Junior Research Group "Protest and Reform in the Global Political Economy from the perspective of postcolonial political sciences
The junior research group examines the impact of the global protest movement since the 1990s on institutional reforms within the global political economy (e.g. World Bank, IMF, WTO) using postcolonial concepts (e.g. Othering, Hybridity, Subaltern Articulation and Representation, Provincializing Europe).
Due to its negative social, political and economic consequences, the neoliberal globalisation of the economy has led to the formation of a new global protest movement in the 1990s. This formation has manifested itself in numerous protests against the institutions of the global political economy: foremost addressee being the World Bank, IMF, WTO (as in Geneva 1998, Seattle 1999, Prague 2000, Genoa 2001), but also in the network “Peoples’ Global Action” (PGA), in the World Social Forum in Porto Alegre or in attac.
The group researches the impact of the aforementioned protest in the reforms conducted within the global political economy, especially those carried out by the three aforementioned organisations. The research shall use concepts of postcolonial studies, e.g. Othering and Orientalism (Said), Subaltern Articulation and Representation (Spivak), Provincializing Europe (Chakrabarty) and Hybridity (Bhabha).