On Asymmetries of Scholarship and the Subalternity of Scholars from East-Central Europe: The Case of Philip Muehlenbeck’s "Czechoslovakia in Africa"
On Asymmetries of Scholarship and the Subalternity of Scholars from East-Central Europe: The Case of Philip Muehlenbeck’s "Czechoslovakia in Africa"

Summary/Abstract: The essay explores the complexities of academic asymmetries, focusing on the subaltern status of East Central European scholars within global historiography. The author examines the case of Philip Muehlenbeck’s 2016 publication "Czechoslovakia in Africa, 1945–1968", which aimed to shed light on the under-researched Czechoslovak-African relations during the Cold War. Although Muehlenbeck’s work was timely and well received for its application of junior actor theory, the author ishighly critical of his research practices. He shows how Muehlenbeck relied heavily on, and closely mirrored, the earlier work of Czech historians Petr Zídek and Karel Sieber, without giving them sufficient credit. The review highlights how Muehlenbeck’s references to Czech archival sources are exclusively those already cited by Zídek and Sieber, suggesting that original archival work was minimal or absent. Furthermore, Muehlenbeck’s structural and textual parallels to Zídek’s and Sieber’s work raise ethical concerns of unacknowledged dependency.

• Details
• Contents