Johannesburg, Tuesday 7 July 2026 – With geopolitical tensions rising and the global balance of power shifting, the Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC) will launch a timely new book that asks who gets to produce knowledge in a multipolar world.
Titled Global South Rising? BRICS and the Reconfiguration of Knowledge Systems, the book will be launched at Exclusive Books, Mall of Africa, Midrand, Johannesburg, on Thursday, 9 July 2026, at 18h00.
Published by HSRC Press, the book focuses on BRICS’ capacity and performance and its impact on the world’s knowledge systems.
It examines BRICS – the alliance of Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, and asks a bold question: Is this group quietly changing not just who holds economic power, but also who gets to produce knowledge, ideas, and science in the world?
Bringing together leading thinkers from across the globe, the book traces BRICS back to a bigger story: the 1955 Bandung Conference, where newly independent nations first imagined a fairer global order. Decades later, could BRICS be picking up that unfinished project? And what does it mean for South Africa?
The Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation, Prof. Blade Nzimande, describes the collection as timely and relevant amid Western efforts to stem the tide toward multipolarity.
“Questioning whether BRICS’ economic rise signals an epistemic shift in science, technology, politics, and culture, the book offers valuable insights into how intellectual and social forces within the BRICS networks are setting progressive intellectual and social agendas for the Global South, and alternatives to a rapidly disintegrating global social order,” said Prof Nzimande.
Speakers will include the editor, Ari Sitas; HSRC CEO, Prof Sarah Mosoetsa; Deborah Bonnin; Rasigan Maharajh; and others.
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Details of the event
Date: 9 July 2026
Time: 18h00 – 20h00
Venue: Exclusive Books, Shop 2127, Entrance 19, Upper Level 5, Mall of Africa, Magwa Crescent, Midrand, 1686, Gauteng
RSVP: https://exclusivebooks.co.za/pages/events#?event-id=83483
For media enquiries, please contact Adziliwi Nematandani: Cell: +27 82 765 9191
Email: anematandani@hsrc.ac.za
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Notes to the editor
About the Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC)
Established in 1968, the Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC) is South Africa’s statutory research agency and the largest dedicated social science and humanities research institute on the African continent. The HSRC generates evidence and insights that inform public policy, support development and improve lives. Through high-quality research, strategic partnerships and research capacity development, the Council contributes to evidence-informed decision-making in South Africa, Africa and globally.
Click https://repository.hsrc.ac.za/ to search the HSRC Research Output Repository.