In the framework of the Swiss Chair Seminar Series, this event features a presentation by Cecelia Lynch (University of California, Irvine).
Five years ago, discourses of decolonisation in humanitarianism and religion were all the rage. The Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement globalised; the humanitarian industry foregrounded 'localisation' and 'decolonisation' of aid and decried white saviorism; mainstream Christian denominations apologised for the fifteenth century 'Doctrine of Discovery' that legitimised enslavement and colonisation of Indigenous and African peoples; and museums and cities in the global North began to engage in practices of restitution of sacred objects stolen from formerly colonised sites. Fast forward to 2025, when the backlash to these discourses has strengthened the growth of authoritarianism in the U.S. as well as much of Europe.
In this talk, the author analyses the confluence of growing authoritarianism and the hollowing out of the global humanitarian industry as complementary instances of 'recolonisation'. Then, she draws on thinkers including Simone Weil, Franz Fanon, Ngugi wa Thiong’o, Sylvia Tamale and others to articulate several discursive possibilities and even mandates for decolonial action in these times of humanitarian backsliding.
Cecelia Lynch is Research Professor of Political Science at the University of California, Irvine, Honorary Professor in the School of Religion, Philosophy and Classics at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, and Co-facilitator of Critical Investigations into Humanitarianism in Africa (CIHA). Her research, writing and teaching focus on interrelated themes of religion/secularisms, humanitarianism, ethics, methodology, and international relations broadly conceived, including its racial and gendered character, employing a 'critical interpretivist' approach to all (Lynch 1999; Lynch 2014; Lynch 2020). She has received a number of awards for her scholarship and mentoring, including the Distinguished Scholar of the Religion and International Relations section of the ISA (2025); the Distinguished Scholar of the International Political Sociology section of the ISA (2019); and several book prizes (see cecelialynch.net for more information). Her research has been funded by the Mellon Foundation, SSRC-MacArthur Foundation, Luce Foundation, Fulbright Finland Foundation, and the Academy of International Affairs-NRW, among others.