Special issues

Special issue information

Administrative Theory & Praxis

Call for Papers – Advancing Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Social Justice (DEISJ) in Public Administration: Exploring Local and Global Contexts

Social equity is a core pillar of public administration (PA). In practice, advancing the interconnected values of diversity, equity, inclusion, and social justice (DEISJ) in PA translates as- serving “all means all” public. It means consistently engaging with communities we seek serve and centering the needs and contexts of those who have been multiply ( muhl-ti-plee) marginalized by systemic inequities. It means following the leadership of those most impacted by systemic harms and inequities to reimagine and amend public policies, administrative procedures, and organizational cultures. As members of the discipline and the field of practice, life-long students, scholars, and practitioners of public administration need to be on the front lines of co-creating and innovating meaningful and practical solutions to address the persisting harms and intergenerational trauma caused by social inequities and systems of oppression.

Public administration (PA) is foundational to the functioning of vibrant democratic societies.

Contemporary theory and praxis of PA requires us to reckon with the calls from intergenerational grassroots social justice movements to advance an authentic and meaningful practice of democracy. It requires public administrators to build individual and organizational capacity and competencies, to do the work of repair and healing from trauma of oppression and, to build democratic systems for present and future generations that center issues of social justice and climate justice.

Advancing DEISJ in public service contexts means fostering public policies, administrative procedures, and cultures that both resist and counter systems of oppression and are pro-Black, pro-Indigenous, pro-People of Color. It requires us to investigate many intersecting forms of oppression and center voices and perspectives of multiply marginalized LGBTQIA+, disabled, Black, Indigenous, and People of Color. It requires us to examine, analyze, and resist all forms of domination and exploitation whether those are based on racialization, casteism, ableism, sexism, patriarchy, religious oppression, or any other context specific form of domination.

Our experience with the COVID-19 pandemic has magnified the glaring injustices and inequities and their disproportionately devastating impact on multiply marginalized communities of color. 

There is a growing call and a necessity to prioritize investing-in and institutionalizing DEISJ work in public service contexts. Integrating DEISJ values and work as an organizational and institutional priority is recognized as a means to interrupt and to ultimately end cycles of systemic harm and oppression.

Prioritizing and building the theory and praxis of DEISJ will be crucial to advance practical and meaningful work of co-creating trauma-informed, repair and healing centered public service that compassionately centers the margins. Advancing the theory and praxis of DEISJ will play a crucial role in building and deepening public’s trust in the government and in democratic systems. It can help us overcome fear and scarcity-based narratives that are diffusing across local, national, and global contexts and to highlight, demonstrate, and advance the counter practices that create belonging through inclusion, equity, and social justice.

Thinkers, scholars, and researchers interested in challenging the status quo, and advancing the theory and praxis of DEISJ through application of qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methodologies can offer important insights that can push the field towards a critical understanding of society and all the constituents comprised of it. The teaching and practice of

PA requires an acknowledgement that public servants are stewards of democracy. The education and training of public administration professionals should raise the level of individual and collective consciousness and commitment to center repair and healing, to make amends for historical, intergenerational, and persistent trauma of oppression that was directly and indirectly facilitated by government institutions and actors.

Administrative Theory & Praxis

(ATP) has a legacy of sharing critical and thought-provoking insights designed to challenge hegemony, oppression, and status quo. To this end, we would like to invite papers, commentary, and dialogues on a rolling basis to examine the role of the administrative state in some of the most pressing DEISJ issues emerging in both local and global contexts. Questions and topics of interest can include, but are not limited to:

• Can there be relevance or legitimacy of the administrative state in the midst of state-sponsored oppression?

• • Police brutality, environmental (in)justice, threats to democracy, corruption, #metoo, cybersecurity, etc.

• What happens when the sanctity of our institutions is undermined by politics and money?

• What is the responsibility of the field to uphold the values of justice, democracy, and fairness to all?

• What is the role of public administration to protect and/or promote civil rights? In addition to the protection of civil rights, what other legal, structural, and cultural goals must be pursued simultaneously to create the conditions for an authentic practice of DEISJ and public service? What are the immediate, intermediate, and long-terms goals and actions that we should pursue to move us forward?

• What interdisciplinary theoretical frameworks could help discern, understand, and navigate some of the current pressing social justice issues in PA?

• What lessons can we learn from intergenerational social justice, climate justice, and liberation movements as we seek to advance the theory and praxis of DEISJ in PA?

• What are the lessons emerging from the field of practice of diversity, equity, inclusion, and social justice (DEISJ) in public administration contexts? How are they advancing innovative and collaborative approaches to equity work?

• What theoretical frameworks can help us advance an embodied practice of social justice leadership in public service contexts? What does an embodied practice of social justice leadership look like and feel like in public service contexts?

• What does the theory and practice of DEISJ look like and feel like in local, regional, national and/or global contexts?

These are just a few of the topics that not only pervade our existence but are crucial concerns that affect the legitimacy and promise of democratic. Public administration's relevance is directly related to its ability to be problem solvers and change agents in its research, pedagogy, and practice. We want to push the conversation and look forward to submissions that interrogate these questions and many others in diverse local, national, and societal contexts.

All research papers are subject to the journal's peer review processes. Additionally, submissions to the journal's Dialogue section, which encourages thought-provoking pieces that should ideally spur continued discussion in the journal and beyond, also go through peer review. Commentary submissions will be reviewed by the journal's editorial team. We strongly encourage author (s) to contact the associate editor listed below, prior to submission to receive any formative comments in advance of a formal submissions to the journal's website.

If you have any questions, feel free to contact:

Rashmi Chordiya, Ph.D.

Associate Editor

Assistant Professor

Department of Public Affairs and Nonprofit Leadership

Seattle University

[email protected]