Another decolonial approach is possible: international studies in an antiblack world

Abstract

This article analyses important trends in contemporary decolonial approaches in the field of international studies and, drawing on recent work in critical Black studies, seeks to highlight some of the limitations in their assumptions. Anthropologically informed decolonial approaches argue for a pluriversal approach, where multiple ‘worlds’ can coexist, whilst sociologically grounded critiques seek to develop the field of international studies through adding social and historical depth to our understanding of power and challenging racial hierarchies. Both these forms of decolonial argument aim to pluralise and expand understandings, drawing in marginalised and excluded outsiders, in a bid to repair and revitalise international studies. However, we argue that a third approach, starting from the assumption of an antiblack world, raises important questions for decolonial study. Drawing from critical Black studies, we suggest that the dominant forms of decolonial critique may not adequately address the liberal modernist assumptions underpinning the field of international study. If another decolonial approach is possible it will bring a disruptive and deconstructive perspective, one that seeks to avoid inadvertently strengthening the antiblack foundations of the field.