Resilience and the Preparation of the Liberal Subject

The discourse surrounding resilience, particularly in postcolonial contexts, reveals a series of tensions and contradictions in its conceptualization and application. A critical examination of engagements with “local” resilience practitioners in South Sudan highlights two problematic aspects inherent in current practices. First, the role of the “local” researcher or practitioner, ostensibly included to provide culturally specific context, often reduces their contributions to peripheral “colour commentary”, relegating them to secondary roles in what is framed as the substantive, externally driven work of resilience programming within multilateral and international and local non-governmental organisations. Second, the notion of resilience “implementation” itself exemplifies a paradox: an externally imposed set of interventions designed to cultivate what is presumed to be an inherently internal and self-sustaining quality. This contradictory logic underscores the dissonance between resilience as a conceptual ideal and its operationalisation within international development frameworks, particularly in post-independence settings.