Decolonising Security, Epistemic Disobedience, and Revolutionary Change in Sudan

Abbashar, Aida

Abstract

This article interrogates the late colonial and postcolonial evolution of Sudan’s security sector, trade unions, and professional associations. Specifically, this article is concerned with how Sudan’s police and army responded to trade professional associations during the Joda Strike of 1956 and the October Revolution of 1964. Through these historical junctures, this article analyses the evolution and actions of the security forces through the lens of Anibal Qujano’s study on the coloniality of power. In doing so, it interrogates the “modernist” development of power structures that emerged during the Anglo-Egyptian Condominium and in the post-independence period. In addition, this article draws on Sylvia Wynter and Walter Mignolo’s discussions on epistemic decolonial practices. As such, this article argues that trade and professional organisations naturally responded to the coloniality of Sudan’s security forces through epistemic decolonial practices. In doing so, they challenged the structures of domination embodied by the security forces, while simultaneously articulating their own narrative for Sudan’s political, social, and economic future. Using archival sources and an extensive literature review, this article makes a significant contribution to African studies, decolonial studies, and postcolonial history by theoretically conceptualising the development of Sudan’s coloniality of security and the epistemic responses of unions and associations. In doing so, it advances decolonial thought and advocates for a history from below approach in the fields of postcolonial literature, cultural studies, history, and political analysis.

Citation

Abbashar, A. (2024). Decolonising Security, Epistemic Disobedience, and Revolutionary Change in Sudan. African Historical Review, 55(2), 105-127. https://doi.org/10.1080/17532523.2024.2432176

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Nov 18, 2024
• Online Publication Date: Jan 9, 2025
• Publication Date: 2024
• Deposit Date: Feb 19, 2025
• Publicly Available Date: Feb 19, 2025
• Journal: African Historical Review
• Print ISSN: 1753-2523
• Electronic ISSN: 1753-2531
• Publisher: Taylor and Francis Group
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 55
• Issue: 2
• Pages: 105-127
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/17532523.2024.2432176
• Public URL: https://durham-repository.worktribe.com/output/3490738