Neoliberal Multiculturalism and Changing Colonial Racial Hierarchies in International Development

Abstract

This research examines a shift in international development discourse away from more overtly colonial and abject depictions of people from the Global South toward foregrounding positive portrayals of people from the Global South who are self-reliant and empowered through entrepreneurship and market labor. Through interviews, observations, and content analysis of university-based development programs and development organizations, we examine the racial meaning and consequences of this shift. We argue that this discourse reformulates colonial racial hierarchies in development by suturing racial value to adherence to free market ideals, such as freedom and fulfillment through markets, while legitimizing these changes through affirmations of multiculturalism. This shift in development aligns with a broader context of neoliberal multiculturalism, which has reconfigured racial hierarchies based on adherence to multicultural global citizenship and free market principles. This research illustrates the changing intersections of race, colonialism, neoliberalism, and development and speaks to the importance of universities and development organizations in shaping racial meaning and inequalities in a global context.