Cross-National Research Partnerships in International Relations: A Study of Research Groups’ Practices of MERCOSUR—Re-Envisioning Scholarly Activities Beyond the Global North–Global South Divide

Abstract

This article assesses international partnerships by observing research collaboration dynamics of International Relations research groups of MERCOSUR. We contest the models based on center–periphery or North–South divide as we built our assessment to explain the collaboration dynamics both in an international and regional level from the agent’s point of view. We moved beyond Scientometric analysis and conducted an exploratory case study with interviews, a focus group and a questionnaire. We demonstrate that, despite asymmetries, researchers from the South do not have a passive role in the interactions and exchanges, as there is space for reciprocity and agency. We argue that integration of research through international partnerships is pragmatic and the condition of autonomy varies according to the features of the groups, their positions within the field and the prestige of their researchers.

La tercera misión de la universidad y sus múltiples sentidos en debate: extensión, transferencia, vinculación, compromiso, coproducción e impacto social de las prácticas académicas y los modos de producción de conocimiento

“…Por cierto, bajo este modelo, se resalta la tensión entre demandas locales de conocimiento y excelencia internacional de la universidad: en circuitos de circulación de conocimiento internacional (o mainstream) pareciera haber poco interés para la comunicación de resultados de investigación anclados en demandas locales, en especial para las ciencias sociales (Beigel, 2014;Perrotta y Alonso, 2019) lo que necesariamente tensiona la práctica académica dados los actuales mecanismos de evaluación de desempeño de los/as académicos/as. Pareciera necesario, en este sentido, incluir también una posible caracterización que refiera a la diferenciación de la función de las instituciones y del personal académico en ambos niveles inter e intrainstitucional: ¿qué sucede cuando una o más instituciones "comparten" un entorno?, ¿cómo se incorporan en las misiones de la universidad las culturas académicas (Naidorf, 2009) y las culturas de evaluación de sus miembros (Beigel, 2019)?…”

Multilingualism in academic writing for publication: Putting English in its place

“…The Russian scholars also found that the process of publishing in local journals was faster than in high-status Anglophone journals, an important consideration for many scholars in meeting the demands of evaluation policies. In Latin America, Perrotta and Alonso (2020) highlight, the ‘research agendas within MERCOSUR [contexts] are more likely to share theories, methods and approaches which allow them to circulate more fluently in the regional circuit’ (p. 89). A plethora of substantive reasons to favor publishing in local/national languages and in local journals has thus been identified in the research.…”

Global inequity in scientific names and who they honor

“…Our intention is not to prescribe particular answers to the above questions because formulating those answers will require dialogue between the hegemonic communities which we are part of and those excluded and marginalized by them. Rather, our goal for this paper is to promote conversations and actions around these questions, and contribute to work already being done within and outside the academy that re-frames approaches to science to confront inequity in present-day practices (for examples see [92], https://birdnamesforbirds.wordpress.com, and https://decolonize-dna.org), while acknowledging our collective agency in these practices [93]. As an entry point for these conversations, we recommend working through the questions in the Research Justice Worksheet [94].…”