From 29 June to 1 July 2026, the international conference “African States vs. States in Africa: An Epistemological Interrogation of Africa and the World” was held in Pretoria. The event was organized by the International Studies Association (ISA) in partnership with the University of Pretoria. The conference brought together more than 250 researchers from nearly 50 countries and served as a platform for productive academic discussions on a wide range of issues related to African studies, comprising 79 thematic panels. Among the participants of this major scholarly event were Daria Zelenova, Head of the Centre for African Strategy in BRICS and PhD in Political Science, and Ekaterina Abramova, Junior Research Fellow at the Centre.
The central theme of the conference was the strengthening of African agency in its various dimensions. A dedicated panel focused on BRICS brought together experts from both Global South countries (Colombia, China, and African states) and Global North countries (Canada and the United Kingdom). Daria Zelenova and Ekaterina Abramova presented a paper entitled “Rethinking the Security–Development Nexus: Expanding the Role of African Countries in Shaping the Agenda within BRICS.” The researchers presented the findings of a collective study focused on deconstructing Western narratives surrounding the security–development nexus, positioning BRICS as a platform for developing alternative approaches (including African perspectives) to security and development challenges.
The panel “African Agency in Global Politics” featured six presentations by scholars from universities and research institutions in Brazil, Zambia, Kenya, Egypt, Ethiopia, and Russia. Together with Denis Degterev, Chief Research Fellow at the Institute for African Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences, PhD in Economics and Doctor of Political Science, Daria Zelenova presented a paper entitled “Rethinking the Discourse on African Agency: Russia’s Approaches to Strategic Partnership with Africa.” The experts highlighted the fundamental role of Russia’s anti-colonial legacy (as the successor state to the Soviet Union) in shaping the contemporary agenda of Russian–African relations. The speakers emphasized that, within the tradition of Russian academic research, African agency is understood as the ability of states to preserve and strengthen their sovereignty. In this context, they presented Russia as a provider of comprehensive sovereignty support for African countries.
The presentations delivered by the Institute’s researchers generated considerable interest among the audience, particularly among African experts. For many of them, the issues of African sovereignty and agency within the international relations system are not merely subjects of academic inquiry but carry existential significance, representing essential prerequisites for the continent’s development.
