Achille Mbembe: A Future of Solidarity

Brainwash Special

In this Brainwash Special, Wayne Modest, Director of Content at Wereldmuseum Amsterdam, will sit down with Achille Mbembe to discuss the fractures that define our societies today. How do we hold on to solidarity in a world that seems to divide rather than connect? And what might a future look like in which everyone truly matters?

Imagining Another Future

Imagine a world where solidarity does not stop at borders. Where power no longer decides who counts. Where humanity and the earth are understood as one. Utopian? Perhaps. Yet philosopher Achille Mbembe shows us that such a radically different future is possible.

On Wednesday, November 26, Brainwash Festival and Wereldmuseum Amsterdam welcome the influential Cameroonian thinker to Amsterdam. For decades, Mbembe has held up an uncomfortable but necessary mirror to the West. He reveals how today’s defining crises, such as inequality, climate change, and the pressures on democracy, share the same roots in capitalist and colonial systems. But Mbembe goes beyond critique. He calls for a new, global solidarity, one that cuts across race, class, and nationality.

After the conversation with Wayne Modest, three contemporary thinkers will join the discussion. Journalist Clarice Gargard, human rights lawyer Nani Jansen Reventlow, and social scientist Shivant Jhagroe will each pose their own questions to Mbembe. Like him, their work engages with urgent issues of resistance, climate, and justice.

About Achille Mbembe

Achille Mbembe (1957, Cameroon) is a philosopher, historian, and political theorist, internationally renowned for his groundbreaking analyses of colonialism, power, and identity. His work combines critical theory with sharp insights into contemporary conflict and inequality. Mbembe introduced the concept of necropolitics, the politics of power over life and death, and has written extensively about how colonial legacies continue to shape the modern world. His books, including On the Postcolony and Critique of Black Reason, are among the most influential works in postcolonial theory and decolonial thought. Mbembe is a professor at the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg. In November, he will receive the Spinozalens 2025, an international philosophy prize, awarded by the mayor of The Hague.

About Clarice Gargard

Clarice Gargard is a journalist, writer, and documentary maker whose work weaves together journalism, art, social justice, and philosophy. She is the author of Drakendochter, in which she explores her relationship with her father, who was the right-hand man to Liberian dictator Charles Taylor. During this program, she will ask Mbembe a question on resistance and solidarity.

Clarice Gargard

Photo: Ariela Slakhorst

About Nani Jansen Reventlow

Nani Jansen Reventlow is an author and human rights lawyer, specializing in strategic litigation at the crossroads of human rights, social justice, and technology. She is the author of Radicale rechtvaardigheid – De wereld die we nodig hebben. Her question to Mbembe will focus on digital justice and solidarity.

Nani Jansen Reventlow
Photo: Josimar Senior

About Shivant Jhagroe

Shivant Jhagroe is a writer, social scientist, and artist. He is Assistant Professor at the Institute of Public Administration at Leiden University. His most recent book, Voorbij duurzaamheid, was published last year. His question to Mbembe will center on climate and solidarity.

Photo: Arie Kievit

This program is a collaboration between Wereldmuseum Amsterdam, Brainwash Festival, and the International Spinoza Prize Foundation. It is inspired by Mbembe’s receipt of the 2025 Spinozalens for his innovative work. With themes such as racism, resistance, and climate, the program resonates with the exhibition Our Colonial Inheritance, and with Unfinished Pasts, Wereldmuseum’s exhibition on restitution and looted art.

Practical Information

Date: November 26, 2025
Doors open: 7:00 PM
Start: 8:00 PM
Location: Lichthal, Wereldmuseum Amsterdam
Under-30 ticket: €12.50
Standard ticket: €15.00

Book Sale

Publisher Boom is reissuing Mbembe’s work in beautifully designed editions. These, along with books by the other speakers, will be available for purchase during the event.

.enviso-tickets.enviso-tickets-mobile { display: block !important; }

Met je bijdrage ondersteun je ons educatief aanbod, tentoonstellingen en publieksprogramma's, maar ook onderzoek en restauratie. Jouw donatie, klein of groot, is ontzettend waardevol.