Guest Editors
Dr Julius Irene, Dr Bridget Irene, Dr Kingsley Obi Omeihe and Dr Regina Frank
We are excited to announce the call for chapter contributions to the highly anticipated ‘The Emerald Handbook of Decolonising Sustainability, Energy Transition, and Social Justice: A Global South Perspective.’ This pioneering publication aims to gather diverse insights and analysis to challenge conventional narratives onsustainability, energy transition, and social justice, focusing on the perspectives and experiences of the GlobalSouth.
The field of management and organisational studies has long been criticised for its predominantly Western-centric and outdated perspective, particularly Anglo-American (Emery and Trist, 1960; Sachsenmaier, 2006;Omeihe, 2023; Boussebaa, 2024). Research in post-colonial theory and critical development studies havehighlighted that knowledge has been primarily produced in the Global North, often neglecting the experiences,practices, and opinions of individuals and organisations from the rest of the world, especially the South(Mazzocchi, 2006; Figueroa-Domecq et al., 2020). This neglect stems from a historical perspective that studied and interpreted non-Western societies from Western perspectives, despite significant cultural and valuedifferences within and between these societies – including the degree of individualism and collectivism. Westerncultures tend to lean towards individualism, while non-Western cultures, such as Sub-Saharan Africa, embrace collectivism (Naude´, 2022).
At the same time, these imbalances are manifest in the world of scientific publishing, where the promotion ofWestern values has led to significant disparities in power dynamics and the distribution of resources based ongender and other social dimensions. Specifically, women and non-binary entrepreneurs in emerging economies face these disparities even more acutely, as the concept of entrepreneurship itself carries a masculine and patriarchal subtext that obscures the roles and experiences of others engaging in entrepreneurship (Figueroa-Domecq et al., 2020). For example, it is worth mentioning that gender inequalities and unequal resourcedistribution persist in
technology entrepreneurship, with transactional networking norms often reinforcing exclusion and patriarchal male dominance in social networks (Wheadon and Duval- Couetil, 2011; Omeihe and Omeihe, 2024). To makedecolonisation more salient, a particularly fruitful emphasis implies that research must make a concerted effort toexplore how decolonisation can be inferred from different perspectives, particularly across geographies, newroads and clues from other disciplinary spaces.
On our part, decolonisation involves the establishment of a new body of knowledge. This entails incorporatingtheories from the global South into critical discussions within prevailing Eurocentric academic frameworks.While sustainable development has gained significant attention and engagement across various sectors, including higher education, the work on decolonisation has often faced challenges in achieving the same level of sustained engagement and recognition (Padayachee et al., 2018; Mbah et al., 2021). This discrepancy highlights the need to address the underlying power dynamics and biases that shape the priorities and narratives within educational institutions and society at large. The focus on sustainable development, while crucial, has sometimesovershadowed the urgent need for decolonisation. As a result, this calls for a fundamental reimagining ofknowledge systems, curricula, research methodologies, and institutional structures to challenge and dismantle the legacies of colonialism (Mbembe, 2016; Shahjahan et al., 2022;).
On this basis, we argue that there is a need to decolonise sustainability by including indigenous epistemologies. The emphasis will be on examining indigenous perspectives that investigate the interrelated and interdependent relationship between individuals and the environment. This perspective on sustainability challenges conventionalWestern concepts of ‘development’ that presuppose a clear separation between human and planetary existence,and the belief that the environment exists as an external entity to be managed, manipulated, and controlled. Indigenous perspectives on interconnectedness emphasise the importance of viewing sustainable developmentthrough the lens of strong communal bonds.
Interested authors and experts within the field are invited to contribute their valuable insights to this publicationaround the following themes:
- Sustainability and decolonisation: climate emergency, inequality, and social justice
- Deconstructing Western notions of sustainable development: perspective of indigenous bodies ofknowledge
- SDGs: Intersection of sustainability issues and community activism
- Policies and interventions in sustainability
We particularly welcome submissions with a focus on:
- Colonial legacies: the recognition of historical exploitation of Africa’s natural
- Local knowledge and participation: emphasising the importance of local knowledge systems, traditionalpractices, and community participation in decision-making Highlighting the rich indigenousknowledge about
sustainable land use, resource management, and energy practices that can contribute to more contextuallyappropriate and inclusive solutions.
- Socioeconomic justice: economic inequalities that ensure that the benefits of sustainable development andenergy transition are equitably
- Renewable energy and clean technologies: development and deployment of renewable energy sources and clean technologies that are suitable for the Global South’s diverse contexts.
- Sustainable land and resource management: promoting sustainable land use practices that preserveecosystems, protect biodiversity, and support local
- Knowledge exchange and capacity building: facilitation of knowledge sharing, technology transfer, and capacity building initiatives to empower Global South countries and communities in driving their ownsustainability and energy transition
- Climate justice and global partnerships: engaging in global dialogues and partnerships to advocate for climate justice and fair representation of the Global South perspectives in international negotiations and
- Institutions and their effects on South Africa’s social and human capital
- Cultural and Social
- Gender issues in
- Energy access and electrification especially in in rural and underserved areas
- Waste reduction and recycling especially on initiatives to address the growing issue of plastic pollutionand improve overall environmental
Other topics of Interest (but not limited to):
- Global South Histories, Politics, and Governance
- Global South Cultures, Society, Traditions, and Folklore
- Global South Economies, Development, and Entrepreneurship
- Global Diaspora and Its Impact
- Gender Studies and Women’s Empowerment in the Global South
- Health, Education, and Social Welfare in the Global South
Submission Guidelines:
Please send abstracts of proposed chapters, not exceeding 500 words, on or before the 10th of April 2024. Proposals will be treated on a first-come, first-served basis, so early submissions are encouraged. Abstractproposals should be forwarded to the editors:
Publication Timeline:
- Abstract Submission Deadline: April 10, 2024
- Notification of Acceptance: May 2, 2024
- First Chapter Draft Submission Deadline: September 30, 2024
- First Round of Reviews: October 2024
- Second Round of Reviews: November 2024
- Full Chapter Submission Deadline: January 17, 2025
- Expected Publication: April 2025
Author guidelines:
For any inquiries or further information, please contact, Dr Bridget Irene
References
Boussebaa, M., (2024). Unsettling West-centrism in the study of professional service firms. Human relations,77(1), pp.29-52.
Emery, F.E. and Trist, E.L., (1960). Socio-technical systems. Management science, models and techniques, 2, pp.83-97.
Figueroa-Domecq, C., De Jong, A. and Williams, A.M., (2020). Gender, tourism & entrepreneurship: Acritical review. Annals of tourism research, 84, p.102980.
Joseph M., A., (2016). Decolonizing the university: New directions. Arts and Humanities in Higher Education, 15(1), pp.29-45.
Mazzocchi, F., (2006). Western science and traditional knowledge: Despite their variations, different forms of knowledge can learn from each other. EMBO reports, 7(5), pp.463-466.
Mbah, M., Johnson, A.T. and Chipindi, F.M., (2021). Institutionalizing the intangible through research andengagement: Indigenous knowledge and higher education for sustainable development in Zambia. InternationalJournal of Educational Development, 82, p.102355.
Naude´, L., (2022). Identity in Sub-Saharan Africa. In Non-Western Identity: Research and Perspectives (pp. 11-32). Cham: Springer International Publishing.
Omeihe, K. O. (2023). Trust and Market Institutions in Africa: Exploring the Role of Trust-Building inAfrican Entrepreneurship. (Palgrave Studies of Entrepreneurship in Africa). Palgrave Macmillan Cham.
Omeihe, K.O and Omeihe, I. (2024). The social regulation of inter-SME relations:
Norms shaping SMEs relationships in Nigeria. International Journal of Entrepreneurship and Innovation (forthcoming).
Padayachee, K., Matimolane, M. and Ganas, R., (2018). Addressing curriculum decolonisation and education forsustainable development through epistemically diverse curricula. South African Journal of Higher Education, 32(6), pp.288-304.
Sachsenmaier, D., (2006). Global history and critiques of western perspectives.
Comparative Education, 42(3), pp.451-470.
Shahjahan, R.A., Estera, A.L., Surla, K.L. and Edwards, K.T., (2022). “Decolonizing” curriculum and pedagogy: A comparative review across disciplines and global higher education contexts. Review of Educational Research,92(1), pp.73-113.
Wheadon, M. and Duval-Couetil, N., (2021). Token entrepreneurs: A review of gender, capital, and context intechnology entrepreneurship. Understanding Women’s Entrepreneurship in a Gendered Context, pp.142-170.