I’ve been thinking about use - and abuse - of power lately.

Of course I have. Who hasn’t?

It’s not just because of what’s happening in the States. Our lockdown here in South Africa has been implemented - particularly in poorer communities - through excessive violence, including the police-related deaths of Collins Khosa and at least 11 others as of June. Heavy-handed Cape Town crack downs highlight what several have pointed to as a steady militarization of the police. This kind of brute force approach isn’t necessarily new, but the pandemic and ensuing lockdown enforcement seem to provide more opportunities for “over-enthusiasm.”

And ok yes, it’s also because of what’s happening in the States. I’m not here to lecture or tell you what you already know; examples are probably popping up in your feed right now. But this NY Times video on how the Philadelphia Police trapped and tear-gassed peaceful protesters paints a clear picture of how semantics can be used to justify the use of force. And this Economist video tackles why it’s so hard to reform the police, while also giving a rarified shout-out to Camden, NJ (minute 4:38 - 6:02 is particularly compelling if you’re short on time). Thank you qualified immunity, the pressure on prosecutors to convict, and a host of other systemic factors.

Zoom out, then, from police power to authoritarianism in general, and how lockdowns are fertile ground for restrictions on civil liberties. Trump, the Philippines’ Rodrigo Duterte, Hungary’s Viktor Orbán - autocrats using Covid 19 to consolidate power and weaken already suffering democracies. It’s a dictator’s play book: focusing on public order and national security at the expense of human rights and accountability, cracking down on critical media, establishing questionable track and trace systems, declaring and extending states of emergency.

So what does all of this have to do with international development and human rights? Well, I would argue…everything. The current setup of our field, especially when we look who controls and who has access to resources, is essentially neocolonial (not to mention patriarchal, but that’s for another rant). The biggest and longest-term funding sources are governments, whose development agencies are rooted in national self interest. It’s all about the use - and abuse - of power.

Granted, it’s not as stark as Duterte’s thousands of extrajudicial killings. It’s more insidious than that, which makes it dangerous for those of us who are trying to “do good,” thinking we’re doing well at doing good.

Look, I’m not saying we’re not - doing good. I’m just saying we should be honest with ourselves about the forces at play and challenge ourselves to stage consistent counterattacks on those forces in whatever way we can.

In that sense the pandemic - and the massive mobilization across the world in the wake of George Floyd’s death that in part resulted from the pandemic - does give me a small sliver of hope. If this is the season of upending and reinventing archaic and oppressive systems, maybe we can be next.

Post script: after I published this, a friend clued me in to PopWorks Africa’s Decolonizing Development Workshops. I can’t speak from firsthand experience, but it’s exciting to see!