“Building The Narrative”

October 24th and 25th 2024

The Decolonizing International Relations 2024 Conference aims to establish a collaborative space that centers marginalized voices, strengthens community, and inspires action. We aim to honestly examine the colonial and imperial structures that pervade international relations, and thus, our world. Students, activists, scholars, practitioners, and community members are invited to join us in evaluating existing systems critically and encouraging just restitution.

Why “Building the Narrative”?

Global inequities manifest in both explicit and implicit forms, as well as in the excluded and overlooked margins. The ways in which history is shared shapes perceptions, identities, and future ideas. History does not have to be written by the “victor” or the most powerful. This conference seeks to elevate the narratives, histories, and other issues that serve as challenges to the conventional Western historical narratives.

Questions to Explore

Throughout the conference, participants will be invited to explore the following running questions throughout the panels, workshops, exhibits, showings:

• How did the dominant narrative concerning this topic form? 
• Who contributed to the creation of this perspective?
• What are alternative ways of approaching this subject or issue?

Goals and Values

Deconstructing and unlearning colonial ideologies is a process. DIR 2024 hopes to be one part of individual engagement with decoloniality by:

• Unmasking persistent colonial power dynamics and challenge dominant narratives that shape international relations
• Elevating non-Western ways of understanding and producing knowledge
• Strengthening relations between students, activists, scholars, policymakers, and practitioners to further decolonial action across different fields
• Sharing tools and strategies that motivate and mobilize participants to advance decoloniality in their personal and professional lives

In forging this space together, we seek to embody the following values:

INCLUSIVITY	CRITICAL THINKING	HUMILITY	INNOVATION	BOLDNESS
COMMITMENT	COMPASSION	CREATIVITY	ACCOUNTABILITY	SOLIDARITY

History of DIR at the Fletcher School

The Decolonizing International Relations Conference at The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy is an annual event that began in 2017. It holds the distinction of being the first conference of its kind within International Relations Graduate Schools. Our conference serves as a platform for addressing pressing issues and concerns within the field of International Relations, aiming to develop solutions for global challenges that arise from antiquated and harmful power structures. Organizing teams across the iterations of DIR strive to foster a deeper understanding of these challenges and encourage the development of innovative solutions.