Decolonial Approach Research Articles

From shared experiences of gendered racism to converging interpretations? Exploring the formation of a decolonial standpoint by women of Moroccan descent in postcolonial France

This article invites a dialogue between decolonial perspectives on diasporas and feminist standpoint theories by exploring processes of standpoint formation by women of Moroccan descent who grew up in postcolonial France. The article draws on 18 interviews with women aged in their 20s to their 40s, as well as a long-term engagement with these questions through ‘patchwork ethnography’. While emphasising that these women were neither exposed to identical experiences nor have the same worldviews, the article shows that they have navigated a set of shared experiences that pertain to their social position and that they are thus aware of the manifestations in their everyday lives and of the workings of gendered and racialised social hierarchies that affect them. The article explores participants’ experiences of racism and of its gendered inflections; the formation of ‘shared angles of visions’ (Hill Collins, 1997) around specific issues as a result; and finally, participants’ assessments of the different terms used to describe them in public and in everyday discourses. The article seeks to contribute to thinking through empirically the formation of an epistemological standpoint at the crossroads of feminist and decolonial approaches.

W.E.B. Du Bois on empires and colonies, 1896–1963

This article explores the scholarly and journalistic contributions made by W.E.B. Du Bois to the history and theory of modern colonialism. Because Du Bois’s understanding of colonialism evolved radically over his lifetime, this article examines all of his relevant writing on the topic--nearly 300 separate texts, written between the 1880s and the twilight of his life. The article also traces the connections between Du Bois’s ideas about colonialism to changing intellectual, political, and personal contexts. While showing that there is no singular “Du Boisian” theory of colonialism, the article concludes that Du Bois made a number of important suggestions that can contribute to further colonial studies. Du Bois urged researchers to track historical transformations in the forms of colonial rule, to compare national styles of colonialism, to trace the connections between colonialism and class formation and racial oppression in the metropoles, and to focus on the ways colonialism stems from economic and political power motives as well as ideological discourses and other practices including racism. He argued that slavery ended in the New World when it became more profitable for European capital to exploit African labor in Africa. He supported the political program of amalgamating colonial-era political units into larger African states. He pointed to the relations between science and colonialism. The survey of Du Bois’s colonial studies is preceded by a brief discussion of postcolonial and decolonial approaches to canon revision and intellectual decolonization. Some of Du Bois’s statements could be read as violating sociology’s present-day norms, such as his support for certain forms of colonialism and his description of certain colonized populations as “semicivilized.” The article argues for a more tolerant, multiplex approach to historic thinkers that pays attention to the ways in which they may both conform to and move beyond the intellectual constraints of their time and place. Like Marx, Weber, and Durkheim, Du Bois should be retained in sociology’s canon.

Conflict of interests? Negotiating superstructures for value co-creation at indigenous heritage sites – the case of Patan, Nepal

ABSTRACT While conflict in multi-stakeholder relationship is widely acknowledged, few studies explore how conflicts pertaining to cultural heritage, power dynamics, and institutional constraints are navigated in Indigenous tourism co-creation. In that regard, this study examines how tourism stakeholders negotiate social conflict during value co-creation in Patan, Nepal. Using a decolonial approach, data were collected through interviews, observation and Netnography. The study highlights the transformative role of culturally empowered community associations in fostering co-creative engagement through knowledge synergy, psychological empowerment, and strategic partnerships. It reconceptualises co-creation as a conflict negotiation process and offers practical insights for Indigenous-led value co-creation in tourism.

Deradicalizing student unrest in South Africa using decolonial approach

Deradicalizing student unrest in South Africa using decolonial approach

Transverse Disciplines: Queer-Feminist, Anti-racist, and Decolonial Approaches to the University, edited by Simone Pfleger and Carrie Smith

Transverse Disciplines: Queer-Feminist, Anti-racist, and Decolonial Approaches to the University, edited by Simone Pfleger and Carrie Smith

Nation-States and International Law

This article explores the frictions between national sovereignty and the universalization of human rights, highlighting the deep colonial roots and persistent coloniality within the nation-state system and international law. It critiques the liberal framework of nation-states that marginalize “non-nationals” while also perpetuating colonial relations and racial hierarchies through unequal integration into the nation-state system. The ongoing assault on Gaza starkly illustrates the violence inherent within the nation-state and points to the limitations of the current human rights framework. Advocating for a decolonial approach, the article argues that the violence in Palestine underscores the need to rethink and debate international law and human rights, expanding on decolonial scholarship to liberate these frameworks from their colonial, modern, and capitalist contexts.

Decolonial approaches to multidisciplinary supervision

Decolonial approaches to multidisciplinary supervision

‘Racialised nudity’ in social work education: critical reflections on cross-cultural pedagogies

ABSTRACT Fostering cross-cultural learning is an important component in social work education in Australia. However, cross-cultural learning competencies are often criticised for lacking meaningful engagement with effective decolonial processes. Drawing on a postcolonial perspective, this paper offers a theoretical critique of pedagogical practices that create, sustain, and reinforce racial hierarchy in cross-cultural learning. These practices are discussed within the notions of tokenistic inclusion and racialised nudity that illustrate deficit models of cultural engagement. The paper is underpinned by the argument that a broadly defined and uncritically designed cross-cultural teaching and learning experience runs the risk of perpetuating white supremacy and dominance in social work education. By critiquing tokenistic cross-cultural pedagogical practices, this paper advocates for a re-orientation of social work education where a decolonial approach to knowledge production is embraced within curriculum design with a prioritised focus on the intersection of whiteness and racism.

A decolonial approach to ecological distribution conflicts and the Maya Train in Mexico

A neoliberal development model, frequently at odds with the values of the local Mayan biocultural heritage, has historically prompted the conversion of forests and small-scale agricultural land, mainly in the Yucatan Peninsula. This study analyzes ethnographic data collected in two localities in the peninsula that will be impacted by the Maya Train. Preliminary results based mainly on conducted interviews revealed perceptions regarding daily interactions with the local habitat, the effects of public policy initiatives in the communities, and resistance strategies in response to perceived threats surrounding the project. Through a decolonial lens, the study contributes to understanding how social movements impact policies in the face of the environmental and social pacts of neoliberal development projects, while advancing towards a more ontologically diverse political representation.

Decolonizing Ukrainian Art History

Abstract In this article, we analyze the influence of the colonial policy of the Russian Empire and the Soviet Union on Ukrainian art-historical writing. As we shall reveal, the mechanisms of knowledge production created during that period continued to operate after the Declaration of Independence of Ukraine in 1991. The limitations that were imposed on the art-historical community, which can be regarded as colonial, shaped the crucial narratives (of the “triune nation”) and dictated the thematic scope of Ukrainian scholarship. The new notion of “mysteztvoznavstvo,” introduced in 1937 instead of the previously established Theory and History of Art, eventually led to a profound rift between Soviet Russian and Ukrainian scholarship and the Western world more generally. “Mysteztvoznavstvo” was supposed to be an umbrella term for art history, theory, and art criticism but ended up doing a disservice to each domain. Art theory in Ukraine was virtually nonexistent, whereas art history was mixed with art criticism, resulting in writing that did not meet widely accepted academic standards. This led to the isolation of Ukrainian scholars, who were confined to the Russian-speaking community and had very limited access to foreign scholarship. We also analyze the decolonization processes in the history of Ukrainian art prompted by the invasion of the Russian Federation into Ukraine after 2013, such as The Revolution of Dignity and “decommunization.” We argue that horizontal art history and decolonial approaches cannot adequately be applied if colonial tools are still used by the discipline. Epistemic decolonization can only be achieved after challenging the standards of “mysteztvoznavstvo” and, thus, by dividing art studies into three separate domains: art history, art theory, and art criticism, as each discipline has its own goals and methods.

A decolonial approach to Brazilian environmental policy since 1972

The aim of this article is to discuss the neoliberal project as a colonial determinant of the environmental policy in Brazil since 1972. The 1972 Stockholm Conference is used as a milestone for analysis. The results show that, since the military regime in the 1970s and through successive elected governments, whether right- or left-wing, federal policies have consistently aimed to boost the country’s economic growth. Even the few socio-environmental advances identified during the first administrations of the Labour Party (2003–2010) resulted from processes focused on the ‘deterritorialisation’ of Indigenous peoples and traditional communities. The ultra-liberal project adopted by the Bolsonaro administration (2019–2022) accelerated these processes and promoted an aggressive denialist, anti-environmental and anti-Indigenous agenda. Given the current political scenario (Lula administration 2023–2026), this study makes the following main contributions: it offers a new orientation for the environmental and Indigenous agendas developed by the progressive sector in Brazil and advocates for a science orientated towards contributing to a new environmental and Indigenous agenda in the country.

Decolonizing IS through tecnologia social: Fostering epistemic plurality in the design of solidarity cryptocurrency in Latin America

AbstractWesternised paradigms dominate the information systems (IS) field, often overshadowing alternative epistemologies. This study challenges the prevailing hegemonic view and contributes to the decolonization of IS research and practice by proposing a Latin American and decolonial approach to technological development that emphasises community centrality and epistemic justice through recognition of local knowledges and Indigenous traditions. Using design ethnography, we follow the development of a solidarity cryptocurrency in a Brazilian favela. Our paper offers two key contributions. By introducing tecnologia social, an underrepresented perspective in IS, we highlight ecology of knowledges, centrality of the local and decolonial reconfiguration as principles that can enrich the understanding of IS projects from a decolonial perspective. In addition, we propose a new concept—epistemic dialogical tension—as a process wherein different epistemologies coexist and accommodate each other, encouraging a dynamic interplay of distinct human experiences and worldviews. It offers new paths to IS scholars and practitioners in navigating the complexities of epistemic plurality. We argue that tecnologia social and epistemic dialogical tension provide fertile ground for developing reimagined, decolonized approaches where multiple epistemologies can coexist, favouring the often‐silenced communities they are intended to benefit.

Reclaiming Being: Applying a Decolonial Lens to Gendered Violence, Indigenous Motherhood, and Community Wellbeing

Indigenous women and children in Canada are significantly more likely to experience some form of family violence than their non-Indigenous counterparts. However, biomedical and academic discussions around the violence that Indigenous women and their families and communities face reflect a colonial narrative emphasizing Euro-Canadian perspectives and values; a colonial narrative that disconnects the role of past and ongoing forms of colonial violence and naturalizes family violence within Indigenous communities, informing a view of Indigeneity as risk. Through a decolonial lens, the underlying causes of family violence in Indigenous communities can be connected to the gendered violence of patriarchal colonialism targeting Indigenous women. It is revealed how Indigenous women’s bodies became a site of the coloniality of violence as colonization disenfranchised and displaced Indigenous women from their lands, communities, and central roles. Gendered colonial violence attacked Indigenous women’s scared status in their societies and disrupted Indigenous relational modes of being. This informed a coloniality of being for Indigenous peoples; a coloniality of being integral to intergenerational trauma and family violence. Through the lens of Indigenous laws as a decolonial approach to family violence, the centrality of Indigenous women’s roles and responsibilities as mothers is linked to community wellbeing and intertwined with leadership and governance. By grounding the rights of Indigenous women within relationships, Indigenous women can reclaim their sacred places within respectful, reciprocal, and interconnected ways of being.

Towards decolonial IS: Insights from applying pluriverse and conviviality to analyse a co‐production intervention in Peru

AbstractWhile there is a growing interest in applying decolonial approaches within the field of information systems (IS), effective avenues for engagement remain largely unexplored. To this end, our paper introduces a framework focused on decolonial IS research informed by the notions of the pluriverse and conviviality. These concepts emphasise a focus on ontological, epistemological and methodological dimensions, with a strong orientation to justice. We illustrate the application of the framework through a re‐analysis of our own research project, the co‐production of the Metropolitan Water Observatory (MWO) in Lima, Peru. Applying the framework to learn new insights about the MWO, this paper contributes to the IS field by providing a framework from which to examine IS interventions from a decolonial perspective. In addition to advancing theoretical understanding, our framework serves as a valuable resource for scholars navigating the complex landscape of decolonial approaches in IS.

Decolonizing the Academic Study of Science and Religion? Engaging Wynter’s Epistemic Disobedience

With roots in the early 1960s, decoloniality as a sub-sect of postcolonial studies made successful attempts at redefining and unearthing essentially Western conceptualizations of knowledge and knowledge formation across different fields of endeavor. Many academic disciplines have benefited from decolonial studies’ self-reflective theories and deconstructive approaches, and religion and science should not be an exception. Within religion and science as an academic field, Western and European intellectual frames have been overwhelmingly presented as definitive of globalized perspectives and knowledge, especially the definition of “religion” and “science” within the academic field. The subtle but evident impact of adopting Western epistemology as ‘the’ definitive reference frame for all peoples and cultures is the transposition of colonial and overtly Eurocentric conceptualizations and definitions of what religion and science mean as perfunctory for what religion and science should mean within non-Western frames as well as a disregard for the latter. This has led to the presentation (or overrepresentation, according to Sylvia Wynter) of a single homogenized perspective for meaning-making and interpretation of topics and themes within the field, a decision which has not only significantly impacted the field, in terms of ongoing dialectics about the relationship between religion and science, but which has also seen the exclusion of other forms of beneficial epistemic reference frames, which have been viewed as subaltern. Drawing from Wynter’s epistemic disobedience, this paper highlights decolonial approaches for engaging in the academic study of science and religion, and which will advance the path towards delinking the field from Euro-Western conceptualizations. This will unravel the rich epistemic formation within non-Western knowledge frames and the inclusion of which will greatly enrich and redefine the academic study of religion and science in the days ahead.

From transnational to trans-Indigenous: a critical analysis of the role of categorization and everyday coloniality in Indigenous mobilities

ABSTRACT Addressing the special issue’s focus on the contestation of state categories, this article investigates the categorization of Indigenous Peoples on the move and how they resist and re-exist these categorizations. Rooted in decolonial approaches from Latin America, we propose a trans-Indigenous conceptual framework for the analysis of such mobilities. Based on 15 semi-structured interviews with Indigenous people on the move conducted in the State of Roraima in Brazil and supplemented by an examination of relevant policy documents in the region, our arguments are built around the perspectives of Indigenous people on the move and their resistance. In outlining the contours of a trans-Indigenous conceptual framework, this article’s primary contributions lie in contextualizing Indigenous mobilities within a decolonial critique of the modern-colonial nation-state and human rights in Latin America that may lead toward an independent praxis related to territory, sovereignty, and mobilities.

(Un) Learning and Re (Learning) Counterterrorism in Kenya: A Pilgrimage Towards Indigeneity

Abstract To a great extent, Kenya’s counterterrorism approach is criticised for being a copycat of the Western state-centric approach. This raises questions on whether the country’s approach is indeed based on African heritage or embedded in Eurocentric dispositions. Despite being framed largely by discourses of Islamophobia Kenya’s counterterrorism approach is also a product of the dominant universalistic knowledge that is not entirely suitable for the country’s counterterrorism situation. Debates have emerged on whether this scenario is attributed to the failure to place terrorism in the wider historical context or whether coloniality and Western modernity are contributing to this threat. To address these issues, this paper employs the Afrocentric decolonial approach anchored on the Ubuntu philosophy to investigate what a decolonised counterterrorism approach that reflects indigenous perspectives should entail in Kenya. Consequently, this paper attempts to shed light on history through the eyes of the subaltern by deconstructing some of the mainstream assumptions that have dominated Kenya’s counterterrorism discourse. Consequently, this paper aims to provide the platform for epistemic reconstitution by debunking the myth that Indigenous Knowledge about counterterrorism is insubstantial.

A Decolonial Approach in English Language Teaching as a Lingua Franca:

Language is a social practice and, therefore, is embedded within social, cultural, political, and economic relations. According to Benesch (2001), language is a site of struggle, a range of discourses competing for legitimacy in specific social contexts where power is unevenly distributed. Due to its transnational and transcultural scope, English is increasingly understood as a Lingua Franca that challenges the ideology of the supposed superiority of the native speaker, as well as the concept of the nation-state and the interrelations between language, territory, and culture. Furthermore, since the establishment of the Modernity/Coloniality group (CASTRO-GOMEZ; GROSFOGUEL, 2007), theories of decoloniality have been widely discussed in various academic fields, including Applied Linguistics and English teaching and learning. For this reason, Souza and Duboc (2021) argue in favor of a more performative decolonial praxis in order to identify, interrogate, and disrupt coloniality in different spheres of contemporary social relations, including language teaching and learning. In this sense, this article aims to reflect upon the role of English as a Lingua Franca (ELF) in teacher education as a key concept for promoting a decolonial approach to English language teaching from the Global South.

The Western psychologization of global development: A cultural and decolonial approach

Euro-American psychology’s strong focus on the individual mind and behavior has become a fundamental part of global development agendas. Concepts like self-regulation, self-actualization, self-efficacy, and behavior change decorate the development discourse. Scholars term this phenomenon the “psychologization of development.” The main driver of this focus is likely rooted in the hegemonic belief that Western psychological theories are universally applicable. Yet, the discipline’s embeddedness in Euro-American imperialism, globalization, and neoliberalism makes its theories particularly un-universal and unfit in many contexts. Nevertheless, people in non-Western societies are increasingly subjected to development interventions targeting their individual behavior. Using examples from research in sub-Saharan Africa of how articulations of harmful witchcraft may increase because of development interventions that promote individualized ways of being and thinking, this article prompts a cultural and decolonial perspective to reimagine other ways of doing development.

A localised perspective in educational policy studies: understanding actor interaction in a Hong Kong school through mohap

ABSTRACT Asia as Method, in decolonial thinking, endorses the value of local knowledge while concurrently recognizing colonial and global knowledges’ ongoing influence and potential value in knowledge production. The author takes such a decolonial approach to examine how actors interact in translating the Fine-tuning Medium of Instruction Policy in a Hong Kong school. To grasp the nuances of actor interaction, the Cantonese term mohap (wearing in) is employed. Three concepts from distinct traditions are used to explain mohap: meritocracy, harmony and agency. This study examines actors’ mohap process through three stages: How actors perceive the government guidelines, form the school-based policy, and develop the school-based policy. The findings show that actors’ mohap in the local context entails the meritocracy ideology, sought-after harmony, and actor agency. It reveals the need and the potential of localised approaches to educational policy studies in the Global South.