Special Issue Call for Papers: Education of diaspora, Indigenous, and minority communities within authoritarian and far-right populist contexts: Issues, Tensions, and Resistance

Guest editors: Yulia Nesterova (University of Glasgow) and Liz Jackson (University of Hong Kong)

With the strengthening of autocratic and authoritarian regimes and the rise of far-right populism across the world, diasporic, minority, and Indigenous communities face increasing and intensifying threats. These threats range from violations of their group rights, attacks on their identities and dignity, physical violence, discrimination and exclusion, to hate speech that presents them as alien and threatening.

The guest editors of this special issue of Diaspora, Indigenous and Minority Education (DIME; https://www.tandfonline.com/toc/hdim20/current) seek to establish a nuanced understanding of the impact such regimes have on education of diasporic, minority, and Indigenous groups, as well as how education is used to resist and respond to such threats.

We invite submissions that address the intersection of the concerns and issues diasporic, minority, and Indigenous people face, education in all its forms, and authoritarian/autocratic/far-right populist contexts.

Contributions are encouraged, but not required, to consider the following questions with respect to autocratic/authoritarian/far-right populist states:

●      How do such states and other actors define and conceptualise Indigenous, minority and diasporic groups, and what impact does this have on the rights and education of these groups?

●      What discourses do autocratic/authoritarian regimes promote about diasporic, minority, and Indigenous groups with regards to a country’s education?

●      How do curricula, textbooks, and other learning materials represent diasporic, minority, and Indigenous groups?

●      How are diasporic, minority, and Indigenous people’s educational experiences and outcomes impacted?

●      How do majority-background teachers and school leaders treat and engage with diasporic, minority, and Indigenous students and their families?

●      How does education influence diasporic, minority, and Indigenous people’s identities?

●      How do diasporic, minority, and Indigenous teachers and school leaders resist or navigate nationalistic education policies?

●      How do diasporic, minority, and Indigenous groups challenge, navigate, and resist autocratic/authoritarian regimes through formal, community-based, and other forms of education?

The guest editors aim to achieve a global conversation about and to advance the scholarship on the impacts of (jingoistic) nationalism, violations of minority rights, and other aspects of autocratic/authoritarian regimes that shape and influence the lives of marginalised groups and divide and polarise societies.

In keeping with DIME’s commitment to supporting the work of minority, Indigenous, and diaspora scholars and to global representation, the guest editors will seek to ensure the articles represent scholarship from individuals and teams of diverse backgrounds, a wide range of geographic contexts, and diverse disciplinary methodological and theoretical approaches.

Timeline:

Please email an abstract (limited to 500 words) to Yulia Nesterova (Yulia.Nesterova@glasgow.ac.uk) and Liz Jackson (lizj@hku.hk). Abstracts will be considered on the alignment with the aims and questions outlined in the call for submissions.

Abstract submission: 1st August 2025

Invitation to write full paper: 15th August 2025

Draft paper (8,000 words): 15th February 2026

Review process: February 2025-October 2026

Final publication (tbc): November-December 2026