On 16 November 2021, the European Neighbourhood Policy Chair held the second part of this year’s Natolin Neighbourhood Days, taking place under the overarching title: Post-coloniality in the EU’s Eastern and Southern ‘neighbourhoods’: Something old, something new’.
These two consecutive, moderated conversations with invited guests speakers, taking place on the same day, sought to reflect on the geopolitical organisation and governance of space in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) during the historical junctures of European imperialist expansion, decolonisation and post-colonialism. By reflecting on these junctures, the speakers investigated their effects on the contemporary power relations between the European and MENA spaces. The discussions revolved around the following questions: What impacts this legacy has on current struggles for emancipation in the Arab world? What are the physical and discursive borders it established? Can the EU-MENA relations transcend the limitations of the colonial past?
Please find the programme of the day below:
09:30–11:00
The continued effects of the colonial era on the EU foreign policy towards the MENA countries: A conversation with Professor Michelle PACE, Roskilde University
Professor PACE discussed the continued effects of the colonial era on the EU foreign
14:30–16:00
Post-colonialism, geopolitics and domestic power struggles in Arab world: A conversation with Professor Larbi SADIKI, Qatar University
Professor Sadiki discussed the continued effect of the colonial era on geopolitics, compromised sovereignty and struggles between the periphery and central authorities in the Arab world.
Both events took place online and were open to the wider public.