Uncovering power asymmetries in North-South research collaborations – An example from sustainability research in Tanzania

• North - South collaboration between scientists and collaborators is increasingly prominent and promoted in research. This study examines power dynamics within a North-South research collaboration project conducted between institutions in Tanzania and Germany. The research design is guided by postcolonial considerations of knowledge production and seeks to amplify underrepresented voices from the South. The analysis reveals power manifestations in project setup, processes, and outcomes, through three perspectives: resources, social relations, and discourses. The study confirms the prevailing impression of the Northern partner as the donor and conceptualizer, directing the research path, while the Southern partner remains in a peripheral position as the local implementor. Both parties benefit from the collaboration, but the Northern partner gains more in terms of academic recognition and reproduction, furthering the asymmetrical power distance. This study concludes that to approach the ideal mutual knowledge co-production, collaborations should reconsider funding structures, question ways of knowing, increase the importance of equal capacity building, and challenge established Western academic knowledge production structures.

Ämnesord

SAMHÄLLSVETENSKAP  -- Annan samhällsvetenskap -- Tvärvetenskapliga studier inom samhällsvetenskap (hsv//swe)

SOCIAL SCIENCES  -- Other Social Sciences -- Social Sciences Interdisciplinary (hsv//eng)

Nyckelord

Capacity building

International collaboration

Knowledge co-production

North-South research

Power asymmetries in academia

Research for development

Publikations- och innehållstyp

art (ämneskategori)

ref (ämneskategori)