ABSTRACT
Despite being the most significant political transition for most of the world, “transitions” from colonialism are largely invisible to the transitional governance field. This is especially striking given that transitional governance can function as the Trojan horse for hegemonic agendas, and replicate colonial approaches to governance. This relationship between the denial of colonialism, and its replication is the launching point for this chapter. It analyzes the theories and practices of the transitional governance field not as a guide to better and more effective transitions, but to understand how the field grapples with the dual drive to expel colonialism and replicate it. Approaching the field from this perspective, I explore the field’s adverse impacts, including the entrenching and legitimating of the dominant order. I also draw on postcolonial theories and struggles that foreground colonialism and the contesting of colonial legacies to challenge historicist notions of transition, and “governance” approaches to democracy.
