment of knowledge and how it is related to the ways of doing knowledge (Bryant, 2002; Flanagan, 1981). In this context, an individual attempts to assess post-colonialism from a personalised point of view so that he or she comes up with ideas that suggest how the period of post-colonialism has come to affect the relationships of states at an international level. A close study of literature concerning post-colonialism will be analysed and the information gathered applied to how it has come to affect international relations in the modern age. Post-colonialist writers such as Frantz Fanon state that colonialism was essentially destructive to the people who were colonised and this was mainly because of their being dehumanised by their colonisers (Fanon 1963, p.205). Fanon notes that colonialism worked towards the debasement of the human characteristics of the colonised, and this was done in such a manner that it was almost impossible for them to retain their self-esteem under the new circumstances in which they found themselves. The use of both physical and mental violence brought about a situation where