ABSTRACT
This chapter addresses the debates and processes that have attempted to distance the colonial, postcolonial and imperial social work of the past. This is partly the result of the growth of a critical social work approach which is increasingly pushing for the adoption of agendas that recognise the imperial/colonial practices so as to transform the theory and practice of social work. One such instance is the adoption of discourses of recognition of ‘indigenous knowledge’ and practices as a means of illustrating that the ‘new’ social work has cut its umbilical cord from the profession’s colonial past. In part this is a welcome move as it illustrates the fact that in the days of crisis, there is some response to these radical and critical voices. However, this chapter argues that this is not only ‘too little, too late’, but may prove to be counterintuitive and in certain contexts even reactionary, as it masks the reality beneath: a radical shake-up is needed not only of its colonial and postcolonial underpinnings but also the current imperial logic that pushes violently alongside the neoliberal social order. Taken together these generate new social questions, aggravate inequality and add to conflict in societies.
