Anadolu staff
12 May 2026•Update: 12 May 2026
The role of colonialism in knowledge production processes was discussed during a panel titled 'The Problem of Knowledge Production: Decolonized Methodologies' held as part of the World Decolonization Forum in Istanbul on Monday.
The forum, hosted at the Ataturk Cultural Center (AKM), focused on the roots of global crises and the legacy of colonialism.
Speakers at the session included Walter Mignolo, one of the founders of decolonial theory; Salman Sayyid, professor of social theory and postcolonial thought at the University of Leeds; Syed Farid Alatas of the National University of Singapore; and US political scientist and author Professor Anne Norton.
‘Colonialism has not ended’
Norton said dispossession and deprivation run deeper than disrespect, arguing that colonialism continues to shape the modern world.
"Colonialism has not ended, it has not been defeated. The world we live in today is the world that built and constructed colonialism," she said.
Pointing to the colonization of the mind, Norton said colonial structures have deeply penetrated everyday life and are often normalized subconsciously by individuals.
She also argued that colonialism grew within corporations, saying institutional capital has played a major role in sustaining the system, particularly in US universities.
Decolonization in culture, society and universities ‘must go hand in hand’
Sayyid highlighted that thousands of universities around the world are structured according to Western models, not only rhetorically but also institutionally.
Arguing that universities must be decolonized, he said knowledge production should be viewed as a public good rather than an element aimed at maximizing profit.
He stressed that universities should not function merely as degree factories.
"If there has been no colonization in culture and society, then we would not think this way in universities either. These processes must go hand in hand," he said.
‘Eurocentric knowledge serves to promote neocolonialism’
Alatas said the decolonization of knowledge fundamentally means “being critical.”
Describing the current global order as a form of neocolonialism, he argued that Europe continues to maintain “cultural, military, political and intellectual control.”
“The purpose of Eurocentric knowledge serves to promote neocolonialism,” he said.
Link between modernity and colonialism
Mignolo said there is a strong connection between the concept of “modernity” and colonialism, adding that ideas of liberation are understood differently across various regions of the world.
He noted that dewesternization is often confused with decolonization, but stressed that the two processes are fundamentally different.
According to Mignolo, dewesternization frequently appears in the form of state-backed political and economic projects, as seen in China, Russia and BRICS countries, while decolonization operates beyond state policies through knowledge production, education and social consciousness.
He also said that although classical colonial administrations have largely disappeared, coloniality continues through military power, financial systems, the dominance of the US dollar and global media.
Mignolo added that decolonization should not be viewed as a project against the West, but rather as a process through which societies and states regain intellectual independence.
