UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH AFRICA
College of Human Sciences
⋄ ⋄ ⋄ ⋄ ⋄ ⋄ ⋄ ⋄ ⋄⋄
DVA3701: Development Theory
Assignment 6 — Semester 1, 2026
⋄ ⋄ ⋄ ⋄ ⋄ ⋄ ⋄ ⋄ ⋄⋄
DVA3701
Module Code:
Development Theory
Module Name:
Decoloniality: Coloniality of Power,
Essay Topic:
Knowledge, and Being
Assignment 6
Assignment Number:
17 April 2026
Due Date:
Submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements
for Development Theory (DVA3701) — UNISA 2026
,UNISA | DVA3701 Decoloniality – Assignment 6
Introduction
When the Portuguese arrived on the shores of West Africa in the fifteenth century, and when
Spain planted its flag in the Americas in 1492, they inaugurated not merely a political and eco-
nomic project but a total reorganisation of the world’s hierarchies of being, knowing, and gov-
erning. The formal end of colonial administration in Africa and Asia during the mid-twentieth
century changed who held political office in newly independent states, but it did not dismantle
the underlying architecture of power that colonialism had constructed. This is the central
claim of decolonial theory: that coloniality survives colonialism, reproducing itself in institu-
tions, ideas, and the self-understanding of formerly colonised peoples long after flags were
changed and borders redrawn (Maldonado-Torres, 2012).
This essay discusses decoloniality across three dimensions. Part (a) examines the three
foundational concepts of decolonial theory: the coloniality of power, the coloniality of knowl-
edge, and the coloniality of being. Part (b) discusses the pathways out of coloniality pro-
posed by Ndlovu-Gatsheni (2014) and other decolonial scholars, with particular attention to
Africa. Part (c) offers a personal assessment of the realism of these proposals, engaging
honestly with their strengths and their limitations.
Page 2 of 17
, UNISA | DVA3701 Decoloniality – Assignment 6
(a) The Three Main Concepts of Decolonial Theory
1.1 Colonialism and Coloniality: A Necessary Distinction
Before engaging with the three concepts, the distinction between colonialism and coloniality
must be established clearly. Colonialism refers to the explicit political and economic rela-
tion in which the sovereignty of one nation rests on the power of another, creating what we
recognise as the formal colonial empires of European history. Coloniality is a different and
more enduring phenomenon. As Maldonado-Torres (2012) explains, coloniality refers to long-
standing patterns of power that emerged from colonialism but continue to define culture,
labour, intersubjective relations, and knowledge production well beyond the strict limits of
colonial administrations. Coloniality survives colonialism. It is maintained alive in academic
criteria, cultural patterns, common sense, the self-image of peoples, and the aspirations they
hold for themselves.
This distinction matters enormously for development theory. If the problem were merely colo-
nialism, formal decolonisation would have resolved it. The persistence of poverty, structural
inequality, and the subordination of African knowledge systems in post-independence Africa
demonstrates that something more durable than political administration was installed during
the colonial period (Ndlovu-Gatsheni, 2014). That something more durable is coloniality, and
decolonial theory is the intellectual project of naming, analysing, and dismantling it.
Key Distinction
Colonialism versus coloniality: Colonialism is a political and economic system of
direct external rule. It can be ended through independence. Coloniality is the deeper
matrix of power, knowledge, and being that colonialism installed and that continues
to shape social reality after formal independence. The end of colonialism does not
automatically produce decoloniality. As Ndlovu-Gatsheni (2014) argues, most African
states achieved political independence but remained locked within colonial matrices of
power. This is why decolonial scholars insist that the post-colonial period is, in many
respects, still colonial.
1.2 Coloniality of Power
The concept of coloniality of power was developed by Peruvian sociologist Anibal Quijano
and is the foundational concept of the entire decolonial framework. Quijano argued that the
Page 3 of 17
College of Human Sciences
⋄ ⋄ ⋄ ⋄ ⋄ ⋄ ⋄ ⋄ ⋄⋄
DVA3701: Development Theory
Assignment 6 — Semester 1, 2026
⋄ ⋄ ⋄ ⋄ ⋄ ⋄ ⋄ ⋄ ⋄⋄
DVA3701
Module Code:
Development Theory
Module Name:
Decoloniality: Coloniality of Power,
Essay Topic:
Knowledge, and Being
Assignment 6
Assignment Number:
17 April 2026
Due Date:
Submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements
for Development Theory (DVA3701) — UNISA 2026
,UNISA | DVA3701 Decoloniality – Assignment 6
Introduction
When the Portuguese arrived on the shores of West Africa in the fifteenth century, and when
Spain planted its flag in the Americas in 1492, they inaugurated not merely a political and eco-
nomic project but a total reorganisation of the world’s hierarchies of being, knowing, and gov-
erning. The formal end of colonial administration in Africa and Asia during the mid-twentieth
century changed who held political office in newly independent states, but it did not dismantle
the underlying architecture of power that colonialism had constructed. This is the central
claim of decolonial theory: that coloniality survives colonialism, reproducing itself in institu-
tions, ideas, and the self-understanding of formerly colonised peoples long after flags were
changed and borders redrawn (Maldonado-Torres, 2012).
This essay discusses decoloniality across three dimensions. Part (a) examines the three
foundational concepts of decolonial theory: the coloniality of power, the coloniality of knowl-
edge, and the coloniality of being. Part (b) discusses the pathways out of coloniality pro-
posed by Ndlovu-Gatsheni (2014) and other decolonial scholars, with particular attention to
Africa. Part (c) offers a personal assessment of the realism of these proposals, engaging
honestly with their strengths and their limitations.
Page 2 of 17
, UNISA | DVA3701 Decoloniality – Assignment 6
(a) The Three Main Concepts of Decolonial Theory
1.1 Colonialism and Coloniality: A Necessary Distinction
Before engaging with the three concepts, the distinction between colonialism and coloniality
must be established clearly. Colonialism refers to the explicit political and economic rela-
tion in which the sovereignty of one nation rests on the power of another, creating what we
recognise as the formal colonial empires of European history. Coloniality is a different and
more enduring phenomenon. As Maldonado-Torres (2012) explains, coloniality refers to long-
standing patterns of power that emerged from colonialism but continue to define culture,
labour, intersubjective relations, and knowledge production well beyond the strict limits of
colonial administrations. Coloniality survives colonialism. It is maintained alive in academic
criteria, cultural patterns, common sense, the self-image of peoples, and the aspirations they
hold for themselves.
This distinction matters enormously for development theory. If the problem were merely colo-
nialism, formal decolonisation would have resolved it. The persistence of poverty, structural
inequality, and the subordination of African knowledge systems in post-independence Africa
demonstrates that something more durable than political administration was installed during
the colonial period (Ndlovu-Gatsheni, 2014). That something more durable is coloniality, and
decolonial theory is the intellectual project of naming, analysing, and dismantling it.
Key Distinction
Colonialism versus coloniality: Colonialism is a political and economic system of
direct external rule. It can be ended through independence. Coloniality is the deeper
matrix of power, knowledge, and being that colonialism installed and that continues
to shape social reality after formal independence. The end of colonialism does not
automatically produce decoloniality. As Ndlovu-Gatsheni (2014) argues, most African
states achieved political independence but remained locked within colonial matrices of
power. This is why decolonial scholars insist that the post-colonial period is, in many
respects, still colonial.
1.2 Coloniality of Power
The concept of coloniality of power was developed by Peruvian sociologist Anibal Quijano
and is the foundational concept of the entire decolonial framework. Quijano argued that the
Page 3 of 17
