Abstract

AZEVEDO, Mário Luiz Neves de. Geopolitics of Knowledge, International Solidarity and South-South Academic Cooperation in BRICS: possibilities, challenges and horizons. J. Pol. Educ-s [online]. 2024, vol.18, e96225.  Epub Jan 15, 2025. ISSN 1981-1969.  https://doi.org/10.5380/jpe.v17i0.96255.

The article analyzes the relationship between international solidarity, the geopolitics of knowledge and South-South academic cooperation, focusing especially on the League of Universities and the BRICS University Network as concrete initiatives for intercultural integration. Inspired by the theories of Paulo Freire and Ernst Bloch, the article presents two conceptions of utopia: the "inédito viável" (“untried possible” or “untested feasibility”) and the "concrete utopia" as historical horizons of solidarity cooperation in the Global South. The study argues that there is room for initiatives based on principles of solidarity, mutual respect, inclusion, equality and interculturality. The BRICS alliance is interpreted as an opportunity to strengthen cooperation between countries in the Global South that face common challenges such as the search for autonomy and sovereignty. The concept of Global South is presented as a category that describes countries in a context of inequality in relation to the Global North, highlighting the need for resistance and transformation, such as South-South cooperation. The article is theoretically based on authors of critical theories, especially Bourdieu and Wacquant (2002), Bourdieu (2003, 2014), Gramsci (2001), Freire (1979; 1983) and Bloch (2000); proposes that, despite the challenges faced, it is possible for countries in the Global South to achieve equitable and supportive development through joint initiatives such as those mentioned, reflecting a collective commitment towards a more just, egalitarian and collaborative future.

Keywords : Geopolitics of Knowledge; Internationalization of Higher Education; South-South Cooperation; BRICS; Global South.

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