The Agrarian South Network, CARES and other partners convened the Agrarian South Study Group 2023 on the theme “Socialist Transition: Problems of Delinking and Planning in the Periphery.” Held from March to October 2023, the Study Group provided a sustained forum for critical engagement with questions of socialist transition, political economy and development in the countries of the Global South.
The Study Group examined the theoretical and practical challenges involved in pursuing alternative pathways of development in economies situated within an unequal global capitalist system. Particular attention was given to the questions of delinking and economic sovereignty, and to the possibilities and constraints of planning as an instrument for transforming economic structures and addressing persistent inequalities in the periphery.
Discussions engaged with broader questions of imperialism, dependency, uneven development, capital accumulation, state power, economic planning and structural transformation. The Study Group also encouraged participants to consider the historical experiences of socialist and developmental projects and their contemporary relevance for societies seeking more autonomous and socially oriented pathways of development.
As with previous editions, the 2023 Study Group brought together perspectives rooted in the diverse historical and contemporary experiences of Africa, Asia and Latin America. It created a space for dialogue among scholars, researchers, postgraduate students and political activists, connecting theoretical debates in political economy with concrete questions of development and social transformation.
