Although apartheid ended in the early 1990s, the effects of institutionalised racial segregation are still felt today in the South African Higher education system. The International Research Collaboration (IRC) is a way of sharing knowledge and enabling research across borders. However, this has also allowed Eurocentric ideas to remain centre stage in education, reinforcing systemic inequalities.
Colonial legacies haunt the higher education system, and this deep-rooted power dynamic between South Africa and the Global North remains a pertinent part of the country’s academic output. A paper on national IRC trends found that between 2012-2021, almost half of South Africa’s academic research was through IRC. Despite South African academics collaborating with other researchers from 223 countries, it is Global North countries that are dominating IRC. These countries include the Unites States, the United Kingdom, Australia, and Germany. This amounted to 64% of South Africa’s IRC, and only 36% was with the Global South, and 13% was with other African countries. This demonstrates a lack of strong partnership between South Africa and other African nations, as well as the rest of the Global South.
Despite South African academics collaborating with other researchers from 223 countries, it is Global North countries that are dominating IRC
South Africa’s research relationships are tethered to the Global North, but institutional trends within IRC also point to the issue of colonial legacies, historical segregation, and the need for decolonialisation to be realised in policy. Another paper on institutional IRC trends shows that historically white institutions (HWI) have received greater support from governments and funding initiatives than their historically black institutions (HBI) counterparts. The lack of funding for HBIs meant their research was seriously impacted and restricted, and it continuously hampered their ability. According to the paper, HWIs were “responsible for the production of 93% of South Africa’s research output” in 1993 whereas “HBIs produced… 7%”. This is similar to even today’s trends, where a dismal 7.4% of research through IRC was produced by HBIs, meaning this entrenched colonial history lives on in academia. HWI continues to increase collaborations within IRC while HBI remains left behind, struggling to follow suit.
historically white institutions (HWI) have received greater support from governments and funding initiatives than their historically black institutions (HBI) counterparts
It remains the case that priority is given to research collaboration with Global North countries, leaving the rest of the African continent and the Global South neglected, furthering the inequalities in academia in contemporary society. What has arisen from research on this issue is that not only is South African collaboration through IRC glued to the side of Europe and other northern nations, but it has institutional issues that show consistent favouritism to white researchers. HBIs engage in more diverse epistemology as they collaborate with other African nations and the Global South, whereas HWIs continue to engage with Global North countries.
not only is South African collaboration through IRC glued to the side of Europe and other northern nations, but it has institutional issues that show consistent favouritism to white researchers
At this moment in time, the South African universities are perpetuating issues of historical segregation and Eurocentric hegemony. Whilst collaboration remains segregated between HBIs and HWIs, and IRC remains with the Global North alone, it halts any progress in ground-breaking, diverse, and new research, and most certainly means any transformative progress in South Africa’s social turmoil will falter. South African higher education needs to facilitate HBIs so that they have ‘academic and infrastructural capacity’ if they wish to escape from this stagnant relationship. After tracing institutional IRC trends, discussions should consider developing incentives for those who produce research with IRC with the rest of the African Continent and the Global South. To move away from the past of racism and segregation means creating equal opportunities within academia that do not play into the Eurocentric hegemony nor the institutional trends of IRC that favours white researchers.
