Teresa Koloma Beck: Traitors to the Contract

The racial contract (C. Mills) in many European societies is changing rapidly. Centuries of imperialism and colonialism had made white supremacy one of their key structural features. In the second half of the 20th century, however, defending or demanding racial dominance publicly came to be seen as increasingly illegitimate. Yet, this has changed fundamentally. Arranging the world to the advantage of those who are considered white is now, once again, a deliberately enacted political project mobilising broader constituencies.

What does this new reality demand of organizations, milieus, movements, or individuals that refuse to give up on ideals of diversity, that aspire to continue to cultivate cross-cutting solidarities? Based on Charles Mills' work on the racial contract, Teresa Koloma Beck will discuss what it means to refuse participation in the reproduction of supremacist structures. She will focus on the figure of the *renegade* and *traitor* who refuses the privileged position the racial contract affords them. How this demand for betrayal of the contract might be relevant beyond the racial majority is of particular interest.

About Teresa Koloma Beck

Traitors to the Contract will be presented on the 3rd of October in the context of 

APRiCot Garden 2026: If Not Here, Then Where? Making Our Home in Shared Struggle