Global South Discussions: the First Joint Workshop between HSE University and Peking University
A significant part of the session was dedicated to the conceptualization of the very concept of the “Global South”. Fyodor Lukyanov, Editor-in-Chief of Russia in Global Affairs, Chairman of the Presidium of the Council for Foreign and Defense Policy, Research Professor at HSE University, and RIAC Member, presented the Russian vision of this concept through the prism of the “global majority” idea. Zhang Yongle, Tenured Associate Professor at the Peking University Law School, Deputy Head of the Division of Social Sciences, and Executive Director of the Institute of Area Studies at Peking University, examined the phenomenon of “re-hemispherization”, noting the change of the American worldview from application of the “Monroe Doctrine” to the whole world towards its gradual movement to individual regions at the present stage.
The participants paid special attention to regional dimensions of the issue. Alexander Korolev, Deputy Director of the Centre for Comprehensive European and International Studies at HSE University, analyzed the perception of the “Global South” concept in Southeast Asian countries and spoke about Russia’s role in the region. Matteo Capasso, Professor at Northwest University (China), analyzed the manifestations of US policy in West Asia, and his colleague, Associate Professor Walaa Alqaisiya from Northwest University, additionally highlighted issues concerning Palestine. Ana Livia Araujo Esteves, Lecturer at the School of International Regional Studies of HSE University, and Guo Jie, Tenured Associate Professor at the School of International Studies at Peking University, discussed Latin America's approaches to cooperation with the Global South. In turn, Daria Zelenova, Head of the Centre for African Strategy in BRICS at the Institute for African Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences, and Xu Liang, Tenured Associate Professor at the School of International Studies at Peking University, focused on the African dimension. Fei Haiting, Tenured Associate Professor at the School of Government of Peking University, analyzed the vision of the Global South by European countries.
The final part of the seminar covered the issues related to the interaction of Global South countries at the level of international institutions. Zhai Kun, Professor and Executive Vice Dean of the Institute of Area Studies at Peking University, presented a view on the ongoing discussion about “ASEAN Plus” format vs a potential “China-ASEAN Plus” model. Vasily Kashin, Director of the Centre for Comprehensive European and International Studies at HSE University, elaborated on the cooperation between Russia and China within the BRICS framework.
This seminar has laid a solid foundation for further academic cooperation between HSE University and Peking University across a wide range of issues connected to the Global South countries development. The experts have agreed that in the context of the world order transformation, the Global South acquires special geopolitical significance and this joint work should continue in the future.