Global IR: Postcolonial Theory in International Relations

Most of today’s international system was built during centuries of colonial rule. So who wrote the rules of global politics—and who benefits from them today? In this video, we’ll explore Postcolonial International Relations Theory, considering how empires, race, and colonial violence shaped the modern global order. From Edward Said’s Orientalism to Frantz Fanon’s radical humanism, from Spivak’s “Can the subaltern speak?” to Homi Bhabha’s concept of hybridity, this lecture connects powerful theoretical insights with real-world events—from Iraq to climate change to global development. We’ll challenge mainstream IR assumptions about sovereignty, security, and international law—and ask whose voices, histories, and knowledge still get excluded. And we'll examine the process of decolonizing international relations through Global IR.