Implementation has failed, implementation studies have failed even more: Racism and the future of systemic change

Objective This article identifies the role of structural racism in policy implementation and argues that a starting point to evaluate the potential outcomes of calls for systemic change is to better situate racism in the study of policy implementation. Method This article reviews existing policy implementation literature to assess the extent to which they account for structural racism in their analyses of policy implementation success and failure. Result Policy failures have been attributed to multiple factors, including hierarchies and communication problems, but rarely to racism. Conclusion If racism is to be taken seriously by public administration scholars, then a new conceptual understanding is called for along with better efforts to operationalize the crippling impact racism has on public organizations.