The UN Committee of 24’s dogmatic philosophy of recognition: toward a Sui Generis approach to decolonization

The time is ripe for the United Nations Special Committee on Decolonization (the Committee of 24) to accept sui generis categories to enable it to achieve its aim of ‘finishing the job’ of decolonization. This would mean a departure from the Committee of 24’s rigid adherence to the three forms of decolonization recognised by it - independence, integration and free association. This article adopts Gilles Deleuze’s critiques of the ‘dogmatic philosophy of recognition’ and how this can be overcome through his articulation of ‘the Encounter’ to interrogate the philosophical basis of the Committee of 24’s inability to recognise sui generis forms of decolonization. It is through the Encounter that the rigid adherence to the categories is challenged such that sui generis categories are created in furtherance of the Committee’s stated aim. In applying this theoretical analysis, the article uses Gibraltar as a nascent example of what a sui generis category of decolonization could look like.