What can postcolonial theory contribute to the study of social equity?

Abstract

There is a unanimous agreement among scholars that social equity scholarship is essential to the study of public administration. One area of weakness in the social equity literature is its inability to develop a theoretical understanding of the complexities of race, gender, and ethnicity. This viewpoint addresses the call of Pandey, Bearfield, and Hall (2022), arguing “concept of race in public administration remains woefully undertheorized” by exploring key tenets of Postcolonial theory. Postcolonial theory can bolster social equity literature by providing a much‐needed theoretical framework to systematically understand the marginalization and subordination of people of color for centuries through representation, production of knowledge, and power. The postcolonial theory also challenges the portrayal of all non‐White minorities as one collective hegemonic identity and, therefore, can provide a sound theoretical grounding to social equity scholarship. Evidence for Practice There is a growing call among scholars and practitioners to conceptualize race in public administration using more complex historical foundations capturing nuances of gender, ethnicity, and skin‐tone rather than simplifying race as binary (White vs. non‐White). Postcolonial theory provides a strong theoretical foundation to understand race and intersectional identity and provides a firm capacity to understand race relationships using the historical lens. Postcolonial theory also provides insights into the exploitation and subjugation of colonial subjects (citizens once colonized by European empires) and how their identity is forever molded by the slave trade and exploitation of natural resources of countries in Asia, Africa, and Latin America. Finally, the postcolonial theory provides a strong parallel between the colonial representation of the colonized subjects as the “Other” and the portrayal of poor people from the global South as stereotypical and helpless and refugees and immigrants as dangerous or “bad hombres.”

Reimagining race and gender in public administration and public policy: Insights from an interdisciplinary systematic review

“…Historical accounts of public administration, however, render women's contribution invisible and paint gender stereotypical accounts of public administration as men's work. Stivers (1995, p. 523) makes this point eloquently, “… what sense we have today of the history of the field of public administration traces its origins to the proceduralism of the bureau men, rather than to the openly substantive approaches of settlement residents and reform club members, so many of whom were women.” The domineering influences of maleness and whiteness are pervasive (Bhati, 2022; Moloney et al, 2022; Portillo et al, 2022).…”

“…This drive was powered by a belief among the western intellectual classes in the US and Europe that colonization was both a right and obligation of White nations to bring civilization to other races. Recently, a number of scholars have highlighted different aspects of this racialized and gendered legacy, and how this legacy continues to shape the United States and rest of the world during the present times (Bhati, 2022; Martínez, 2022; Moloney et al, 2022; Portillo et al, 2022; Roberts, 2020).…”

“…Stivers (1995, p. 523) makes this point eloquently, "… what sense we have today of the history of the field of public administration traces its origins to the proceduralism of the bureau men, rather than to the openly substantive approaches of settlement residents and reform club members, so many of whom were women." The domineering influences of maleness and whiteness are pervasive (Bhati, 2022;Moloney et al, 2022;Portillo et al, 2022). Indeed, much of what is taught as part of the canon of intellectual history of public administration scholarship is dominated by references to Woodrow Wilson, Leonard White, Frank Goodnow, William Willoughby, Dwight Waldo, Frederick Mosher, and other White and predominantly male scholars (Roberts, 2020;Stivers, 1995).…”

Civics and civility: A darn on threadbare fabric or the fabric itself?

“…In particular, they explore how and why policy transfer assumptions, narrow administrative histories, methodological Whiteness, and incomplete considerations of non-West administration affect our understanding of what is or is not representative bureaucracy. Bhati (2023) addresses a significant area of weakness in the social equity literature-the inability to develop a theoretical understanding of the complexities of race, gender, and ethnicity. Bhati (2023) argues that postcolonial theory can bolster the social equity literature by offering a theoretical framework that systematically understands the marginalization and subordination of people of color for centuries through representation, production of knowledge, and power.…”

“…Bhati (2023) addresses a significant area of weakness in the social equity literature—the inability to develop a theoretical understanding of the complexities of race, gender, and ethnicity. Bhati (2023) argues that postcolonial theory can bolster the social equity literature by offering a theoretical framework that systematically understands the marginalization and subordination of people of color for centuries through representation, production of knowledge, and power. Postcolonial theory challenges the portrayal of all non‐White minorities as one collective hegemonic identity, opening the door to more nuanced theory that better reflects the complexity of the real world.…”