Decolonial Practices for Global Affairs
Updated: Nov 22, 2021
Intersectional Decoloniality: Reimagining International Relations and the Problem of Difference
Marcos Scauso is chiefly concerned with the problem of difference in International Relations, and the reality of attempting to apply intersectionality practically while considering all social categorizations across the globe and how the nature of global affairs complicates this. He examines four types of thinking about the problem of difference: colonial, anti-colonial, post-structuralist, and intersectionally decolonial. His idea of an ideal ethical framework is one where we trust different ways of knowing, being, and enacting beyond our own understandings. In calling for an understanding of the "other" in the context of intersectional decoloniality, he emphasizes not prioritizing any one form of de-colonialism and instead suggests that we build a system where all voices are respected so that we reach an egalitarian epistemic process. Drawing on research from Michel Foucault and Sylvia Rivera Cusicanqui, Scauso provides constructive alternatives to some problematic solutions to the Foucauldian "problem of difference." His theoretical approach to intersectionality asks scholars to constantly problematize their own work, and to seek to understand and elucidate decolonial possibilities of equality that would not, in effect, lead to excluding or assimilating "others." In so doing, he thus urges scholars to leave all forms of knowledge open to modifications. Access a review of this book here.