Perceptions of Illegitimate Violence in Intercultural Wars in German East Africa (circa 1884 to 1914) ISWS Spring Seminar with Professor Tanja Bührer, University of Salzburg

Tanja Bührer's lecture explores what was considered legitimate and illegitimate violence in intercultural wars in the colonial realm during the fin de siècle with a focus on German East Africa.

The exploration includes trans-imperial legal frameworks, military cultures, doctrines and practices, the influence of metropolitan society, the multicultural organisation of the regular colonial army, and the warfare of irregular local auxiliaries and colonial opponents.

The lecture attempts to track down the perception of the illegitimate by locating violent practices in the ego documents of colonial military officers that were repeatedly justified and that revealed an unease or that emotionally agitated them. It especially attempts to weigh up justification through structural constraints and racist disposition. It argues that reservations about excessive violence were not so much related to humanitarianism than to Eurocentric codes of what constitutes honorable warfare.