As the Global South rises collectively, its countries and regions are becoming increasingly conscious of their own agency. No longer merely objects of world history scholarship, they are reexamining their own histories as active subjects and seeking to build an independent and objective knowledge system of world history. Global South historiography remains an underdeveloped area of world history scholarship. At its core is the reexamination and reconstruction of these countries’ historical narratives and interpretations of the course of world history, with Global South countries and regions themselves shaping the knowledge produced and providing the perspectives that inform it.

To this end, Global South historiography should critically reassess established paradigms of historical interpretation, overcome its dependence on externally produced historical knowledge, and promote the autonomous production of historical knowledge and the construction of an independent knowledge system. These efforts will strengthen the cultural agency and sense of historical and cultural identity among Global South countries. The construction of a knowledge system for Global South historiography can proceed along three principal lines.

First, research on national histories should treat Global South countries as both producers of historical knowledge and subjects of study. Scholars of Global South historiography should pursue both case studies and broader, integrative studies of these countries’ national histories. Through in-depth fieldwork, archival research, and ethnographic writing, they can examine the distinctive features of each country’s history while also exploring its historical trajectories, cultural logic, and social structures. Such work supports the production of locally grounded historical knowledge and fosters an independent understanding of history.

In How Europe Underdeveloped Africa, Guyanese historian Walter Rodney analyzes the systematic damage inflicted on African social development by European colonial rule. Drawing on extensive historical evidence, he demonstrates that precolonial Africa had a rich history of its own and that the continent’s widespread poverty stemmed from colonial exploitation and the deindustrialization policies deliberately pursued by colonial powers.

In Orientalism, Palestinian-American scholar Edward Said argues that Orientalism, as a Western construction, functions as an instrument of colonial discourse that serves Western political interests and ways of knowing. By producing knowledge about the Orient, it constructs a fictitious image of the “Orient” as a backward, silent, and alien Other, helping to maintain and consolidate Western dominance. Orientalism is thus a product of the power relations of the colonial era. Said’s theory has prompted profound scholarly reflection on and criticism of Eurocentric historical narratives.

Second, greater attention should be paid to the history of South–South exchanges and to transnational comparative studies. Scholars should examine the complex interactions among diverse actors within the Global South in depth and conduct comparative research within, between, and across regions to promote inter-civilizational exchange and mutual learning.

In contemporary historical writing, scholars of Global South historiography can approach global history from a Global South perspective, identify subjects of study that transcend national boundaries, and explore the worldviews, historical traditions, and value aspirations shared by Global South countries. Research on colonial history should focus on imperialism and anticolonial movements, unequal trade relations and knowledge hegemony, and cross-border movements of people and commodities. Research on the postcolonial era should expand to encompass topics such as reform, national revolutions, autonomous development, and modernization.

In Global History: A View from the South, Egyptian-French historian Samir Amin examines the important role of Central Asia in world history and the influence of ancient world systems on the evolution of the modern global order. Global South historiography should emphasize the shared commitment to solidarity and cooperation that Global South countries have developed through similar historical experiences. The 1955 Asian–African Conference, the Non-Aligned Movement launched in 1961, the Tricontinentalist vision articulated in Cuba in 1966, and the BRICS cooperation mechanism developed since 2009 have all provided frameworks for solidarity and cooperation centered on anticolonialism and antiracism. They have continued to foster and strengthen the collective identity of the Global South.

Third, the development of theory grounded in the historical experiences of the Global South should be encouraged. A theoretical system distinct from Western paradigms can be built by examining shared patterns in the historical development of Global South countries and drawing theoretical insights from their diverse and distinctive approaches to development. European historiographical thought is rooted in the historical development of European nation-states and has a pronounced Eurocentric orientation, making it ill-suited to the historical practices of the Global South. Western modernization theories, likewise, cannot adequately explain the development experiences of Global South countries.

Global South historiography should be grounded in local historical practice and pursue systematic theoretical refinement, conceptual innovation, and theory building, creating a knowledge community around historical narratives of the Global South. Such efforts have yielded significant theoretical innovations, notably the Latin American economist Raúl Prebisch’s center–periphery model of the world economy and theories of Chinese modernization. Building on these theoretical advances, scholars should place Global South countries at the center of knowledge production and integrate historical insights with contemporary concerns to reconstruct theories of symbiotic modernization and regional economic development, as well as the theoretical system of a community with a shared future for humanity.

Yang Fangfang is an associate professor from the School of History at Zhengzhou University.