Working Paper: Towards an Agenda for Reparative Research

Laura Kotzur, Akorfa Comfort Gakpa, Annelise Finney, Daniel James, Johanna Grabert, Kristine Andra Avram, Kobina Amokwandoh, Kofi Mawuli Klu, Mariam Salehi, Miryam Rivera-Holguín, Nadine Benedix, Piaba Madokwe, Sabrina Keller, Yann LeGall

Link to the publication

Abstract: 

Reparations and reparative justice addressing global and structural injustices of European colonialism and imperialism are gaining increasing attention in studies of international politics and peace and conflict studies. 140 years after the Berlin Conference of 1884/85, which enabled the legitimisation of the violent partition and exploitation of the African continent, academic researchers and scholar-activists discussed at a workshop how to align research on reparations with reparative research methods and practices. Results of the discussion find that reparative research (1) acknowledges and works through the dialectic relationship of extraction and emancipation in academic research, through (2) continuous positioning and (3) doing justice to the past and the future. Reparative research should be (4) situated in space and politics and thus, (5) constantly navigating dynamics of collaboration and co-optation. Finally, reparative research should not only focus on violence and repression but also on (6) protest and resistance. Rather than providing clear-cut answers, the paper offers insights into the ideas, practices, and visions discussed at the workshop and serves as a work-in-progress document.

Kotzur, L., A. C. Gakpa, A. Finney, D. James, J. Grabert, K. A. Avram, K. Amokwandoh, K. M. Klu, M. Salehi, M., Rivera Holguín, N. Benedix, P. Madokwe, S. Keller, Y. LeGall. 2026. Towards an Agenda for Reparative Research. Working Papers Peace & Conflict Research, 4, Freie Universität Berlin. http://dx.doi.org/10.17169/refubium-50575.