This book is the outcome of a project of scholarly collaboration between social scientists from Africa, Asia and Latin America. Taking into consideration the worsening of social, economic, political and environmental conditions now overwhelming these regions and the shortcomings of the responses offered by the conventional wisdom, the concerned institutions intend with this project to open new paths in the production and distribution of relevant knowledge from a Southern perspective.

The chapters included in this book were presented and discussed in a workshop on South/South Scholarly Collaboration held in Havana, Cuba, in October 2003, sponsored by Sida/SAREC, and within the framework of CLACSO’s XXI General Assembly.

The authors reflect their perceptions and shared concerns about issues such as the new “rules of the game” prevailing in the current international order and its consequences on state and politics in Africa, Asia and Latin America; the unsettled questions of land and agrarian reform; the uprising of new social actors and protest movements; and the possibilities and prospects arising from a new dialogue and concertation between states, societies and social forces in the South.