Global South

The W.E.B. Du Bois Southern Center for Studies in Public Policy addresses pressing issues of social justice, governance, conflict and post-war recovery, and self-defined, sustainable development in the Global South, with a central focus on continental African and African-descended states and communities. The Du Bois Policy Center pursues this Global South agenda through research, Pan-Africa and South-South policy partnerships, student exchanges, resource generation and sharing, and liberatory public policy evaluation, advocacy, design, and commentary. This agenda is realized through various Du Bois Policy Center activities and programs, including publications, workshops, meetings, seminars, conferences, and collaborations.

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Towards the Advancement of the African Diaspora: The research and policy work under this thematic area focuses on comparative analyses of the experiences of the African diaspora regarding health, police brutality, workforce participation, education, incarceration, poverty, and other socio-economic and human rights issues. The goal is to identify policies that could be adopted in various states with communities of people of African descent to safeguard their well-being and advance their rights. 

 

Race and Migration: Work in this area examines how Africans and the African Diaspora face discrimination and marginalization as immigrants with various immigration statuses, including but not limited to international/foreign students, workers, refugees, and asylum seekers. The objective is to identify inequalities in treatment and identify policies that could be adopted and implemented to promote equity and justice in immigration policies concerning this population. 

 

Integration of the African Diaspora into the African Continent: This thematic area examines policies that can facilitate the integration of the African Diaspora into various African countries as part of advancing reparations and justice. It also identifies policies that can enable the African Diaspora to contribute to the region’s development.

 

Conflict Resolution for and by Africans and the African Diaspora: The research and policy work in this area examines the role of Africans and the African Diaspora in addressing conflicts and advancing peacebuilding in African states and in states where most of the population is of African descent. The objective is to demonstrate how Africans and the African diaspora have exercised and can exercise agency in resolving their conflicts and identify policies that facilitate this process.