Farah mihlar | Oxford Brookes University (original) (raw)

Papers by Farah mihlar

Research paper thumbnail of Coloniality and the inadequacy of localisation

The Humanitarian Leader, 2024

This article uses coloniality as an analytical framework to critique the concept of localisation... more This article uses coloniality as an analytical framework to critique the concept of localisation. It argues that localisation is inadequate to respond to the asymmetrical power dynamic that it seeks to dislodge. Fundamentally, this is because localisation does not account for coloniality, which is the underlying logic of colonialism embedded within the humanitarian sector. Positionality and funding are two factors that enable organisations in the ‘Global North’ to remain powerful even through localisation, but this article goes further to interrogate how epistemic and methodological coloniality reinforces and maintains subordination of organisations in the ‘Global South.’ Ironically, localisation seeks to recognise knowledge and experience from the ‘local’, but largely, this knowledge and experience must be produced through the methods and systems of the ‘Global North’. This is self-defeating because institutions in the ‘Global North’ gatekeep methods and practices and perpetuate a capacity gap that prevents effective localisation.

Research paper thumbnail of Contending with identity and minority rights in transitional justice

International Journal of Human Rights, 2024

Transitional justice, though heavily problematised, is a burgeoning and transforming field. Howev... more Transitional justice, though heavily problematised, is a burgeoning and transforming field. However, apart from when atrocity crimes such as genocide are committed, it remains negligent of the rights and positionality of non-dominant ethnic, religious and linguistic groups. Sri Lanka, which recently attempted transitional justice, offers a useful case study of the role of identity and minority positioning in conflict related crimes and victim and perpetrator status. Through empirical research in conflict affected parts of the country this article demonstrates this specific minority dimension, including the differential justice demands of ethnic and religious groups, and analyses how neglect of these factors affected the country’s transitional justice process. It also challenges assumptions on the neutrality of a majoritarian ethno-nationalist state in delivering transitional justice to all communities. Though also a contested topic, the article builds on the minority rights framework and proposes an approach to ensure identity groups are actively included in transitional justice and their rights are protected. It concludes that such an approach is crucial, in line with critical transitional justice, to ensure transformative change by guaranteeing equality and non-discrimination, responding to structural violations, and striving towards non-repetition and meaningful reconciliation.

Research paper thumbnail of Global Models, Victim Disconnect and Demands for International Intervention: The Dilemma of Decoloniality and Transitional Justice in Sri Lanka

Journal of Humanitarian Practice, 2024

This article uses Sri Lanka as a case study to impel engagement of decoloniality with transitiona... more This article uses Sri Lanka as a case study to impel engagement of decoloniality with transitional justice. It identifies gaps in the literature critical of transitional justice, specifically structural interpretations of power hierarchies, state-centrism and disregard of ethnicity and religion. It thereby uses a decolonial analytical lens on empirical findings from Sri Lanka's failed transitional justice process to identify and understand continuing colonial power structures, including epistemic coloniality. The empirical findings offer three new insights. First, an ideational, structural and procedural disconnection between victims and the global transitional justice model is noted. The article traces how victim positioning and this disconnection were disregarded in favour of an internationally authoritative, credible and universal model of transitional justice. Second, the ethno-religious challenges to transitional justice, which include its reliance on the state as a neutral provider of justice, are highlighted. The third finding, however, on victim demands for greater international involvement, presents a dilemma to future decolonial consideration of transitional justice. Despite only using decoloniality as an analytical tool, the article nevertheless demonstrates the need for deeper reform, including at the epistemic level, for transformation to occur within the field.

Research paper thumbnail of Coloniality and the inadequacy of localisation

The Humanitarian Leader, 2024

This article uses coloniality as an analytical framework to critique the concept of localisation... more This article uses coloniality as an analytical framework to critique the concept of localisation. It argues that localisation is inadequate to respond to the asymmetrical power dynamic that it seeks to dislodge. Fundamentally, this is because localisation does not account for coloniality, which is the underlying logic of colonialism embedded within the humanitarian sector. Positionality and funding are two factors that enable organisations in the ‘Global North’ to remain powerful even through localisation, but this article goes further to interrogate how epistemic and methodological coloniality reinforces and maintains subordination of organisations in the ‘Global South.’ Ironically, localisation seeks to recognise knowledge and experience from the ‘local’, but largely, this knowledge and experience must be produced through the methods and systems of the ‘Global North’. This is self-defeating because institutions in the ‘Global North’ gatekeep methods and practices and perpetuate a capacity gap that prevents effective localisation.

Research paper thumbnail of Contending with identity and minority rights in transitional justice

International Journal of Human Rights, 2024

Transitional justice, though heavily problematised, is a burgeoning and transforming field. Howev... more Transitional justice, though heavily problematised, is a burgeoning and transforming field. However, apart from when atrocity crimes such as genocide are committed, it remains negligent of the rights and positionality of non-dominant ethnic, religious and linguistic groups. Sri Lanka, which recently attempted transitional justice, offers a useful case study of the role of identity and minority positioning in conflict related crimes and victim and perpetrator status. Through empirical research in conflict affected parts of the country this article demonstrates this specific minority dimension, including the differential justice demands of ethnic and religious groups, and analyses how neglect of these factors affected the country’s transitional justice process. It also challenges assumptions on the neutrality of a majoritarian ethno-nationalist state in delivering transitional justice to all communities. Though also a contested topic, the article builds on the minority rights framework and proposes an approach to ensure identity groups are actively included in transitional justice and their rights are protected. It concludes that such an approach is crucial, in line with critical transitional justice, to ensure transformative change by guaranteeing equality and non-discrimination, responding to structural violations, and striving towards non-repetition and meaningful reconciliation.

Research paper thumbnail of Global Models, Victim Disconnect and Demands for International Intervention: The Dilemma of Decoloniality and Transitional Justice in Sri Lanka

Journal of Humanitarian Practice, 2024

This article uses Sri Lanka as a case study to impel engagement of decoloniality with transitiona... more This article uses Sri Lanka as a case study to impel engagement of decoloniality with transitional justice. It identifies gaps in the literature critical of transitional justice, specifically structural interpretations of power hierarchies, state-centrism and disregard of ethnicity and religion. It thereby uses a decolonial analytical lens on empirical findings from Sri Lanka's failed transitional justice process to identify and understand continuing colonial power structures, including epistemic coloniality. The empirical findings offer three new insights. First, an ideational, structural and procedural disconnection between victims and the global transitional justice model is noted. The article traces how victim positioning and this disconnection were disregarded in favour of an internationally authoritative, credible and universal model of transitional justice. Second, the ethno-religious challenges to transitional justice, which include its reliance on the state as a neutral provider of justice, are highlighted. The third finding, however, on victim demands for greater international involvement, presents a dilemma to future decolonial consideration of transitional justice. Despite only using decoloniality as an analytical tool, the article nevertheless demonstrates the need for deeper reform, including at the epistemic level, for transformation to occur within the field.