Colonial karma? Identity and failed postcolonial reconciliation in Europe - Understanding ontological insecurity as shaped by narratives of colonial societal beliefs

Abstract: Following postcolonial thought, this thesis argues that colonialism can be reconceptualized as an identity conflict. Consequentially, reconciliation theories concerned with identity creation and societal beliefs can be applied to better understand postcolonial relations. Through a discussion of sociopsychological reconciliation and ontological (in)security, this thesis discusses perceived insecurity in Europe as due to remaining narratives of colonial societal beliefs that shape European ideas of self and other. An illustrative comparative case study of the United Kingdom and Sweden, using narrative analysis on migration discourse, election manifestos, and secondary school textbooks, shows how dominant narratives of self, other, and relationships build on a European identity of neutrality, morality, and righteousness. Connected to previous research on sociopsychological reconciliation, this thesis finds that the narrative tends to depoliticize past atrocities and present colonialism as part of a neutral European past, which is insufficient to further reconciliatory tools such as truth and justice and reconstructing self-identity. While some narratives do propose reconciliatory measures, the dominant narrative is one of protecting European values against the other – leading to perceived insecurity of self when globalization and migration have brought multiculturality to Europe.