Power (re)configuration in South-South cooperation: an exploratory study of aid programs for higher education within the Global South

• In Event: Exploring the shifting perspectives of donors to higher education in the Global South

Proposal

The donor landscape of supporting higher education (HE) in the Global South has undergone significant changes. As HE assumed a unique role in attaining the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), scholarly interest in international aid for HE has been on the rise (Muhr and de Azevedo, 2018; McCowan, 2019). Amid sweeping geopolitical challenges across the globe, we have seen a growing number of HE aid flows within the Global South originating from emerging powers such as BRICS, often in the framing of partnership or collaboration (King, 2013; Varghese,
2015). However, there is a scarcity of studies on this topic despite availability of data from international organizations such as OECD, as these sources captured only a fraction of flows that are predominantly comprised of Western donors, among other obstacles (Rensimer and McCowan, 2023). Our knowledge is even more limited about the nature and features of transnational aid to HE within the Global South community.

This presentation is grounded in a review of existing literature on South-South cooperation (SSC) in HE, seeking to provide a conceptual analysis aimed at addressing some of these gaps in our understanding of this evolving aid space. By drawing on case studies of SSC donors beyond the traditional North-South model – in some cases former recipients in the previous model – this exploratory study critically challenges the ostensibly egalitarian power structures that underpin cooperative programs often characterized as being driven by solidarity and shared identity. This paper argues that there is great diversity and hierarchies within SSC targeting HE, encompassing both symmetrical and asymmetrical relationships between donor and recipient countries. A typology is constructed to conceptualize the varying motivations behind these aid flows, highlighting different rationales among key actors. This study also located the new ‘North’ within the Global South and their power configuration in providing HE aid. Through shedding light on some of these critical issues about SSC in HE, this analytical endeavor invites further exploration and debates on the less visible forms of ‘aid’ flowing to the low- and middle- income countries.

Author

• Manxi Liu, IOE, UCL's Faculty of Education and Society