By Christopher Rohles

The hegemony of the Global North

I am white and grew up and was socialized in West Germany. Just as the history of National Socialism and its reflection and reappraisal shapes my socialization in Germany, colonialism also shapes my socialization in the so-called Global North[1]. In a similar way, the history of colonization and the way it is dealt with shapes the politics, economy, culture and identity of the people in the countries that were and are affected by imperialism. The colonizing nations have created the conditions for many countries of the Global South to remain dependent on countries of the Global North to this day (Hickel et al., 2021; Schmidt, 2019).[2] Dependencies and marginalization also have an impact on science and research. White scientists from the Global North represent a colonial legacy from which the Global North still benefits economically, socially, culturally and politically. What the states of the Global North make of this legacy and the continuing structures of marginalization and exploitation depends on social reflection, honesty and a certain humility.[3] In order to recognize historically determined global power imbalances in politics, society and research, it is helpful to take the perspective of countries and people from the Global South in addition to raising awareness through knowledge transfer.

However, the Global North and large parts of its research landscape still do not fully recognize their own privileges. This also means that economic and social conditions in countries of the Global South are often explained by supposedly inherent shortcomings and not by their de facto structural disadvantages. This is because the marginalization of the Global South is structural and represents a form of structural violence. In line with feminist theory, it can be understood as "structural vulnerability", which, in contrast to the concept of "vulnerability", emphasizes that these structures are not natural, but can and must be man-made and changed (Bieß, 2024: 13-14; Pistrol, 2016) - also in science. When it comes to combating global inequalities, Denk even attests to the global community's "colonial amnesia" (2021: 247).

There are indications that the Global North is working on recognizing the colonial legacy: public panels or conferences on the colonial past and responsibility of Germany and Europe[4], the restitution of cultural assets[5], the renaming of streets[6], the detachment of former colonies from dependence on the Commonwealth[7] or the so-called "Françafrique"[8], as current uprisings in New Caledonia[9] show. The colonial past of countries such as Luxembourg, which, although not colonized as a state itself, was active in the Congo colonized by Belgium with soldiers, businessmen, diplomats or missionaries, is also being reappraised.[10] Last but not least, there are also initiatives in the university context that deal with post-colonialism in a power-critical way in workshops, audio tours or through learning tandems.[11] Why am I saying all this? Because the power imbalance persists and is only insufficiently or gradually being recognized and addressed.

This contributes to one-sided narratives being set and becoming entrenched. One example of this is the painting of a picture of the otherness of people and countries of the Global South in the form of an ethnocentric sense of superiority. This can give rise to a subtle narrative of two groups: "we" or "I" as the dominant group and the subaltern "others" who do not conform to a supposed norm. This phenomenon is also referred to as "othering" (Bieß, 2024: 17).[12] These latent, often subconscious racisms are part of socialization in the Global North and are reproduced and transported through literature, language, history, monuments, education and also in science.

Violence is more prevalent elsewhere, isn't it?

In this context, I would like to take up an event that occurred during a research stay in the Global South. An attempted coup that took place during my six-month stay in Sierra Leone tended to be commented on by people in Germany as an ordinary event in an "African" context and associated with collective violence, which in fact was not the case. For from the point of view of the Global North, which tends to see itself as democratic and non-violent, violence tends to prevail elsewhere and is exercised by others (Azarmandi, 2023: 1-2; Brunner, 2016: 94).[13] Was the planned violent political overthrow in Germany by the Patriotic Union of the Reichsbürger:innenbewegung with several hundred firearms, cutting and stabbing weapons, explosives and a violence-oriented personal potential of around 2,000 people something else?[14] Or the storming of the Capitol in the USA, which George W. Bush or Elmar Theveßen compared to the supposed conditions in a so-called "banana republic"?[15] The cultural scientist Gernot Wolfram notes that the term is a rhetorical trick that works like this: "The current drama in the USA is an exceptional case, just a slice of reality in distant, unfamiliar countries where things are really bad. A slip of the tongue, this storming of the Capitol, bizarre but exotic; the real chaos is not here, but in the 'banana republics'. The banana as a symbol for wild, chaotic topographies and their inhabitants is a well-known vocabulary in various racist contexts."[16] In fact, the term originally referred - rather pitifully - to the dependence of Central American countries on the United Fruit Company (now Chiquita Brands International) from the USA, which dominated the transportation system for tropical fruits in these countries through bribery, the promotion of paramilitaries and influencing governments, thereby depressing wages and ensuring poor working conditions, as Wolfram points out.

The Global North has a tendency to see itself as the pioneer and defender of a free world and tends to assume that the rest of the world must learn from it, which is both arrogant and obstructive. Because "[w]hen we behave this way, we miss out on the autochthonous, complementary and complicated liberal ways of thinking that exist in parts of the Global South" (Narlikar, 2023). Nevertheless, these assumptions do not apply to the entire Global North. Nevertheless, this tendency towards ignorance and arrogance has important implications for narratives and indirectly also for research, because it too is socially constructed (Bashiri, 2024: 90-91) and epistemologically strongly dominated by scientists from the Global North (Ralfs, 2024).

The better funding of universities and research institutions in the Global North and the freedom of researchers to travel[17] are rather footnotes in this context. Brunner describes the supremacy of the Global North in science as epistemic violence resulting from an imperial world order (2020: 17). As a result, perspectives from the Global South are underrepresented in "knowledge production" in many respects. Important perspectives, for example on politics and history, are missing and one-sided narratives are set. Despite this, there are also countries and regions in which narratives of the Global North play at most a subordinate role and in which their own knowledge systems exist. Nevertheless, global power imbalances have an impact on the international research landscape. Azarmandi (2023), for example, attests to the extensive "racial silence" in peace and conflict research, criticizing the fact that underlying concepts are conceived without taking into account the history of colonization and racialization. Racist-capitalist violence is also overlooked, while human rights are emphasized at the same time.

(Self-)critical positioning in the research process

The state of structural vulnerability is understood as a starting point for joint action to change it. Researchers are in an important position to proactively draw attention to the structures and to justify the need for transformation in order to "move joint, solidarity-based action to the center of the community" (Bieß, 2024: 13-14). But can we conduct more reflective and respectful research, and can research by privileged people from the Global North in the Global South be legitimate at all?

So far, scientists from the Global North do not have to undergo any training when conducting research in the Global South. However, white scientists from the Global North in particular should be prepared by their research institutions for their stays in order to be able to classify their position of power and conduct research in a sensitive and reflective manner. Social scientists in particular, who are increasingly active in interpersonal contexts, run the risk of causing harm from their position of power[18]. There should be training courses across all departments that raise awareness of positionality, critical whiteness and the existence of postcolonial structures. An awareness of the fact that the understanding of what "science" is or can be is heavily dominated by the Global North and is often very one-sided also contributes to breaking down one-sided perspectives in science. In order for such training to become the norm, it requires knowledge and institutional recognition of hegemonic structures as well as the proactive will to shed one's own privileges.

Building on this, research can unfold its transformative power on a personal and, above all, institutional level. One individual way of drawing attention to the need for transformation in science is activist research, for example against the exploitation of people or nature[19] in neoliberal structures, against patriarchal structures, heteronormativity, authoritarianism, neocolonialism or racism (Contu, 2020: 4). Disruptive activist engagement against hegemonic thinking and racist resentment is particularly necessary in the current German-speaking context, but also in Europe and the USA, because far-right and nationalist parties are increasingly being elected to political responsibility. It is precisely now that science has a duty to denounce structures that have been created with the help of scientific findings and public influence and to get involved in current political struggles. As Bashiri (2024) shows, the pursuit of intellectual and social engagement can be harmonized.

In addition, people and perspectives from the Global South need to be proactively empowered. This includes North-South research partnerships, science exchange and transfer, improved publication opportunities in scientific journals and strong representation of researchers from countries of the Global South in international bodies and decision-making processes. But only by dismantling fundamental global marginalizing power structures can the Global North and the Global South meet on an equal footing in the long term.[20] Large parts of the "minority world"[21] must recognize their privileges in order to expose and proactively dismantle vulnerable structures[22]. Against this background, I can only legitimize my own academic work in the Global South if I position myself and my research self-critically in the research process[23] and try to raise awareness of the hegemony of the Global North and highlight potential for transformation.

[1] The distinction between the "Global North" and the "Global South" creates a binary world view that does not reflect the real conditions that determine global differences. However, the terms are intended to draw attention to the fact that many countries in the Global South have experienced exploitation and colonialism and are still suffering the consequences today.

[2] Recently, the works of Sarr (2020) and Tandon (2016), among others, have contributed to the international debate.

[3] For a negative example, see Hansen (2022).

[4] Europe Direct (2024): Panel discussion. Europe's colonial past. Impulses and initiatives for a decolonial debate. 30.05.2024, Hamburg: Ossara e.V. : https://infopoint-europa.de/de/event/393; Kirchliche Arbeitsstelle Südliches Afrika (KASA) (2022): Colonialism, reparations,

normalization? German-Namibian relations. Documentation of the conference "Rethinking Africa 2022"

on 14.10.2022, Frankfurt am Main: https://www.kasa.de/fileadmin/user_upload/Doku_AND_Entwurf_kor3.pdf

[5] FAZ (2024): We gain a lot from the exchange, 15.01.2024: https://www.fr.de/kultur/kunst/wir-gewinnen-extrem-viel-durch-den-austausch-92776556.html

[6] Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger (2023): Afrikaveedel in Nippes. Initiative group wants to rename streets and erect a monument. 03.09.2023: https://www.ksta.de/koeln/nippes/nippes-veedel/afrikaveedel-in-nippes-initiativkreis-will-strassen-umbenennen-636325

[7] Tagesschau (2024): Colonial shadow on British crown, 4.05.2023: https://www.tagesschau.de/ausland/europa/kroenung-charles-kolonialismus-100.html

[8] Tagesschau (2023): Is France's influence in Africa waning? 11.09.2023: https://www.tagesschau.de/ausland/afrika/frankreich-einfluss-afrika-100.html; see also: The Daily Show: Trevor Noah Responds to French Ambassador Gérard Araud's Criticism (2018): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EmG6hKreECc&ab_channel=TheDailyShow;

[9] Supporters of the independence movement refer to the archipelago as "Kanaky"; Postponed election in New Caledonia: France's struggle with the legacy of colonialism. 19.03.2024: https://www.rnd.de/politik/verschobene-wahl-in-neukaledonien-frankreichs-kampf-mit-dem-erbe-des-kolonialismus-NB4JSXRCOZDBHNCV647YU4RP54.html;

[10] Woxx (2024): Colonialism: unofficial junior partner. 26.07.2024: https://www.woxx.lu/kolonialismus-inoffizieller-juniorpartner/

[11] Karlsruhe University of Education (2023): Decolonial orientation of teaching with the help of "Bi-directional Teaching and Learning" with Laos: https://www.ph-karlsruhe.de/projekte/laos; University of Cologne (2024): Workshop on critique of racism and decolonial audio tour: vielfalt.uni-koeln.de/rassismuskritik/werkstatt-rassismuskritik

[12] Another phenomenon is called exoticism, in which people - often POCs - are romanticized on the basis of ethnicity, origin or language for aesthetic reasons or for entertainment purposes and otherness is emphasized.

[13] The "confirmation bias" also contributes to this, in which internalized prejudices against groups of people are filtered in such a way that they meet one's own expectations.

[14] Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (2024): Facts and figures: https://www.verfassungsschutz.de/DE/themen/reichsbuerger-und-selbstverwalter/zahlen-und-fakten/zahlen-und-fakten_node.html; Der Spiegel (2024): More than 360 firearms found among "Reich citizens". 25.08.2023: https: //www.spiegel.de/politik/deutschland/heinrich-xiii-prinz-reuss-mehr-als-360-schusswaffen-bei-reichsbuergern-gefunden-a-66af3f81-8f7e-47e8-81fe-79ef95c89574

[15] taz, die tageszeitung (2021): After the storming of the Capitol: Our banana republic. 12.01.2021: https://taz.de/Nach-dem-Sturm-auf-das-Kapitol/!5738924/

[16] ibid.

[17] Henley & Partners (2024): Global Passport Ranking. 29.07.2024: https://www.henleyglobal.com/passport-index/ranking

[18] Damage ranges from hurting feelings and drawing false conclusions to endangering participants or even fanning the flames of conflict.

[19] See also Deutschlandfunk Kultur (2019): Why we shouldn't talk about the "environment". Thoughts by Andreas Weber. 13.11.2019: https://www.deutschlandfunkkultur.de/naturvorstellung-warum-wir-nicht-von-umwelt-sprechen-sollten-100.html

[20] See also Pauls (2022).

[21] The terms "minority world" and "majority world" exist as an alternative to the term "Global South" or "Global North" and are intended to illustrate that the Global South is far superior to the Global North in terms of population. By 2050, it is predicted that the population on the African continent, for example, will almost double and that more than a third of humanity between the ages of 15 and 24 will live there.

[22] taz, die tageszeitung (2020): You have to do without sometimes. 5.9.2020: https://taz.de/Das-Konzept-der-Privilegien/!5706891/

[23] Privileges, differences and relationships during research stays are dynamic, intersectional and highly context-dependent. Gidwani calls situations that require critical self-reflection and can have a transformative effect "ethicopolitical marks zones of liminality" (2008: 236).