Research In The Social Sciences In The Global South: An Exploration

Abstract

The recognition of the importance of learning and conducting research in social sciences has grown significantly since the beginning of the twenty-first century. This trend is evident from the inclusion of social sciences in university curricula worldwide, the rising number of researchers, teachers, and students in this field, and the increase in published social science articles and books. However, social scientific knowledge faces significant risks in the Global South, where it is most needed. These risks include disparities in the production sites of knowledge, differences in understanding what constitutes ‘knowledge’, and uneven distribution of resources for knowledge production. The article aims to explore the landscape of social science research in the Global South, focusing on the risks associated with knowledge production, understanding, and resources. Analysis shows that there is an explicit inequality in the global representation of social science research, particularly on critical issues like inequality and social justice, where majority of publications come from North America and Western Europe. The dominance of the Global North in social science research allows it to set the agenda for what constitutes valuable research, including which issues are studied, which methodologies are used, and which theoretical frameworks are applied. This hegemony forces researchers in the Global South to conform to Western standards to gain visibility, often leading to an intellectual dependency. The limited resources for social science research in the Global South are a primary cause of the disparities in knowledge production. These countries often prioritize natural sciences over social sciences, leading to insufficient capacities for social science research. The case of India goes along with the general trend seen in the global South. The article calls for alternative discourses and knowledge systems informed by Indigenous experiences, philosophies and cultural practices and the need for social science research to focus on local contexts to address the multiple issues that hinder development.