Michael McEachrane is a Member and the first Rapporteur of the UN Permanent Forum of People of African Descent and a Senior Visiting Researcher at the Raoul Wallenberg Institute of Human Rights. He has a PhD in Philosophy (with distinction, 2006) from Åbo Akademi University in Finland and has held positions at universities in the US, Canada, Trinidad & Tobago, Sweden, Germany and the UK.
His current research focus is on postcolonial/decolonial perspectives on human rights, systemic and structural racial discrimination and reparatory justice. Among his publications are a forthcoming edited collection, Decolonial Sweden (Routledge), and the books Afro-Nordic Landscapes: Equality and Race in Northern Europe (Routledge, 2014) and Sverige och de Andra: Postkoloniala perspektiv (Natur & Kultur, 2001).
Michael McEachrane is a regular commentator on issues of race for international as well as Swedish media. He is also a seasoned universal human rights advocate who, among other things, has helped found several CSOs and served as an expert advisor to the UN around the International Decade for People of African Descent 2015-2024.
KEYWORDS:
- Postcolonial/decolonial perspectives on human rights, systemic and structural racial discrimination, reparatory justice
Select Publications
- Books:
- Decolonial Sweden (Routledge, forthcoming 2024)
- Afro-Nordic Landscapes: Equality and Race in Northern Europe (Routledge, 2014)
- Book chapters:
- (2022) “Anti-discrimination Law and Systemic Racism: Challenges for the EU and Nordic Countries.” In: Scandinavian Studies in Law, volume 68 – Equality edited by L. Carlson and L. Lundstedt. Stockholm: Stockholm Institute of Law at Stockholm University
- (2020) “Pan-Africanism and the African Diaspora in Europe.” In: The Routledge Handbook of Pan-Africanism edited by R. Rabaka. New York and London: Routledge
- (2020) “Meanings of Words and the Possibilities of Psychology: Reflections on Jan Smedslund’s Psychologic.” In:Respect for Thought: Jan Smedslund’s Legacy for Psychology edited by J. Valsiner, E. Stänicke and T.G. Lindstad. Berlin and Heidelberg: Springer
- Journal articles:
- (2021) “On Conceptualising African Diasporas in Europe.” African Diaspora: A Journal of Transnational Africa in a Global World, Volume 13, pp 160-182
- (2018). “Universal Human Rights and the Coloniality of Race in Sweden”. The Human Rights Review, December 2018, Volume 19, Issue 4, pp 471–493
- Opinion articles:
- (2021) Co-signed by Black Lives Matter Sweden and Friday’s for Future Sweden (including, Greta Thunberg). “Klimatkrisen hänger samman med rasismen” [The climate crisis is linked to racism]. Aftonbladet, 22 October
- (2021) Co-signed by Madubuko Diakité, Joe Frans, Aysha Jones and Paul Lappalainen. “Sverige går fel i kampen mot rasism” [Sweden is wrong in the fight against racism]. Dagens Arena, 30 September
- (2021) with Madubuko A. Diakité. “Dags att tala klarspråk om rasismen i Sverige” [Time to Speak Clearly about Racism in Sweden]. Aftonbladet, 21 Marh
- (2021) “Will European Countries Ever Take Meaningful Steps to End Colonial Legacies?” The Conversation, 22 February
- (2019) “Does sustainable development have an elephant in the room?” Al Jazeera, 10 October
- (2018) “Sverige bör återinföra termen ras i lagen” [Sweden should reintroduce the term race in law]. Svenska Dagbladet, 6 May
- (2014) “Seeing Sweden’s Race Problem for what it is”. Al Jazeera Opinion, 15 December
- Presentations at the UN:
- (2022). “Reparatory Justice and Sustainable Development: A Way Forward?”. Presentation at the First Session of the UN Permanent Forum of People of African Descent, 5 December.
- (2019). “Reparations within the UN System.” Presented at “Reparations, racial justice and equality” – an Expert workshop convened by the UN Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance, 30 May