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Representing the Former Colonizer: Identity Negotiation Among British Diplomats with Ethnic Heritage from Former British Colonies

Bala, Mustafa Harun LU (2026) SIMZ11 20261
Master of Science in Global Studies
Abstract
While the British Empire is no longer a political reality, it continues to shape the organization of British state institutions, including the Foreign, Commonwealth, and Development Office (FCDO). As people with ethnic heritage from formerly colonized countries enter the British diplomatic service, they occupy the unique position of representing the state that colonized their ancestors. Existing literature addresses representation and diversity in public institutions, the social dimensions of diplomacy, and racial inequality in professional expectations separately, but little work studies their intersection at the micro-level of diplomats' own experiences. To address this, this thesis asks how British diplomats with ethnic heritage from... (More)
While the British Empire is no longer a political reality, it continues to shape the organization of British state institutions, including the Foreign, Commonwealth, and Development Office (FCDO). As people with ethnic heritage from formerly colonized countries enter the British diplomatic service, they occupy the unique position of representing the state that colonized their ancestors. Existing literature addresses representation and diversity in public institutions, the social dimensions of diplomacy, and racial inequality in professional expectations separately, but little work studies their intersection at the micro-level of diplomats' own experiences. To address this, this thesis asks how British diplomats with ethnic heritage from former British colonies perceive and negotiate their identities within the diplomatic service. Drawing on Stuart Hall's concepts, including articulation, suture, double consciousness, and the colonial gaze, the thesis proposes a two-sphere framework to analyze the identity negotiation of British diplomats. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with six British diplomats, supplemented with public materials, and analyzed with directed content analysis. The findings reveal identity negotiation as continuous, contextual labor. Subjects respond to psychological inputs of hyper-visibility and exclusion through code-switching, strategic self-presentation, and ‘suture’ into the role and identity of a diplomat. However, some have the ability to deliberately refuse to conceal the parts of themselves that the institution signals racialized rejection toward. (Less)
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author
Bala, Mustafa Harun LU
supervisor
organization
course
SIMZ11 20261
year
type
H2 - Master's Degree (Two Years)
subject
keywords
postcolonial identity, diplomacy, identity negotiation, Stuart Hall, elite interviews, FCDO
language
English
id
9239405
date added to LUP
2026-06-25 09:06:45
date last changed
2026-06-25 09:06:45
@misc{9239405,
  abstract     = {{While the British Empire is no longer a political reality, it continues to shape the organization of British state institutions, including the Foreign, Commonwealth, and Development Office (FCDO). As people with ethnic heritage from formerly colonized countries enter the British diplomatic service, they occupy the unique position of representing the state that colonized their ancestors. Existing literature addresses representation and diversity in public institutions, the social dimensions of diplomacy, and racial inequality in professional expectations separately, but little work studies their intersection at the micro-level of diplomats' own experiences. To address this, this thesis asks how British diplomats with ethnic heritage from former British colonies perceive and negotiate their identities within the diplomatic service. Drawing on Stuart Hall's concepts, including articulation, suture, double consciousness, and the colonial gaze, the thesis proposes a two-sphere framework to analyze the identity negotiation of British diplomats. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with six British diplomats, supplemented with public materials, and analyzed with directed content analysis. The findings reveal identity negotiation as continuous, contextual labor. Subjects respond to psychological inputs of hyper-visibility and exclusion through code-switching, strategic self-presentation, and ‘suture’ into the role and identity of a diplomat. However, some have the ability to deliberately refuse to conceal the parts of themselves that the institution signals racialized rejection toward.}},
  author       = {{Bala, Mustafa Harun}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  title        = {{Representing the Former Colonizer: Identity Negotiation Among British Diplomats with Ethnic Heritage from Former British Colonies}},
  year         = {{2026}},
}