Power, discourse, and resistance: a sociopolitical analysis of anti-DEI initiatives in the second Trump administration

Purpose To analyze the second Trump administration's anti-DEI executive orders as instruments of discursive power aimed at producing regressive social change, situating them within broader sociopolitical networks of power that shape organizational practices and the lived experiences of members of equity-seeking groups, and identifying strategies for resistance and strategic engagement. Design/methodology/approach This paper draws on Foucault's analysis of power, Hall's concept of articulation, and Gaventa's Power Cube to examine how anti-DEI discourses, policies, and practices operate across forms, spaces, and levels of power and their implications for intersectionality and the lived experiences of organizational members. Findings By locating the anti-DEI executive orders of the second Trump administration within broader networks of power, our analysis highlights the central role of these executive orders in advancing contemporary anti-DEI initiatives. The orders represent both a significant achievement and an inflection point in decades-long efforts toward regressive social change. Sustaining DEI therefore requires a meta-level analysis that goes beyond recognizing DEI as part of broader sociopolitical struggles over power, social justice, and inclusion and translates that understanding into strategic action. Finally, an intersectional lens reminds us that these power dynamics target different equity-seeking groups and therefore affect them differently. Originality/value This paper advances a politically focused approach to DEI research and practice centered on agency, while also emphasizing strategies to address multilevel power, regressive social change, and intersectional effects.