FEATURE NORTH AND SOUTH


North and south T


HE WORLD OF academic publishing is notoriously unequal. Research from scholars based in the Global South is hugely under-represented in leading


international peer-reviewed journals. A recent study by CPAID (Centre for Public Authority in International Development) found that less than 3% of papers published in surveyed journals were from authors in the Global South. Another recent research project has shown that 43% of publications in top Development Studies journals were from authors located in the USA and UK alone. Scholars based in the North are widely perceived to be at the frontier of knowledge production and tend to benefit from broader networks and means to disseminate their research. Meanwhile, authors based in the South are often marginalised from academic debates and are less likely to serve on the editorial boards of prestigious journals. The problem is most acute when it comes to African scholars. Of course, there are some who have major contributions to the humanities and social sciences (to give just a few examples from East Africa: Mamdani, Ogot, Mazrui, p’Bitek and Mbiti), but the majority were the graduates of universities established and supported under colonial rule, and they were able to secure reasonably remunerated academic posts. In many places that career path has become much more difficult. Also, the relative isolation of Southern-based scholars can limit the repertoire of methodological tools that are available (and fundable) in their research. Dominant approaches


Research has found that only a small percentage of papers published in surveyed journals were from authors in the Global South. And 43% of publications in top Development Studies journals were from authors located in the USA and UK alone. Why? By Tin Hinane El Kadi


in some disciplines such as economics and political science, particularly in US institutions, have become hegemonic in ways that can exclude work by scholars from elsewhere, especially in the Global South. Central research questions then are directed to the interests of often Northern-based scholars and their funding agencies.


“ In several


African countries universities started declining in the decades after independence, partly due to


political upheavals. Authors based in the


South are often marginalised from academic debates


There are multiple reasons behind this imbalance in representation. For instance, in several African countries, universities started declining in the decades after independence, partly due to political upheavals, but also because of shifting funding priorities – linked to campaigns against rural poverty and urban bias. Broadening primary education was emphasised over higher education for elites. These trends were then exacerbated by neo- liberal reforms in the 1980s. Ever greater teaching and administrative loads were imposed on academic staff and, inevitably, there was a weakening of research capacity. African-based scholars had no option but to take on additional work, such as farming, running a business, or doing consultancies for aid agencies. In his compelling book, Scholars in the Market Place, Mahmoud Mamdani reports this transformation at the University of Makerere in Uganda. However, the issue of under-representation


”


goes far beyond a question of finances. A 2016 study found that although African-based scholars were submitting more papers to two leading African Studies Journals, the rate of publications had declined from 30% to 15%, because of increasing rejection rates. Some editors of African journals indicate that the style of critical comments from reviewers can discourage possible authors, and efforts have been made to moderate the tone of criticism and assist African scholars with resubmissions. However, the pressures on academic life everywhere make that kind of dedicated support more difficult to sustain. Also, finding sufficient African reviewers of articles is a challenge, and the evidence from the above- mentioned studies suggests that, even when African-based authors manage to publish, their articles are less likely to be cited than articles published by Northern-based scholars.


14 SOCIETY NOW WINTER 2018


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