Seeds of Change:
Dialogues on Decolonial Abolitionism
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.7146/kkf.v38i1.159611Keywords:
Abolition, Nordic exceptionalism, Penal Humanism, the Afterlife of Slavery, Carceral FeminismAbstract
Amid the intensifying intertwining of criminal justice and migration control in the Nordic region (Aas, 2014), this article seeks to reanimate abolitionist conversations from within. Framed as a curated dialogue, we reflect on our relationships to abolition as activists, academics, writers, facilitators, and implicated subjects (Rothberg, 2019). Guided by the spirit of the djobbeur (Glissant, 1997), we come into coalition to deepen our understanding of abolition as an analytical framework and an organizing strategy. Our conversations move iteratively through three interlinked themes: Nordic exceptionalism, carceral feminism, and penal humanism, as we examine how justice is imagined and practiced in the Nordic context and beyond. Tapping into the possibilities of the otherwise, we explore alternatives to the punitive logics of the modern/colonial world, grounded in a vision of decolonial abolitionism. We conclude by emphasizing the importance of situating the Nordic within global entanglements; challenging exceptionalist narratives and affirming abolition as a continuous struggle grounded in connection and interdependence.
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