Knowledge for Justice: Critical Perspectives from Southern African-Nordic Research Partnerships

With the adoption of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the Paris Agreement, the purpose of development is being redefined in both social and environmental terms. Despite pushback from conservative forces, change is accelerating in many sectors. To drive this transformation in ways that bring about social, environmental and economic justice at a local, national, regional and global levels, new knowledge and strong cross-regional networks capable of foregrounding different realities, needs and agendas will be essential. In fact, the power of knowledge matters today in ways that humanity has probably never experienced before, placing an emphasis on the roles of research, academics and universities.

In this collection, an international diverse collection of scholars from the southern African and Nordic regions critically review the SDGs in relation to their own areas of expertise, while placing the process of knowledge production in the spotlight. In Part I, the contributors provide a sober assessment of the obstacles that neo-liberal hegemony presents to substantive transformation. In Part Two, lessons learned from North–South research collaborations and academic exchanges are assessed in terms of their potential to offer real alternatives. In Part III, a set of case studies supply clear and nuanced analyses of the scale of the challenges faced in ensuring that no one is left behind.

This accessible and absorbing collection will be of interest to anyone interested in North–South research networks and in the contemporary debates on the role of knowledge production.

The Southern African–Nordic Centre (SANORD) is a network of higher education institutions that stretches across Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden, Botswana, Namibia, Malawi, South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe. Universities in the southern African and Nordic regions that are not yet members are encouraged to join.

Acronyms and abbreviations

Introduction | Tor Halvorsen, Hilde Ibsen and Henri-Count Evans

Part I: Knowledge and Neo-Liberalism

1 The Sustainable Development Goals, knowledge production and the global struggle over values | Tor Halvorsen

2 The Sustainable Development Goals, the Paris Agreement and the Addis Agenda: Neo-liberalism, unequal development and the rise of a new imperialism | Henri-Count Evans and Rosemary Musvipwa

3 Academic freedom and its enemies: Lessons from Sweden | Jens Stillhoff Sörensen and Erik J Olsson

4 New public management as a mechanism of accumulation by dispossession: The case of a public bulk water provider in South Africa | Carina van Rooyen

5 To fit or not to fit, is that the question? Global goals, basic education and theories of knowledge in South Africa and Sweden | Hilde Ibsen, Sharon Penderis and Karin Bengtsson

6 Academia in the context of constraint and a performative SDG agenda: A perspective on South Africa | Suriamurthee Maistry and Erlend Eidsvik

Part II: North–South Collaboration

7 Contributing to the agenda for sustainable development through North–South educational partnerships: An analysis of two Linnaeus-Palme staff–student exchanges between Sweden and South Africa | Kate Rowntree and Roddy Fox

8 Preparing to build researchers’ capacity in development and community mobilisation: Towards sustainable North–South collaborations | Thembinkosi Mabila and Rachel J Singh

9 North–South research collaboration and the Sustainable Development Goals: Challenges and opportunities for academics | Stephen Mago

10 Education for employability: A response to industry demands | Robert L. Martin, Regina Krause, Martha T Namutuwa, Evgenia Mahler and Hartmut Domröse

Part III: Case Studies

11 Contextual factors affecting the attainment of life satisfaction among elderly people in Zambia’s North-Western province | Mubiana K Sitali and Emmy H Mbozi

12 Home–school relations and the role of indigenous knowledge in early literacy learning: A case study from a rural school in Zambia | Anne Marit Vesteraas Danbolt, Dennis Banda, Jørgen Klein and Geoffrey Tambulukani

13 Relocation of the homestead: A customary practice in the communal areas of north central Namibia | Antti Erkkilä and Nelago Indongo

About the contributors