Publication
Reckoning with the past: analyzing state apologies for colonial wrongs - the case of Portugal
| Summary: | Since the wave of decolonizations and subsequent new states in the 20th century, and throughout the 21st century, debates around memorializing colonialism and the violent events associated with it, and reparation efforts as a way of establishing and developing inter-state relations, have grown exponentially. One of the central aspects of this debate is the state apology. This dissertation aims to explore the ways in which state apologies for colonial violence are shaped through discursive and narrative creation, and how this influences the process of recognizing historical injustices at the national level. This will be studied considering the Portuguese case. The state apologies analyzed were presented between September 2022 and April 2023, by the three highest state figures in Portuguese politics; three of them concern the Wiriamu Massacre (1972) in Mozambique, and one concerns a more general apology about colonialism. This study analyzes state apologies in the light of certain concepts from post-colonial theories and Memory Studies, such as “reparations” and “public memory”. In addition, this dissertation used Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) as its methodology, following Fairclough's (1989; 1993; 1995) tripartite model in conjunction with Reisigl and Wodak's (2009) Discoursive-Historical Analysis (DHA). The results of the analysis support a conclusion that is common to other studies on official apologies: they use vague and ambiguous language when contextualizing the violent actions in colonial history, which allows them to circumscribe responsibility and/or avoid explicit mention of apologetic expressions. When considering the relationship between Portugal and the states to whom the apology is addressed, there is a privileged association with the notions of reparation and cooperation, albeit using a discourse that can be classified as predominantly paternalistic, with the emergence of Luso-tropicalist ideals. At the same time, it was also identified that the narratives which own up to a feeling of shame related to colonial violence appear intertwined with narratives about the collapse of the Portuguese dictatorial regime and the Carnation Revolution, often coexisting a sense of responsibility for the colonial past with a glorification of some segments of that history and of the Portuguese democratization process. This discursive articulation shows that the target audience of these apologies is not, contrary to what might be expected, the African populations impacted by colonialism, but rather Portuguese society. The state apology allows for the consolidation of a collective and national dynamic, reflecting its role as a normative instrument. Although the apologies analyzed state that there is a will to repair and deepen inter-state relations, to date these intentions have materialized in little more than a set of actions on a merely symbolic level. |
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| Main Authors: | Pereira, Bárbara Pimenta |
| Subject: | Postcolonial Memory Studies CDA State apologies Reparations Pós-colonial Estudos da Memória CDA Pedidos de desculpa estatais Reparações |
| Year: | 2024 |
| Country: | Portugal |
| Document type: | master thesis |
| Access type: | open access |
| Associated institution: | Universidade de Coimbra |
| Language: | English |
| Origin: | Estudo Geral - Universidade de Coimbra |
| Summary: | Since the wave of decolonizations and subsequent new states in the 20th century, and throughout the 21st century, debates around memorializing colonialism and the violent events associated with it, and reparation efforts as a way of establishing and developing inter-state relations, have grown exponentially. One of the central aspects of this debate is the state apology. This dissertation aims to explore the ways in which state apologies for colonial violence are shaped through discursive and narrative creation, and how this influences the process of recognizing historical injustices at the national level. This will be studied considering the Portuguese case. The state apologies analyzed were presented between September 2022 and April 2023, by the three highest state figures in Portuguese politics; three of them concern the Wiriamu Massacre (1972) in Mozambique, and one concerns a more general apology about colonialism. This study analyzes state apologies in the light of certain concepts from post-colonial theories and Memory Studies, such as “reparations” and “public memory”. In addition, this dissertation used Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) as its methodology, following Fairclough's (1989; 1993; 1995) tripartite model in conjunction with Reisigl and Wodak's (2009) Discoursive-Historical Analysis (DHA). The results of the analysis support a conclusion that is common to other studies on official apologies: they use vague and ambiguous language when contextualizing the violent actions in colonial history, which allows them to circumscribe responsibility and/or avoid explicit mention of apologetic expressions. When considering the relationship between Portugal and the states to whom the apology is addressed, there is a privileged association with the notions of reparation and cooperation, albeit using a discourse that can be classified as predominantly paternalistic, with the emergence of Luso-tropicalist ideals. At the same time, it was also identified that the narratives which own up to a feeling of shame related to colonial violence appear intertwined with narratives about the collapse of the Portuguese dictatorial regime and the Carnation Revolution, often coexisting a sense of responsibility for the colonial past with a glorification of some segments of that history and of the Portuguese democratization process. This discursive articulation shows that the target audience of these apologies is not, contrary to what might be expected, the African populations impacted by colonialism, but rather Portuguese society. The state apology allows for the consolidation of a collective and national dynamic, reflecting its role as a normative instrument. Although the apologies analyzed state that there is a will to repair and deepen inter-state relations, to date these intentions have materialized in little more than a set of actions on a merely symbolic level. |
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