Necropolitics and Neocolonialism in International Assistance and Bias against People of Color

My main research focus is ethnographies and the lived experience of people of color, particularly women of color, working in the international assistance sector. As a senior global advisor focusing on decolonization and systemic change, I am driven to explore how to promote theories of change within this sector, which in my view continues to dehumanize the global South and to center the knowledge, “pragmatism,” and resilient capacity of the global North. Specifically, I argue that the colonial and current neocolonial approaches by the West contribute to the ongoing subjugation of bodies in the global South. This paper investigates the implications of necropolitics on people of color in the international humanitarian aid sector, analyzing how racial biases shape relations among workers within this sector while curtailing its ability to serve and empower communities within the global South.