Fanonian Critique of Encampment

This chapter explores Frantz Fanon’s postcolonial theory in order to provide a succinct entry point into the broader analysis of refugee coloniality in Africa. This chapter is significant to this book because it provides insights that could be used to problematise the colonial order embedded within the encampment paradigm. Fanon’s postcolonial theory also serves as an impetus to this book’s investigation of the link between colonialism and refugee camp. In particular, I examine whether his theory of violence could be adopted in addressing ongoing refugee coloniality in Africa. As encampment and the practices that shaped it are inseparably linked to colonialism, this colonial continuity must be understood. It is in this context that Fanon’s postcolonial theory is significant as it provides the foundation for generating scholarly work on how to address this phenomenon. To do this, I undertake an Afrocentric approach without the illusion of neutrality because I am committed to the emancipation of the refugees whose life resembles life in the colony.