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Boomerangs and Blind Spots: Reconsidering Hannah Arendt's Imperialism Thesis for Decolonising Education

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Title: Boomerangs and Blind Spots: Reconsidering Hannah Arendt's Imperialism Thesis for Decolonising Education
Language: English
Authors: Michalinos Zembylas (ORCID 0000-0001-6896-7347)
Source: Policy Futures in Education. 2026 24(3):468-483.
Availability: SAGE Publications. 2455 Teller Road, Thousand Oaks, CA 91320. Tel: 800-818-7243; Tel: 805-499-9774; Fax: 800-583-2665; e-mail: journals@sagepub.com; Web site: https://sagepub.com
Peer Reviewed: Y
Page Count: 16
Publication Date: 2026
Document Type: Journal Articles
Reports - Evaluative
Descriptors: Educational Philosophy, Educational Theories, Educational Practices, Decolonization, Foreign Policy, Racism, Colonialism, Violence, Postcolonialism, Educational Change, Praxis, Theory Practice Relationship
DOI: 10.1177/14782103251383580
ISSN: 1478-2103
Abstract: This paper revisits Hannah Arendt's reflections on imperialism and colonial violence to explore their relevance for contemporary debates on decolonising education. While Arendt has been critiqued for her Eurocentric blind spots -- particularly her neglect of anti-Blackness and settler colonialism -- her 'boomerang thesis', which describes how imperial practices abroad return to haunt the metropole, offers a provocative entry point for considering how colonial logics persist within educational systems. Drawing on Arendt's "The Origins of Totalitarianism", this paper situates her insights within broader decolonial debates, comparing them with key perspectives from Latin American, African, and Indigenous decolonial thought. Rather than discarding Arendt altogether, the paper argues for a critical appropriation of her work to reflect on how colonial violence and bureaucratic dehumanisation continue to structure postcolonial education systems. This approach offers conceptual tools to critique depoliticised or co-opted versions of decolonisation and to reassert its radical potential.
Abstractor: As Provided
Entry Date: 2026
Accession Number: EJ1502854
Database: ERIC
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  Data: Boomerangs and Blind Spots: Reconsidering Hannah Arendt's Imperialism Thesis for Decolonising Education
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  Data: This paper revisits Hannah Arendt's reflections on imperialism and colonial violence to explore their relevance for contemporary debates on decolonising education. While Arendt has been critiqued for her Eurocentric blind spots -- particularly her neglect of anti-Blackness and settler colonialism -- her 'boomerang thesis', which describes how imperial practices abroad return to haunt the metropole, offers a provocative entry point for considering how colonial logics persist within educational systems. Drawing on Arendt's "The Origins of Totalitarianism", this paper situates her insights within broader decolonial debates, comparing them with key perspectives from Latin American, African, and Indigenous decolonial thought. Rather than discarding Arendt altogether, the paper argues for a critical appropriation of her work to reflect on how colonial violence and bureaucratic dehumanisation continue to structure postcolonial education systems. This approach offers conceptual tools to critique depoliticised or co-opted versions of decolonisation and to reassert its radical potential.
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