Fanon on the Arbitrariness of Using Violence: An Inevitable for Both Colonialism and Decolonization

Abstract

This article examines Fanon’s reasoning on the inevitability of using violence for both antagonistic projects of colonialism and decolonization. Based on Fanon’s political thought, the article explores how the mono-concept of violence is interpreted differently. Such a lack of harmony in the interpretation of the concept of violence has called this article to be undertaken for an examination of Fanon’s conception of violence, hence he reveals that the use of violence is unavoidable for both colonialism and (genuine) decolonization. In that perspective, Fanon shows how since the first launch of the conquest, colonizers had to arbitrarily use violence, the same violence that is still characterizing the long-lasting project of colonialism. Likewise, for the realization of full decolonization, Fanon’s concern is that the colonized subjects have to launch back the same accumulated violence, for them to travel to a new world—a world lived by new human beings who are genuinely decolonized.