Unmasking the Whiteness of Development Discourse

Abstract A careful reading of the literature reveals that the significance of race in development discourse is something that is hardly mentioned or discussed. In response to this gap in the literature, this article firstly builds on and contributes to the available literature—albeit scarce—that critically analyses the significance of race in development. Secondly, the article argues that the absence of critical race analysis is due to the dominant white-centric ideology of “colour-blindness”, which serves as an ideological and institutional tool to mask the whiteness that remains central to development discourse. The centrality of white racial ideology, namely whiteness, in development translates into a sophisticated maintenance of long-established racial hierarchies, which translates into white privilege and the preservation of white racial projects. The article maintains that, rather than a phenomenon of the past, the white racial project continues to be central to development discourse, albeit under the guise of colour-blindness. The key argument of the article is that critical analysis of race, rather than being dismissed or marginalised, should be central in efforts to dismantle white racial development discourse. As a discourse that is seemingly concerned with addressing inequality, freedom, and the empowerment of societies, critical race analysis is needed in order to dismantle entrenched racial inequalities.