Enchanted Policies and Conspiratorial Materialisms

Ontological pluralism and counter-colonial political action

Abstract

This work explores the role of religion in anti-colonial struggles, drawing from a theoretical debate on the relationship between religion and politics, as well as historical research on the rebellions, revolts, and uprisings of enslaved individuals in the 19th-century Black Atlantic. Our aim is to investigate the ontological and epistemological implications that arise in the field of political theory when diverse actors, both human and non-human, participate in shaping struggles, conflicts, and tensions in their historical and social contexts. Additionally, we examine the tactical and belligerent use of religious practices and materialisms in anti-colonial processes. By rethinking politics from a pluralistic ontological perspective, particularly through the concept of "conspiratorial materialisms," we expand the understanding of the role of religion as a mediator of social conflicts. This essay offers an analytical contribution to the multifaceted dynamics of power and resistance in the history of the Black Atlantic and contemporary socio-political movements.