Globalization, postcolonial theory, and organizational analysis: Lessons from the Rwanda genocide
Critical Perspectives on International Business
ISSN: 1742-2043
Article publication date: 24 October 2008
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is three‐fold: to extend the scope of postcolonial theory to organizational analysis; to extend the scope of organizational analysis to the study of supranational organizations; and to examine the impact of postcolonial organizational thought on the conception and treatment of the Rwandan people.
Design/methodology/approach
Organizational (in)action, both prior to and during the 1994 genocide in Rwanda, is subjected to postcolonial organizational analysis.
Findings
It is shown that so‐called global organizational relations are mediated by supranational organizations, such as the United Nations, whose organizational structuring and practices are rooted in imperialist and postcolonial thinking.
Research limitations/implications
It is recognised that the account of events presents an alternative but partial history of events in Rwanda.
Practical implications
The response to genocide in Rwanda by the global community represents a challenge to the promise of globalization, which posits that multinational organizational integration based on mutual interest is achievable.
Originality/value
The paper destablizes the notion of globalization and global cooperation by raising questions about the asymmetrical contexts in which supranational organizations operate.
Keywords
Citation
Long, B.S. and Mills, A.J. (2008), "Globalization, postcolonial theory, and organizational analysis: Lessons from the Rwanda genocide", Critical Perspectives on International Business, Vol. 4 No. 4, pp. 389-409. https://doi.org/10.1108/17422040810915420
Publisher
:Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2008, Emerald Group Publishing Limited