Radical Lefts of the South: Cross-Regional Dialogues and Research Trends in the MENA and Latin America

The conference "Radical Lefts of the South: Cross-Regional Dialogues and Research Trends in the MENA and Latin America” aims at advancing our understanding of leftist movements in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) and Latin America through a comparative and interdisciplinary lens. It does so by bringing together individuals with different disciplinary backgrounds to discuss the ideas, practices, and discourses of the radical Lefts in the post World War II era, the moment when regions once marginalized in global politics – variously referred to as "the Third World", "underdeveloped/developing countries" or, more recently, "the Global South" – became significant political actors.

The conference adopts a cross-regional approach, encouraging comparative analyses with a focus on the exploration of similarities and differences between movements in the MENA and Latin America, as well as their common experiences and possible connections. Furthermore, the conference will address the methodological challenges associated with studying leftist movements in these regions and discuss ways to overcome them by drawing on concepts and methodologies from various disciplines, such as history, political science, sociology, and anthropology. 

The conference interrogates whether leftist movements can be considered a global phenomenon by examining the degree to which movements in these regions share common characteristics, ideologies, and strategies. Participants will also explore the evolution of these movements’ goals and strategies over time, particularly in the context of the Cold War and its aftermath, and how they have shaped and been shaped by the specific historical and socio-economic contexts of their respective regions. In doing so, this conference aims to advance our understanding of two key issues that remain understudied: experiences in the "margins" and their global linkages.  Speakers: Prof. Dr. Eugenia Palieraki is an Associate Professor in Latin American History at Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne.

Dr. Thiago Prates is a Research Associate at the Department of History at Universität Hamburg.

Dr. Idriss Jebari is a Lecturer in Middle East Studies at Trinity College Dublin.

Dr. Matías Marambio is an Adjunct Lecturer at the Anthropology department of the Alberto Hurtado University.

Prof. Dr. Fernando Camacho Padilla is an Associate Professor in the Department of Contemporary History at the Autonomous University of Madrid.

Dr. Natália Ayo Schmiedecke is a Research Associate at the Department of History at Universität Hamburg.

Dr. Khalil Dahbi is a Research Fellow at the German Institute for Global and Area Studies (GIGA).

Dr. Francesco Saverio Leopardi is a Research Fellow at the University of Padua, Department of Political Science, Law and International Studies.

Prof. Dr. Eliana Lacombe is an Associate Professor at the Faculty of Philosophy and Humanities of the National University of Córdoba (Argentina).

Dr. Montassir Sakhi is a Postdoctoral Researcher at the Department of Social and Cultural Anthropology of KU Leuven (Belgium).

Prof. Dr. Aldo Marchesi is an Associate Professor at the University of the Republic (Uruguay).

Prof. Dr. Fabio Luis Barbosa dos Santos is an Associate Professor at the Federal University of Sao Paulo (Brazil).

Prof. Dr. Bradley Hilgert is Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs at the University of the Arts in Guayaquil (Ecuador). Moderators: Dr. Natália Ayo Schmiedecke is a Research Associate at the Department of History at Universität Hamburg.

Dr. Thiago Prates is a Research Associate at Universität Hamburg.

Dr. Khalil Dahbi is a Research Fellow at the German Institute for Global and Area Studies (GIGA).

Organisers: Dr. Natália Ayo Schmiedecke (Universität Hamburg) Dr. Khalil Dahbi (GIGA) Dr. Thiago Prates (Universität Hamburg)

About WONAGO

World Order Narratives of the Global South (WONAGO) is a project funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) and collectively led by Universität Hamburg (UHH) and the German Institute for Global and Area Studies (GIGA). The project explores how and why narratives of world order would be articulated and communicated in Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the Middle East during the Cold War and then in the years since its end too. Our main interest is in highlighting the agency of actors from the Global South by examining their interactions with each other and comparing their narratives.