Paper short abstract:

A systemic, action-oriented framework of epistemic justice is employed to analyse how development organizations are addressing coloniality. Although they are taking steps to increase testimonial and hermeneutical justice, systemic issues, like the decolonization of knowledge, are generally ignored.

Paper long abstract:

Epistemic injustice as a philosophical concept is being applied increasing in international development, information and knowledge management, health care and education to understand coloniality. Using the criteria of social philosopher, Morten Byskov (2021), the multiple epistemic injustices of development research, practice and teaching amount to social injustice. Although Miranda Fricker (2007) provides the analytical tools to explain how the knowledge of the marginalised is discredited, these tools do not directly show a way forward. This paper applies a systematic, action-oriented framework of epistemic justice (Cummings and colleagues, 2023), derived from interdisciplinary approaches to epistemic injustice, which provides signposts towards more just knowledge practices. This framework is used to interrogate new knowledge practices being introduced in a number of development organizations (iNGOs, NGOs, bilateral) to address coloniality. The analysis shows that while these organizations are implementing more just knowledge practices in terms of whose voices are being heard (testimonial justice) and new cognitive tools and terminologies (hermeneutical justice), many of the structural, systemic aspects of epistemic justice, such as decolonization of knowledge, are not on the agenda. One iNGO’s work on anti-racism illustrates how deeper systemic issues might be addressed.