DECOLONIZING ECONOMICS: ISLAMIC PERSPECTIVES ON FAIR TRADE, LOCAL SOVEREIGNTY, AND GLOBAL GOVERNANCE
Article Sidebar
-
Decolonizing economics, Fair trade, Islamic economics
Abstract
In an era of globalized economies dominated by neoliberal paradigms and large-scale production systems, alternative economic approaches emphasizing justice, sustainability, and local sovereignty have gained increasing attention. This article proposes a decolonial framework grounded in Islamic economic thought, focusing on three interrelated dimensions: fair trade, local sovereignty, and global governance. Drawing upon Islamic epistemology—including concepts such as iqti??d (moderation), zak?t, waqf, and the prohibition of riba and gharar—the study critiques the epistemic dominance of Western economic models that often neglect moral, ethical, and contextual dimensions. In the context of fair trade, Islamic perspectives reframe trade relations beyond efficiency and capital accumulation, emphasizing distributive justice, workers’ rights, and socio-ecological accountability. Local sovereignty is examined as a means of empowering community-based and regionally grounded economies that resist dependency on global market mechanisms and financial institutions structured by Western logics. Regarding global governance, the paper explores how Islamic economic principles can offer an alternative vision for global economic management—one rooted in distributive justice, inclusive participation, and ethical stewardship.
The findings suggest that decolonizing Islamic economics is not merely a rejection of Western epistemic dominance but an effort to articulate a coherent blueprint for a just, participatory, and value-driven global economy.
Full text article
References
Ajanovic, A. (2022). The economics and the environmental benignity of different colors of hydrogen. International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, 47(57), 24136–24154. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhydene.2022.02.094
Ash, E. (2023). Text Algorithms in Economics. Annual Review of Economics, 15(Query date: 2025-11-03 02:30:16), 659–688. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-economics-082222-074352
Black, G. (2023). Prospects for Nuclear Microreactors: A Review of the Technology, Economics, and Regulatory Considerations. Nuclear Technology, 209(Query date: 2025-11-03 02:30:16). https://doi.org/10.1080/00295450.2022.2118626
Catalini, C. (2022). Some Simple Economics of Stablecoins. Annual Review of Financial Economics, 14(Query date: 2025-11-03 02:30:16), 117–135. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-financial-111621-101151
Charpentier, A. (2023). Reinforcement Learning in Economics and Finance. Computational Economics, 62(1), 425–462. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10614-021-10119-4
Chelwa, G. (2022). Stratification Economics: Core Constructs and Policy Implications. Journal of Economic Literature, 60(2), 377–399. https://doi.org/10.1257/jel.20211687
Ciriacy-Wantrup, S. V. (2023). RESOURCE CONSERVATION: ECONOMICS AND POLICIES. In Resource Conservation Economics and Policies (p. 396). https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?partnerID=HzOxMe3b&scp=85179222957&origin=inward
Du, H. (2023). Rethinking Quality of Experience for Metaverse Services: A Consumer-Based Economics Perspective. IEEE Network, 37(6), 255–263. https://doi.org/10.1109/MNET.131.2200503
Han, M. (2022). Root phosphatase activity aligns with the collaboration gradient of the root economics space. New Phytologist, 234(3), 837–849. https://doi.org/10.1111/nph.17906
Hilarydoss, S. (2023). Suitability, sizing, economics, environmental impacts and limitations of solar photovoltaic water pumping system for groundwater irrigation—A brief review. Environmental Science and Pollution Research, 30(28), 71491–71510. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-021-12402-1
Hynes, W. (2022). Systemic resilience in economics. Nature Physics, 18(4), 381–384. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41567-022-01581-4
Ifa, L. (2022). Techno-economics of coconut coir bioadsorbent utilization on free fatty acid level reduction in crude palm oil. Heliyon, 8(3). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2022.e09146
Klute, S. (2024). Steam generating heat pumps – Overview, classification, economics, and basic modeling principles. Energy Conversion and Management, 299(Query date: 2025-11-03 02:30:16). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enconman.2023.117882
Kumar, R. (2024). Recent advances of biogas reforming for hydrogen production: Methods, purification, utility and techno-economics analysis. International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, 76(Query date: 2025-11-03 02:30:16), 108–140. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhydene.2024.02.143
Kvangraven, I. H. (2023). Standing in the way of rigor? Economics’ meeting with the decolonization agenda. Review of International Political Economy, 30(5), 1723–1748. https://doi.org/10.1080/09692290.2022.2131597
Larnaudie, V. (2022). Switchgrass as an alternative biomass for ethanol production in a biorefinery: Perspectives on technology, economics and environmental sustainability. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 158(Query date: 2025-11-03 02:30:16). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2022.112115
Leifer, V. P. (2022). The burden of OA-health services and economics. Osteoarthritis and Cartilage, 30(1), 10–16. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.joca.2021.05.007
Luo, B. (2023). Research methods in economics to evaluate the role of energy efficiency and financial inclusion in achieving China’s carbon neutrality target. Economic Research Ekonomska Istrazivanja, 36(1), 1774–1802. https://doi.org/10.1080/1331677X.2022.2093245
Maroušek, J. (2022). Silica Nanoparticles from Coir Pith Synthesized by Acidic Sol-Gel Method Improve Germination Economics. Polymers, 14(2). https://doi.org/10.3390/polym14020266
Momtaz, P. P. (2022). Some Very Simple Economics of Web3 and the Metaverse. Fintech, 1(3), 225–234. https://doi.org/10.3390/fintech1030018
Nath, F. (2024). Recent advances in CCUS: A critical review on technologies, regulatory aspects and economics. Geoenergy Science and Engineering, 238(Query date: 2025-11-03 02:30:16). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geoen.2024.212726
Nemitallah, M. A. (2024). Review on techno-economics of hydrogen production using current and emerging processes: Status and perspectives. Results in Engineering, 21(Query date: 2025-11-03 02:30:16). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rineng.2024.101890
Park, J. (2024). Techno-economic analysis of solar powered green hydrogen system based on multi-objective optimization of economics and productivity. Energy Conversion and Management, 299(Query date: 2025-11-03 02:30:16). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enconman.2023.117823
Pirvaram, A. (2022). Radiative cooling for buildings: A review of techno-enviro-economics and life-cycle assessment methods. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 162(Query date: 2025-11-03 02:30:16). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2022.112415
Qi, M. (2022). System perspective on cleaner technologies for renewable methane production and utilisation towards carbon neutrality: Principles, techno-economics, and carbon footprints. Fuel, 327(Query date: 2025-11-03 02:30:16). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fuel.2022.125130
Sandbu, M. (2022). The Economics of Belonging: A Radical Plan to Win Back the Left Behind and Achieve Prosperity for All. In Economics of Belonging A Radical Plan to Win Back the Left Behind and Achieve Prosperity for all (p. 284). https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?partnerID=HzOxMe3b&scp=85199075227&origin=inward
Si, S. (2023). Technology, entrepreneurship, innovation and social change in digital economics. Technovation, 119(Query date: 2025-11-03 02:30:16). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.technovation.2022.102484
Singla, M. K. (2024). The colorful economics of hydrogen: Assessing the costs and viability of different hydrogen production methods—A review. International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, 61(Query date: 2025-11-03 02:30:16), 664–677. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhydene.2024.02.255
Spash, C. L. (2022). The Dasgupta Review deconstructed: An exposé of biodiversity economics. Globalizations, 19(5), 653–676. https://doi.org/10.1080/14747731.2021.1929007
Tutak, M. (2022). Renewable energy consumption in economic sectors in the EU-27. The impact on economics, environment and conventional energy sources. A 20-year perspective. Journal of Cleaner Production, 345(Query date: 2025-11-03 02:30:16). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2022.131076
Wuepper, D. (2023). Regression discontinuity designs in agricultural and environmental economics. European Review of Agricultural Economics, 50(1), 1–28. https://doi.org/10.1093/erae/jbac023
Zhang, G. (2023). Research on tourism economic effect under the threshold of new-type urbanization in coastal cities of China: From the perspective of development economics. Ocean and Coastal Management, 239(Query date: 2025-11-03 02:30:16). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ocecoaman.2023.106587
Zhou, F. (2022). The carbon emissions trading scheme and green technology innovation in China: A new structural economics perspective. Economic Analysis and Policy, 74(Query date: 2025-11-03 02:30:16), 365–381. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eap.2022.03.007
Authors
Copyright (c) 2026 Sepridayana Sepridayana, Aung Myint, Sanjay Sharma
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
