Decolonial theory is a critical intellectual project and field of research that investigates the enduring legacies of colonialism and challenges the global power structures, knowledge systems, and social hierarchies established and perpetuated by colonial and imperial expansion. It analyzes how coloniality, as distinct from historical colonialism, persists in shaping contemporary social, political, economic, and epistemic realities, advocating for the dismantling of Eurocentric paradigms and the validation of marginalized perspectives and epistemologies to enable epistemic justice and alternative futures.