Queer[ing] Public Administration and public administration

A way forward through a contested concept

Datos Bibliográficos

ID22420848
AutoresDiego Galego (0000-0002-1300-7709, Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey, autor de correspondencia), Michelle D Evans (0000-0003-3795-0168, University of Tennessee at Chattanooga), José Luis Irizarry (0000-0002-8649-1415, North Carolina Central University)
Año2026
Páginas1-9
Fecha de publicación2026-07-11
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessSí
TipoARTICLE
RevistaAdministrative Theory & Praxis (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 1084-1806 • E-ISSN: 1949-0461
EditorialInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/10841806.2026.2697111
OpenAlexW7168030616
IdiomaEN
Referencias citadas34

This Dialogue examines the contested concept of “queer” and its implications for both Public Administration as an academic field and public administration as a practice. Acknowledging that “queer” remains internally disputed—reclaimed by some as empowerment yet experienced by others as harm—the authors deliberately adopt the term “queer[ing]” to foreground advocacy, social justice, and the ongoing process of reimagining identity and exclusion. Given the global backdrop of intensifying backlash against LGBTQIA+ rights, this Dialogue argues that progress has been uneven and that queer concerns remain vulnerable to political distortion. Rather than retreating into a scholarly “closet,” the authors call for strategic resistance built through reconceptualization, experience-based knowledge, and educational training. The Dialogue advances three interrelated pathways forward: reconceptualizing queer[ing] as an open, generative positionality rather than a fixed identity; centering queer epistemologies and lived experience within knowledge production, co-production, and policy implementation; and embedding queer[ing] within public administration education to reduce institutional bias and discrimination. Drawing on Freirean pedagogy and decolonial thought, the piece frames queer[ing] as a humanistic, transformative lens. It concludes by introducing a Special Issue intended to foster equity, amplify marginalized voices, and reimagine public administration praxis in service of democratic ideals.

Democracy · Empowerment · Politics · Praxis · Public service · Queer · Transformative learning · African Sexualities and LGBTQ+ Issues · Critical Race Theory in Education · LGBTQ Health, Identity, and Policy