Partition and Solidarity: Anticolonial Struggles in the “American Century”

More than a century ago at the end of World War I, the Allied powers—led by the British empire, the US empire, the French empire, and the Japanese empire—carved up the world, claiming authority over lands and peoples formerly ruled by the German empire and the Ottoman empire. The new world order heralded by the League of Nations was, in reality, a continuation of the old colonial order, with racial distinctions and geopolitical boundaries demarcated along the colonial discourse of “civilization.” But the hegemonic order of “nations,” where empires became “advanced nations” and colonies became “mandates” awaiting further tutelage toward eventual independence, was taking root to shape and contain anticolonial struggles around the world. Through a one-day symposium in March 2026, scholars and activists will engage in conversations about anticolonial struggles of the past and the present, with the overriding objective to find unexpected convergences and critical insights to advance ongoing struggles against empire.