Beyond Structural Decoloniality: Swaraj, and the Ethical Transformation of the Subject

This article proposes a critical genealogy of decolonial thought, articulating influences ranging from Mahatma Gandhi to contemporary authors across diverse intellectual traditions. Its point of departure is Gandhian Swaraj, understood not merely as political independence but as inner self-rule, which integrates political emancipation with ethical and spiritual self-governance. Through a critical engagement with thinkers such as Aníbal Quijano, Walter Mignolo, Frantz Fanon, Boaventura de Sousa Santos, and Gayatri Spivak, the article identifies a predominant tendency within decolonial theory to privilege structural and epistemic transformation over the ethical formation of the subject. It argues that an authentic decolonial project requires the integration of social justice with ethical self-mastery, since without inner transformation there is a persistent risk of reproducing the logic of domination it seeks to overcome. Finally, the article advances a conceptual framework that links structural change with ethical self-transformation as a necessary condition for sustained and comprehensive liberation.