Epistemic politics of research funding: a social network analysis of knowledge production

Unequal power dynamics in knowledge production and dissemination are central to decolonisation debates, shaping whose knowledge is recognised, funded, and circulated. Knowledge produced in the Global North is often treated as universally applicable, while knowledge from the Global South remains marginalised through publication practices, citation patterns, and funding structures. To consider how this dynamic is reflected in grant-funded collaborative research, we analyse ESRC data from 2015-19. To examine relationships between Global North and Global South institutions we employ social network analysis informed by Bourdieu’s (1988) concept of academic capital, Alavi’s (1973) critique of postcolonial elite capture, and Alatas’ (1974) captive mind thesis. We show that ESRC funding networks reproduce colonial geographies of knowledge production by privileging Northern institutions and a small group of Southern partners. They also reveal patterns of extraction, whereby Northern institutions concentrate prestige and influence, while Southern actors facilitate access but exercise limited autonomy over knowledge production.