Call for abstracts for a collective book 

Editors:

• Sabelo J. Ndlovu-Gatsheni (University of Calgary, Canada): sjndlovugatsheni@gmail.com
• Marinella Machado-Araujo (Pontificia Universidade Catolica, MG, Brazil): marinella.araujo@hotmail.com

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing (UK)

BOOK SERIES: Decrypting Power and Coloniality: Philosophical Perspectives from and through the Global South

Introduction and Premise

We are excited to announce an Open Call for Abstracts for the collective book project, Decrypting Global Inequality, which will serve as a vital contribution to the Bloomsbury Publishing book series Decrypting Power and Coloniality.

Beyond simply creating a book, this project aims to forge transversal and synergistic connections within and across academia and social movements, cultivating a dynamic interplay between rigorous theoretical inquiry and impactful practical engagement, particularly drawing from the Global South in its multifaceted perspectives and experiences.

Premise: Open Call and Theoretical Framework:

This book will be built through an open call for abstracts, inviting scholars and practitioners to contribute chapters that engage with the theory of encryption of power (TEP) as a framework for analyzing global inequality.

Topics of the Project: Thematic Call

We invite abstract submissions for chapters that explore, but are not limited to, the following themes as they relate to global inequality and the Theory of Encryption of Power (TEP):

1. The Geopolitics of Inequality and Imperial Intervention: Analyzing how core states utilize military and institutional power to maintain global economic order. Submissions should decrypt how the language of “necessity,” “stability,” or “development” encrypts the violent imposition of control over resources and markets.
2. Soft Powers and Encrypted Hierarchy: Decrypting how seemingly benign forms of influence (culture, political values, foreign policies) subtly reinforce existing hierarchies and disparities, benefiting the imperial core while appearing to offer universal appeal.
3. Economic Coercion and Sanctions as Tools of Inequality: Analyzing how core states employ economic sanctions as a pillar of coercion. Submissions should decrypt how these tools, presented as benign financial restrictions, actively encrypt economic warfare and dispossess the “hidden people” who suffer unacknowledged human costs. This includes the obscured connections between the rule of law and the perpetual debt of poor countries.
4. The Rise and Normalization of Neo-Fascism: Analyses of neo-fascist or authoritarian tendencies and their role in the distribution of global power and the encryption of social conflict.
5. Alternative Forms of Understanding and Addressing Global Inequality (Decryption in Practice): Explorations of the circular economy, community-based approaches, people-centered development, and the role of technology or legal clinics. Submissions should decrypt how prevailing power structures actively obscure or marginalize these alternatives.
6. Decolonial Models for Uncovering and Dismantling Inequality: Analyzing restorative justice, governmental truth commissions, grassroots struggles, Black Lives Matter, environmental justice, and decolonial feminism. These analyses should articulate how these models function as acts of decryption, exposing colonial matrices of power and epistemic violence.
7. Non-Western Perspectives on Inequality and TEP: Contributions engaging with indigenous knowledge systems and non-Western concepts (e.g., Ubuntu, Pachamama) to offer alternative frameworks through the lens of TEP.
8. Case Studies: Concrete case studies from various global contexts that illustrate the operation of encrypted power in perpetuating inequality, and successful or emerging strategies for decryption.
9. Envisioning Futures Free from Encrypted Inequality: Analyses of future scenarios, the role of the Global South in shaping alternative paradigms, and the concept of insurgent universalities in challenging dominant power structures.

Introductory writings to the theory of encryption of power (follow Hyper-links):

Decrypting Justice: From Epistemic Violence to Immanent Democracy (Bloomsbury 2025)

Decolonizing Democracy: Power in a Solid State (Rowman and Littlefield 2016)

Ontology and Politics of Liberation: Two Paths to Decrypt Power (CLT 2025)

The Theory of Encryption of Power: Itinerary if an idea

Important Notice

Abstract Requirements: Abstracts should be a maximum of 800 words and include the author’s affiliation, email, a brief biography (150 words), and clearly state which thematic topic (1-9) the contribution addresses, or if the author(s) is interested in proposing a new thematic axis.

The abstracts will be evaluated by the book editors who will decide whether to commission a complete article. Once accepted, the chapter manuscript will be submitted to blind peer review. The book as a whole will also be submitted for approval by the publisher and blind peer review.

Project Timeline: Decrypting Global Inequality

If you have a strong proposal that addresses these themes and aligns with the core principles of the series, we look forward to receiving your abstract.

Please send your proposals to: 

Editors:

• Sabelo J. Ndlovu-Gatsheni (University of Calgary, Canada): sjndlovugatsheni@gmail.com
• Marinella Machado-Araujo (Pontificia Universidade Catolica, MG, Brazil): marinella.araujo@hotmail.com