Challenging Institutional Racism in International Relations and Our Profession: Reflections, Experiences, and Strategies
| Author | Swati Parashar,Dibyesh Anand,Andrew Delatolla,Jeremy Youde,Nassef Manabilang Adiong,Mary Caesar,Toni Haastrup,Momin Rahman |
| DOI | 10.1177/03058298211059357 |
| Published date | 01 September 2021 |
| Date | 01 September 2021 |
| Subject Matter | Original Articles |
https://doi.org/10.1177/03058298211059357
Millennium: Journal of
International Studies
2021, Vol. 50(1) 110 –148
© The Author(s) 2021
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DOI: 10.1177/03058298211059357
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Challenging Institutional
Racism in International
Relations and Our Profession:
Reflections, Experiences, and
Strategies
Andrew Delatolla
University of Leeds, UK
Momin Rahman
Trent University, UK
Dibyesh Anand
University of Westminster, UK
Mary Caesar
Balsillie School of International Affairs, Canada
Toni Haastrup
University of Stirling, UK
Nassef Manabilang Adiong
International Relations and Islamic Studies Research Cohort, the Philippines
Swati Parashar
University of Gothenburg, Sweden
Jeremy Youde
University of Minnesota, USA
Corresponding author:
Andrew Delatolla, Arabic, Islamic and Middle Eastern Studies, School of Languages, Cultures and Societies,
University of Leeds, Leeds, UK.
Email: a.delatolla@leeds.ac.uk
1059357MIL0010.1177/03058298211059357Millennium – Journal of International StudiesDelatolla et al.
research-article2021
Original Article
Delatolla et al. 111
Abstract
Attempts to create a more inclusive discipline and profession have been commended by many
and derided by some. While these attempts have pushed for change, particularly with regards to
more equal representation of gender and race among faculty, policies aimed at creating a more
inclusive environment are often tokenistic, administrative and bureaucratic, and fail to address
structural and institutional practices and norms. Moreover, the administrative and bureaucratic
policies put into place are generally targeted at a single categorical group, failing to take into
account the manner in which identities are intersecting and overlapping. Equality, Diversity and
Inclusion often gets driven by Human Resources and Marketing rather than owned by the wider
university. This forum draws from a variety of contributions that focus on describing the lived
realities of institutional racism, its intersections with other forms of discrimination, and strategies
for change. In putting together this forum, we do not aim to create a checklist of practical steps.
Instead, we hope to signpost and make visible the successes and failures of previous challenges
and future possibilities that must be taken by both faculty and administrations.
Keywords
gender, race, racism, academic, faculty, policy, inclusive
Résumé
Combattre le racisme institutionnel dans les Relations internationales et au sein de
notre profession : réflexions, expériences et stratégies
Les tentatives de création d’une discipline et d’une profession plus inclusives ont été saluées par
beaucoup et tournées en dérision par certains. Malgré les appels au changement, notamment Ã
une plus grande égalité de représentation des races et des genres au sein du corps enseignant, les
politiques visant à créer un environnement plus inclusif sont souvent symboliques, administratives
et bureaucratiques, et ne répondent pas au problème des pratiques et des normes structurelles
et institutionnelles. De plus, les politiques administratives et bureaucratiques mises en place
visent généralement une seule catégorie de personnes et ignorent la manière dont les identités se
recoupent et se chevauchent. Ce sont souvent les départements des ressources humaines et du
marketing qui pilotent la mission égalité-diversité-inclusion, et non l’université dans son ensemble
qui se l’approprie. Ce forum s’appuie sur diverses contributions qui s’attachent à décrire les
réalités vécues du racisme institutionnel, ses intersections avec d’autres formes de discrimination
et les stratégies de changement. Avec ce forum, notre intention n’est pas de dresser une liste
d’actions concrètes à mettre en place. Notre souhait est plutôt de signaler et rendre visibles les
succès et les échecs des défis passés, ainsi que les possibilités futures qui doivent être saisies aussi
bien par le corps enseignant que par l’administration.
Mots-clés
race, diversité, Relations internationales
Desafiando el racismo institucional en las relaciones internacionales y en nuestra
profesión: reflexiones, experiencias y estrategias
Los intentos de crear una disciplina y una profesión más inclusiva han sido elogiados por muchos
y ridiculizados por algunos. Aunque estos intentos han impulsado el cambio, particularmente
en lo relativo a una representación más equitativa del género y la raza entre el cuerpo docente
universitario, las polÃticas para la creación de un entorno más inclusivo suelen ser meramente
simbólicas, administrativas y burocráticas y fracasan a la hora de abordar las prácticas y las normas
estructurales e institucionales. Es más, las polÃticas administrativas y burocráticas implementadas
112 Millennium: Journal of International Studies 50(1)
1. Liz Stanley, From ‘Self-made Women’ to ‘Women’s Made-Selves.’? Audit Selves, Simulation
and Surveillance in the Rise of Public Woman, in Feminism and Autobiography: Texts, Theories
and Methods, ed. T. Cosslett, C. Lury, and P. Summerfield (London: Routledge, 2000).
van, por lo general, dirigidas a grupos pertenecientes a una categorÃa determinada, sin tener
en cuenta cómo se superponen y se entrecruzan las identidades. La igualdad, la diversidad y la
inclusión son, por lo general, dirigidas desde el ámbito del márketing y los recursos humanos en
lugar de ser asumidas por la Universidad en su conjunto. Este foro se basa en una variedad de
contribuciones centradas en la descripción de las realidades vividas del racismo institucional, sus
intersecciones con otras formas de discriminación y las estrategias para el cambio. Al articular
este foro no es nuestra intención crear un protocolo basado en una serie de pasos prácticos.
Pretendemos, por el contrario, señalar y visibilizar los éxitos y fracasos de retos anteriores y
posibilidades futuras que deben asumir tanto el cuerpo docente como las administraciones.
Palabras clave
raza, diversidad, relaciones internacionales
Introduction
Andrew Delatolla, Momin Rahman, and Dibyesh Anand
Although academia is often described as being a ‘liberal’ ivory tower in the West, the
reproduction of systemic racism and discrimination in academic institutions and struc-
tures is pervasive. While race and systemic racism have become important fields of study
and areas of activism, it is not just a problem ‘out there’ to be studied or engaged with
through political action in our ‘private’ lives. Systemic racism operates and survives
through every sphere of academic institutions as well as our disciplines. As a profession
that prides itself on objectivity and meritocracy, it is always difficult to admit that race
plays an important structural role in academic hiring, hierarchies, citation politics, and
inclusion. In addressing these dynamics, this forum first discusses the multiple and dif-
ferent experiences of racism in the profession, illuminating the various ways that biases
inform outcomes and the marginalisation of non-white scholars. It then discusses
attempts to challenge racism and discrimination from informal to formal engagements
and at different levels of institutional seniority. The aim here is not to provide a checklist
of policy initiatives, ‘ways ahead’ or strategies but to contribute to a conversation on, an
understanding of, and actions to, combat racism and discrimination in the academy.
The following contributions speak to and are written from different personal and
professional experiences and positions, but they all offer a glimpse into the broader
ongoing and overlapping debates occurring on institutional racism and diversity in aca-
demia. We argue for the importance of autobiographical, or auto-ethnographic accounts,
for understanding the systemic formation of discrimination within institutions. Hence,
we value the autobiographical as an ‘audit of the self’1 located within and conditioned
by structural or systemic contexts. By considering their own experiences in academia,
the authors have reflected on the sources of painful experiences, anger and frustration
in order to understand how these sources are reproduced across geographies and within
the discipline. To be sure, this is qualitative analysis, but instead of thinking about
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