BREAK THE CHAINS OF OPPRESION AND THE YOKE OF ...

8 p EM ire
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Empire - Provocation with
a Perspective
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Martina Wasserloos-Strunk, � Rheydt, Germany
Empire is a topic that has constantly fueled, inspired and sometimes unfortunately
stifled discussion since Accra. What “empire” is, whether it exists and
what it does to us – how we are ultimately part of it – has been discussed in
many settings, from different standpoints, and with great enthusiasm, sometimes
even bordering on aggression.
The fact that global power structures have been termed “empire” has often been
understood as an accusation leveled at the European churches of being part of
the imperial machinery themselves. This was interpreted as a sweeping judgment
on European commitment to justice and finally the South was directly accused
of disregarding victims of unjust neoliberal global structures in Europe, indeed,
of seeing them as being, as it were, in “complicity” with empire.
The heated debate around this concept is worthy of attention. Arguably there is
more behind it: people get worked up about the issue of global power structures
but that topic triggers emotions about other conflicts as well.
Notwithstanding all of this, the Accra Confession explains what is meant by
“empire” very clearly, carefully and with a great sense of political realism:
We recognize the enormity and complexity of the situation. We do not seek simple answers.
As seekers of truth and justice and looking through the eyes of the powerless and
suffering people, we
�
see that
�
the
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current world (dis)order
� �
is rooted in an extremely
complex and immoral economic system defended by empire. In using the term “empire”
we mean the coming � �together � of economic, cultural � �political
and military power
that constitutes a system of domination led by powerful nations to protect and defend
their own interests (AC 11).
As in many other passages, too, the Accra Confession is not always easy to classify
as a linguistic text type. This particular section does not use the language of
confession, nor does it sound like a statement. It is more a reflection on the subject
of “empire”, its manifestation and our own involvement—with all the precautions
necessary to avoid being too categorical.
The General Council in Accra wrestled over this section of the Confession and
probably that is why it is semantically so hard to categorize. That, however, is a
boon for any discussion of the matter.
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– Empire - Provocation with a Perspective – 69