Policy Ideas and North–South Research Cooperation: The Case of Norway

Abstract

Geopolitically powerful actors in countries linked to the global North have historically shaped the landscape of North–South research cooperation. The literature documents not only the pervasiveness of asymmetrical relationships in North–South research cooperation but also a growing recognition among policy and academic actors of these dynamics. In this context, this study traces the invention of the Norwegian “South-South-North” partnership model, which was envisaged as an alternative to mainstream approaches and sought to foreground the needs and priorities of researchers in the global South. Employing the conceptual perspective of policy ideas, this study identifies three ideas that were constitutive of the model: humanitarianism, enlightened self-interested, and international reputation building. Functioning as broad public philosophies, these ideas underpinned the adoption of the South–South–North model as a distinctively Norwegian approach to research capacity building in the global South.

Academic Engagement in Sport for Development: Niche or Growing Community?

“…Of particular relevance for the paper here, the struggle for equal partnerships between institutions themselves has been noted as an important barrier to research collaborations (Mavhunga, 2018). Even in other research collaboration structures, such as the South-South-North model, there can be difficulties in creating a transparent decision--making process, which in turn can lead to an unequal contribution from the different partners (Weinrib & Sá, 2020). Additionally, these problems are accompanied by communication barriers and diverging research priorities between institutions (Matenga et al, 2019).…”