Russia and the Global South
A research project that explores how Russia reinvents itself as a Global South power and how the Global South positions itself on the war
ABOUT
Russia and the Global South


Russia’s new anticolonial narrative may seem in direct contradiction to the Kremlin’s imperial language on the war in Ukraine. Yet in the Global South, where both elite and popular cultures are deeply shaped by the memory of anticolonial struggles and the Non-Aligned Movement tradition, Russia’s language resonates.
Seen from the Global South, Russia’s actions are the byproduct of a broader, systemic context of Western domination and normative expansion. With the war, Global South countries have been able to consolidate their transactional foreign policies and use the war to assert their autonomy toward Western actors so that Russia’s weakening does not result in the West’s increased influence but in a more multipolar order.
This research project explores the evolution of Russia-Global South relations, as an invitation to “de-Westernize” our views on Russia. It is time to challenge the primacy of Western-centric analytical lenses put on Russia and engage with scholarly practice and experience from the Global South.
WHAT WE DO
Read our latest publications

From Counter-Hegemonic Dialogue to Illiberal Understanding: Russian-Latin American Relations (2000–2023)

by

Diego C. Soliz T.

On how Russia's counter-hegemonic narrative echoes the main historical struggles of the Latin American left: anti-Americanism, anti-colonialism, and anti-liberalism.

Eurasia Remade? The Regional Ripples of Russia’s War in Ukraine

by

Alexander Cooley

Alexander Cooley explains that impressed by the West unity, we overlooked the dilemmas and balancing acts that a lot of the Eurasian states, governments, and actors have had to make in response to the war.

Cat and mouse:

The mutations of Russia’s international state media RT and Sputnik

by

Maxime Audinet

Maxime Audinet explains how RT and Sputnik, while facing restrictions and closure in Europe after Russia's invasion of Ukraine, are looking for new opportunities in the Global South.

Mapping the spread of Russian and Chinese content on the French-speaking African Web

by

Frédérick Douzet, Kévin Limonier, Selma Mihoubi, Élodie René

Russia and China have developed informational influence strategies in Africa in order to broadcast positive speeches about their presence and activities in the continent.

Russia’s informational influence in Francophone Sub-Saharan Africa: a flexible and heterogenous ecosystem

by

Maxime Audinet and Kevin Limonier

Moscow’s informational influence mechanisms as one of the key facets of Russia’s renewed presence in Francophone sub-Saharan Africa.

Russia at War and the Islamic World

by

Marlene Laruelle

While Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has resulted in a large decoupling with the West, Moscow has not been isolated from the non-Western world and has even reinvested its diplomatic energy toward the Global South.
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Contact
Feel free to write or call us
+1 (202) 9946340
russiaprogram@gwu.edu

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