Decolonial Designs

Abstract

Drawing on the writings of two prominent political thinkers and activists, José Martí and Hồ Chí Minh, our article foregrounds the imaginative crossings, ethical–political inspirations, and mutual learning among the colonized. Although embedded in different histories, both Martí’s and Hồ’s writings evince an insurgent solidarity with others under colonial enslavement. They evoke conceptions of self-determination and relationality that are strikingly global rather than national or regional. Going beyond affinities of insurgency, we also investigate critical moments of silence and effacement in Martí’s and Hồ’s engagement with subaltern groups. In weaving their anticolonial visions together as well as examining their limitations, we seek to sketch the contours of an alternative, non-Eurocentric international relations.