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Call for Papers

Theme: Legacies of the Tricontinental, 1966-­2016
Subtitle: Imperialism, Resistance, Law
Type: Transdisciplinary Conference
Institution: Centre for Social Studies, University of Coimbra
Location: Coimbra (Portugal)
Date: 22.–24.9.2016
Deadline: 1.5.2016

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The 1966 Solidarity Conference of the Peoples of Africa, Asia and
Latin America, or Tricontinental Conference as it is better known,
remains one of the largest gatherings of anti-imperialists in the
world. More than 500 representatives from the national liberation
movements, guerrillas and independent governments of some 82
countries gathered in Havana, Cuba to discuss the burning strategic
questions confronting the anti-imperialist movement of the day.
Amongst the delegates were some of the most important figures in the
anti-imperialist movement including Fidel Castro, Che Guevara,
Salvador Allende and Amílcar Cabral.

Building on the earlier 1955 Bandung Conference and 1964 UN
Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), the Tricontinental
represented the extension, into the Americas, of Afro-Asian
solidarity begun at Bandung. As such, the Tricontinental marked a
highpoint in the emergence of a non-aligned movement and the
construction of a Third World anti-imperialist project. At the same
time, the Tricontinental represented a break with those earlier
efforts. Whereas Bandung was a relatively modest affair, in which the
various political currents in the Third World came together to
articulate a minimum programme, the Tricontinental was avowedly more
radical, explicitly attempting to align anti-imperialism with a wider
challenge to capitalism. In the words of Mehdi Ben Barka, Moroccan
socialist leader and organiser of the Conference, the Tricontinental
aimed to ‘blend the two great currents of world revolution: that
which was born in 1917 with the Russian Revolution, and that which
represents the anti-imperialist and national liberation movements of
today’. Indeed, the Conference featured leftist guerrillas who were
busy fighting against their own Third World governments.

In keeping with this radical orientation, the Conference condemned
imperialism, colonialism and neo-colonialism, declaring its
solidarity with the Vietnamese struggle against the United States.
The Conference called more widely for solidarity amongst the radical
currents in the Third World and debated what role they would take in
relation to the United Nations. In so doing, the Conference created
much controversy in the developed world, becoming the target of
numerous attempts at subversion.

The Tricontinental was a large influence on the Non-Aligned Movement.
In fact, its legacy includes a whole host of developments. On the
legal front, General Assembly Resolutions such as the Friendly
Relations Declaration and the Declaration of the New International
Economic Order flowed directly from the Conference. Similarly, the
ideas of military solidarity which animated the Conference bore fruit
in events such as Cuba’s 1973 intervention in Angola against
Portuguese colonialism.

However, despite this importance, the Tricontinental has received
very little attention. Scholarship has tended to focus on the
relatively modest demands of the Bandung Conference, and neglected
the political cleavage represented by the Tricontinental. This has
been especially true in international legal scholarship. Thus, whilst
the Third World Approaches to International Law movement has paid
close attention to the legal arguments of the Third World during the
anti-colonial movement, the Tricontinental has not figured heavily in
this account. This is representative of a wider erasure of the
radical wing of the Third World movement from international legal
histories. Yet this means that a key element of the Third World story
has been missed. Indeed, the rich heterodox theoretical and political
perspectives put forward by the Tricontinental remain lost to us.

The 50th anniversary of the First Tricontinental is an opportunity to
reflect on its enduring political, legal and economic importance. We
wish to consider both the historical importance of the Conference and
its role as a key site for the Third World project, as well as its
legacy, both intellectual and political, today.

Submissions

The conference organisers invite paper proposals for a
transdisciplinary conference marking the 50th anniversary of the 1966
Tricontinental Conference. The conference aims to reflect on the
Tricontinental’s enduring political, legal and economic importance,
while also bringing together academics and activists to reflect on
broader issues of imperialism and anti-­imperial resistance. We
welcome papers on both the Tricontinental itself and related topics.

Topics include, but are not limited to:
- The history and significance of the Tricontinental
- Theoretical and historical legacies of the Tricontinental and
  ‘tricontinentalism’: Third World Marxisms, Third World Approaches to
  International Law (TWAIL), post-colonialism, global subalternity
- Anti-­imperialist struggle then and now
- Imperialism and international law
- Theorists and activists of the Third World: Cabral, Ben Barka,
  Guevara, Castro, Fanon, et al.
- The non­aligned movement and the New International Economic Order
  (NIEO)
- Black Power and the Third World
- Race, racism and international relations
- Feminism and the Third World
- Theories of imperialism
- South­-South cooperation and solidarity
- Human Rights, International Criminal Law and imperialism
- Neoliberalism and imperialism
- Imperial violence and revolutionary violence
- Democracy after decolonisation
 
We seek contributions from scholars and activists with an interest in
imperialism and anti­-imperialism, regardless of disciplinary
affiliation.

Plenary speakers include Professor Richard Drayton, with more
speakers to be confirmed soon.

We welcome both paper and panel proposals. Abstracts of up to 250
words should be sent to <tricontinenta...@gmail.com> by no later than
1 May 2016. For panel proposals, please include a brief description of
the proposed panel as well as contact information and abstracts for
all participants.

Conference organisers are in contact with publishers and selected
papers will be invited for publication in a special journal issue
and/or edited collection.

Organising Committee:
Teresa Almeida Cravo (Coimbra), Tor Krever (LSE/Coimbra), Robert Knox
(Liverpool), Christopher Gevers (KwaZulu-Natal), Christine
Schwöbel-Patel (Liverpool)

Further information can be found at the conference website:
www.tricontinental50.net


Contact:

Tor Krever, Organising Committee
Email: tricontinenta...@gmail.com
Web: http://www.tricontinental50.net




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