In what has been referred to as the ‘aesthetic turn’Footnote 1 in international law, scholars are increasingly looking to non-textual materials to analyse issues within the discipline. Different scholars now acknowledge that if we are to critically dissect the problems of international law, or even understand the extent to which it affects our lives, we must move beyond the official texts. One such material is music. Musicians have provided radical and alternative perspectives on understanding and addressing the problems of the international system. While scholars have examined some of Fela Aníkúlápó Kútì’s lyrics to illustrate this, no one has yet considered his song ‘Cross-Examination’ – this performance is available on YouTubeFootnote 2 – which re-enacts a court scene that symbolically prosecutes the predatory agents of the international system. This song was performed at the Berlin Jazz Festival in 1978, but never made it into any of his studio albums. During this 19min:38sec (the entire show lasted 1h:27min:23sec)Footnote 3 electrifying stage performance, Fela began by stating that it was an African court presided over by the late Ghanaian president Kwame Nkrumah (who he referred to as the ‘wise chief’), with himself acting as a prosecutor.
The accused here is the ‘African colonial soldier’, who is accused of collaborating with external forces to subvert the possibility of decolonization and economic freedom for the African people. The ‘African colonial soldier’ represents the military rulers who were ubiquitous across African countries at that time, as well as the politico–military elite who collaborated with the actors of the global capitalistic system to exploit African people. After hearing the accused claim, ‘I don’t know’, in response to the charges, the presiding judge swiftly delivered the judgement. ‘You are guilty!’ Fela then offered mitigation, saying that if the so-called African colonial soldier recanted and changed his ways, he would be forgiven.
Performing this song in Berlin, the city where the template for the arbitrary colonial demarcation of African borders was decided, is poetic justice of a kind. By recreating a prosecutorial atmosphere with African actors in charge, the performance reinforces the importance of agency in how we engage with issues of reparative justice and the explicit identification of problems and solutions. For teachers of critical international law, this performance is invaluable. First, it provides procedural relatability by dramatizing a court setting. Beyond the rigidity of formal court processes, it demonstrates flexibility and conviviality as effective means of conveying messages. Second, it shows how this performance can open up new and refreshing pathways in teaching. For example, Fela’s reference to Nkrumah as the presiding judge could be used to explore the latter’s ideas on neo-colonialism and the African personality. The ‘African colonial soldier’ could also be used to further explore the failure of political actors to advance meaningful agency. Third, it challenges us to broaden our perspective to include objects, artworks, and performances as valid teaching resources.
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YouTube / anikulapo71, ‘Fela Kuti – Cross Examination’, Berliner Jazztage 1978, available at www.youtube.com/watch?v=uMGWx6DjMkU.
In what has been referred to as the ‘aesthetic turn’Footnote 1 in international law, scholars are increasingly looking to non-textual materials to analyse issues within the discipline. Different scholars now acknowledge that if we are to critically dissect the problems of international law, or even understand the extent to which it affects our lives, we must move beyond the official texts. One such material is music. Musicians have provided radical and alternative perspectives on understanding and addressing the problems of the international system. While scholars have examined some of Fela Aníkúlápó Kútì’s lyrics to illustrate this, no one has yet considered his song ‘Cross-Examination’ – this performance is available on YouTubeFootnote 2 – which re-enacts a court scene that symbolically prosecutes the predatory agents of the international system. This song was performed at the Berlin Jazz Festival in 1978, but never made it into any of his studio albums. During this 19min:38sec (the entire show lasted 1h:27min:23sec)Footnote 3 electrifying stage performance, Fela began by stating that it was an African court presided over by the late Ghanaian president Kwame Nkrumah (who he referred to as the ‘wise chief’), with himself acting as a prosecutor.
The accused here is the ‘African colonial soldier’, who is accused of collaborating with external forces to subvert the possibility of decolonization and economic freedom for the African people. The ‘African colonial soldier’ represents the military rulers who were ubiquitous across African countries at that time, as well as the politico–military elite who collaborated with the actors of the global capitalistic system to exploit African people. After hearing the accused claim, ‘I don’t know’, in response to the charges, the presiding judge swiftly delivered the judgement. ‘You are guilty!’ Fela then offered mitigation, saying that if the so-called African colonial soldier recanted and changed his ways, he would be forgiven.
Performing this song in Berlin, the city where the template for the arbitrary colonial demarcation of African borders was decided, is poetic justice of a kind. By recreating a prosecutorial atmosphere with African actors in charge, the performance reinforces the importance of agency in how we engage with issues of reparative justice and the explicit identification of problems and solutions. For teachers of critical international law, this performance is invaluable. First, it provides procedural relatability by dramatizing a court setting. Beyond the rigidity of formal court processes, it demonstrates flexibility and conviviality as effective means of conveying messages. Second, it shows how this performance can open up new and refreshing pathways in teaching. For example, Fela’s reference to Nkrumah as the presiding judge could be used to explore the latter’s ideas on neo-colonialism and the African personality. The ‘African colonial soldier’ could also be used to further explore the failure of political actors to advance meaningful agency. Third, it challenges us to broaden our perspective to include objects, artworks, and performances as valid teaching resources.
Supplementary material
The supplementary material for this article can be found at https://doi.org/10.1017/S0922156525100642.