Decolonial pathways in education: Walter Mignolo, epistemic delinking, and the risks of ethno-essentialism

This article critically examines Walter Mignolo’s influential framework of ‘epistemic decolonisation’, particularly his concept of ‘delinking’ from Western epistemologies. While Mignolo’s approach has inspired substantial decolonial scholarship in education, I argue that his emphasis on breaking away from Western knowledge systems can inadvertently lend itself to ethno-essentialist and authoritarian interpretations. Drawing on critiques of decolonial theory from recent scholarship, I discuss how epistemic decolonisation’s narrow focus on dismantling Western knowledge hierarchies risks overlooking complex historical, material and political dimensions essential to anticolonial thought. The article engages with instances where decolonial rhetoric has been co-opted by nationalist and authoritarian agendas to reinforce exclusionary and anti-democratic educational policies, particularly in contexts like India and Russia. By highlighting these risks, this article underscores the importance of maintaining a nuanced, politically informed approach to decolonial theory in education that avoids essentialist assumptions and takes into consideration that potential pitfalls of some versions of decoloniality.