Applying Critical Race Theory to Public Administration Scholarship

Abstract

This essay addresses how critical race theory (CRT) can be applied to the field of public administration. It proposes specific areas within the field that could benefit from the application of a CRT framework. This requires a paradigmatic shift in the field, which is desirable given the high priority that the field places on social equity, the third pillar of public administration. If there is a desire to achieve social equity and justice, racism needs to be addressed and confronted directly. The Black Lives Matter movement is one example of the urgency and significance of applying theories from a variety of disciplines to the study of racism in public administration.

CO‐DESIGN‐ing a morecontext‐based, pluralistic, and participatory future for public administration

“…Research that is guided by critical theories (race, feminist, etc. ), queer theory, liberatory and resistance frameworks, and counternarratives (Berry- James et al, 2021;Blessett et al, 2016;Blessett & Gaynor, 2021;Matthews & Poyner, 2020;Riccucci, 2021) is integral to cultivating a pluralistic shift. Participatory approaches that center social equity inherently embrace funds of knowledge, cultural and communicative practices, and knowledge transmission and exchange processes that are not dominated by academics or practitioners (Ramos & Kiyama, 2021).…”

“…We contend that our place as emerging scholars, early in our academic careers, arms us with unique perspectives that can prove valuable in imagining the possibilities of the "next 100 years." Our introduction to the field of PA coincides with the emergence of the behavioral public administration movement (Grimmelikhuijsen et al, 2017;James et al, 2017), growing accessibility to big data and computational methods (Andrews, 2019;Lavertu, 2016;Mergel et al, 2016), greater use of critical theories (Blessett et al, 2016;Conyers & Wright Fields, 2020;Riccucci, 2021;Santis, 2021;Starke et al, 2018), and calls for more global perspectives (Ashley et al, 2021;Guy et al, 2019;Haque et al, 2021;Zahra & Bach, 2021). During a time of unprecedented global social, political, and cultural changes, 1 we have come to embrace and promote a wide range of methods as well as diverse and critical perspectives.…”

An Antiracist Index for State Level Assessment

“…While such deliberations are warranted, the literature has only recently acknowledged who Wilson was as a person—i.e. an antisuffragist, racial segregationist (Alexander and Stivers 2020; Riccucci 2021). To apply an antiracist lens means that scholars must also recognize how Wilson's bigotry and racist values impacted his work, the field, and America.…”

Anti‐racism in the Public Service of Canada: How can critical race theory inform research and practice in Canadian public administration?

“…Althaus and O'Faircheallaigh (2022) and Portillo et al (2020) argue that Indigenous and other racialized public servants face racism throughout their career. This primarily manifests itself in racial inequities in hiring and promotion (Portillo et al, 2020; Riccucci, 2022) and a lack of opportunities to challenge existing policy processes that ultimately leads to disinterest in career advancement or even exit from the public service (Althaus and O'Faircheallaigh, 2022). Furthermore, career opportunities for racialized public servants who identify as women can be further constrained due to caregiving expectations (Portillo & Humphrey, 2018).…”

“…Finally, a growing body of scholarship argues that CRT should be more widely applied in public administration to explore how systemic racism bears upon on racialized public servants, in addition to the impacts of individual racism (Blume, 2023; Pandey et al, 2023). Riccucci (2022) argues that the experiences of racialized public servants are largely missing from the discipline. In Canada, studies applying CRT to Canadian public administration specifically are yet to emerge.…”