Achille Mbembe

(b. 1957 in Cameroon) is a lecturer in history and political science at Witwatersrand University in Johannesburg (RSA) and a member of Wits Institute for Social and Economics Research (WISER). He lectures at the faculty of French language literature at Duke University (US). His main area of interest is post-colonial criticism, to which he gives a new dimension by pointing at similarities between the situations of post-colonial countries and western democracies. Mbembe’s ideas are subject to many philosophical and political commentaries, while at the same time inspiring artists, curators and modern art critics. His books have been translated into many languages. His most important works include: De la postcolonie (2000) (About Post-Colony), Critique de la raison nègre (2013) (Criticism of Black Reason, Sortir de la grande nuit: Essai sur l'Afrique décolonisée (2010) (Going out of a Great Night: an Essay on Decolonised Africa) and Policy of Hostility (2016) (Politiques de l’inimitié).

Photo by MATTHIAS BALK