Whose politics and which science: beyond the colonial in liberal political theory

ABSTRACT

This article examines liberal political theory’s limits and possibilities in relation to indigenous self-determination. It shows that while the liberal tradition has provided theoretical rationale to the colonial project it is also equipped to rationalise a politics of substantive indigenous inclusion. The article introduces the recourses that exist within liberal theory for non-colonial interpretations of citizenship, democracy and sovereignty. It shows how these concepts may be interpreted to contribute to a liberal theory of indigeneity as a theory emphasising independent indigenous authority on the one hand and culturally contextualised and substantive participation in the politics of the state on the other.

本文在原住民自决问题上考察了自由主义政治理论的局限性和可能性。尽管自由主义传统为殖民计划提供了理论依据，但它也为实质性的容纳原住民提供了合理性。坐作者介绍了自由主义理论中存在着的一些资源，它们有助于对公民权、民主、主权的非殖民主义阐释。作者解释了如何阐释这些概念，以形成一种原住民的自由主义理论，一方面强调独立的原住民权威，另一方面强调文化语境以及实质性的国家政治参与。

KEYWORDS:

• Indigenous politics
• colonialism
• non-colonial political theory

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Notes on contributor

Dominic O'Sullivan is an Associate Professor of Political Science at Charles Sturt University. He has over 50 publications in comparative indigenous politics and policy including 5 books; most recently Indigeneity: A Politics of Potential – Australia, Fiji and New Zealand (Bristol, Policy Press, 2017).