Decolonial liminality theory: Double critique and the politics of performing decoloniality in applied linguistics

Abstract

This article introduces ‘decolonial liminality theory’ as a framework for analyzing a constitutive problematic of decolonial literatures and action, with a specific focus on applied linguistics. The theory conceptualizes epistemological destabilization, ambivalence, dissonance, and ambiguity manifested in decolonial discourses and praxis, and delineates the fluid oscillation across shifting boundaries and margins of the (de)colonial, (un)critical, (non)mainstream, (non)dominant, and various in‐between states. To operationalize the theory, this article discusses five articles on decoloniality in applied linguistics to explore the (im)(ex)plicit and (un)(in)tentional rhetorical, performative, and epistemic mechanisms used to (a) reaffirm the legitimacy of enunciating decoloniality, and (b) critique colonial dynamics and structures. The discussions reveal that decolonial liminality theory is grounded in six constitutive categories: (a) theatrical rhetorics (using decolonial oratory as a performative rather than ontological intervention), (b) cognitive dissonance (maintaining a disconnect between critical discourse and transformative action), (c) territorial situatedness (confining decolonial critique to specific geopolitical spaces), (d) analytical monophony (privileging a single analytical lens as an a priori framework), (e) accentuating symptoms (focusing on surface‐level practices like citation politics), and (f) safe criticism (opting for diplomatic critiques that avoid core and contentious issues). This framework theorizes the inherent tensions and negotiations within decolonial scholarship.