Africas Contribution to Global Studies Prof Scarlett Cornelissen University of Stellenbosch, South A

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Africas Contribution to Global StudiesProf
Scarlett CornelissenUniversity of Stellenbosch,
South Africa

• Global Studies Consortium Symposium
• Tokyo
• 16-18 May 2008

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Overview

• How global is Global Studies? Some preliminary
  remarks
• Global/International Studies programmes in
  sub-Saharan Africa
• South Africa
• Research and teaching environment
• University of Stellenbosch International Studies
  Programme (ISP)
• Makerere University, Uganda
• University of Namibia
• Making Global Studies more inclusive and global
• African contributions to Global Studies

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How global is Global Studies?

• Some preliminary remarks
• As field Global Studies (GS) faces generic
  problem of demarcation
• Some common elements
• multi/interdisciplinary (transdisciplinary)
• bridging cultural, geographical, political and
  other boundaries
• seeks to address issues challenges yielded by
  growing interdependence
• therefore globalisation often taken as common
  analytical point of departure
• field in part a response to perceived
  deficiencies of International Relations/Internatio
  nal Political Economy
• attempt to transcend analytical construct of the
  state

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How global is Global Studies?

• Growing popularity
• However, Global Studies seems notably to be North
  American concern
• International studies (IS) still very popular
  outside of USA
• If anything, IS more vibrant consolidating
• increased epistemological methodological
  plurality
• attempt to address same aspects as GS
• often framed in opposition to perceived
  neo-imperialism in Global North in post-9/11
  international security context

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Global Studies in sub-Saharan Africa

• No dedicated Global Studies programmes
• Several examples of International
  Relations/Studies curricula
• Often IR/IS curricula subsumed under Political
  Science/Public Management programmes

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South Africa

• University of Cape Town
• University of the Witwatersrand
• University of Stellenbosch
• University of Pretoria
• University of Johannesburg
• Rhodes University
• University of Kwazulu-Natal
• Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University
• University of South Africa
• North-West University
• University of the Free State
• University of Fort Hare
• University of Limpopo
• University of the Western Cape
• University of Zululand
• Cape Peninsula University of Technology
• Central University of Technology
• Durban Institute of Technology

• The tertiary education terrain
• universities established during 20th century
  reflected apartheid planning
• distinction between Historically White vs
  Historically Black universities
• process of mergers since 2000
• today 22 universities or comprehensive tertiary
  educational institutions

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Research and teaching environment in South Africa

• diminishing public financing for scientific
  development
• backlogs in secondary primary education
• policy to improve international scientific
  standing

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Science and Technology Indicators for South
Africa and 10 Benchmarking Countries
(Source National Advisory Council on Innovation,
South Africa, 2007)
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Research and teaching environment in South Africa

• demography of scientific output reflects
• ageing scientific workforce
• slow rate of growth in participation by African,
  Coloured and Indian researchers

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(Source National Advisory Council on Innovation,
South Africa, 2007)
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(Source National Advisory Council on Innovation,
South Africa, 2007)
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International Studies Programme at the University
of Stellenbosch

• postgraduate established 1996
• BA programme est. 2002
• postgraduate exchange- Peace Research
  Institute in Oslo (PRIO)
• - Erasmus Mundus Global Studies (Leipzig)

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Makerere University, Uganda

• MA in International Relations Diplomatic
  Studies

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Makerere University, Uganda
MA in Peace and Conflict Studies
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University of Namibia
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Making Global Studies more global

• Apparent revivalism of IR/IS in Global South
  within specific wider ideological context
• perception that discipline of International
  Relations subservient to posited hegemonic order
• perceived securitisation of IR and world
  politics more generally
• sense of being off the map as far as
  knowledge production is concerned
• often reinforced by emerging global political
  economy of knowledge (represented through
  publications, etc)

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Making Global Studies more global

• What could (or should) Global Studies offer?
• More than
• making Global Studies geographically more
  representative or
• adapting and extending Area Studies or
• adopting add-on approaches
• appreciating that there are differential contexts
  for knowledge (i.e. scientific) production

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African contributions to Global Studies

• Aberrant continent invites reframing of core
  and common concepts of GS,
• e.g. globalisation, statehood, sovereignty
• Occasion for comparative studies of variegated
  impacts of globalisation(s) new regionalisms
• Rich epistemological traditions
• e.g. contributions to postcolonial frameworks

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African contributions to Global Studies

• Emergent major politico-economic alliances from
  Global South which key African states either
  contribute to or are affected by
• India-Brazil-South Africa (IBSA)
• G22
• Brazil, India, China (so-called BRICs)
• processes, dynamics implications of these
  understudied, nor do tools exist in prevailing IS
  or GS frameworks
• Analyses of African processes can yield
  alternative historiographies which could further
  understanding of common world trajectories and
  destinies