On November 9, 2025, the fifth lecture in the “Understanding the Global South” seminar series at Peking University’s Institute of Area Studies, titled “The New Mood of the Global South”, was held at Yannanyuan No. 66. The seminar featured Prof. Vijay Prashad, a renowned Indian Marxist historian, as the main speaker. The event was chaired by Prof. Zhang Yongle, deputy director of the Institute of Area Studies. Panel discussants included Zan Tao, deputy director of Institute of Area Studies; Liu Haifang, associate professor at the School of International Studies; Fei Haiting, associate professor  at the School of Government; and Zhang Minyu, assistant professor at the School of Foreign Languages, Peking University.

Vijay first outlined evidence of an emerging new mood in the Global South, noting that countries like Namibia and Indonesia are increasingly expressing their perspectives freely when facing Western nations. He further argued that the West no longer controls the financial system. By analyzing the policies of banks and countries from the Global South and the structural adjustment policies proposed by the International Monetary Fund, Vijay concluded that developing countries are no longer solely dependent on loans from Western creditors. This growing economic independence in the Global South has consequently enhanced national autonomy in decision making.

Vijay then introduced Samir Amin’s five controls to measure imperialist forces, providing an in-depth analysis of the development of the Global South. Vijay argued that Western countries led by the US were losing control over raw materials, science and technology, and financing. However, at the same time, the US and other countries still maintain absolute control in the fields of communications and weapon systems. Western countries not only have well-developed media systems, but also have communications infrastructure that far surpasses that of the Global South. Vijay proposed that it is necessary for more Chinese scholars to step out of China and for more scholars from the Global South to enter China. He also emphasized that the current global left-wing forces are relatively weak. He cited India as an example to illustrate that the realization of ideology requires consideration of the practical situation. Then he pointed out that understanding the left-wing movements in various countries is of great significance for major powers like China. In Vijay’s opinion, we must not overstate the development of the Global South.

During the discussion session, the attending scholars engaged in in-depth discussions on the development of the Global South, covering topics such as the decolonization of mind, the dilemmas and regeneration of knowledge production in the Global South, the methodology of left-wing political foundations, and current parallel trends between left and right wings. In response, Vijay proposed launching two projects: first, jointly completing a historical map of area studies from the perspective of China; second, breaking the current Keynesian cycle to create new development theories and daring to imagine an alternative future. In his concluding remarks, Zhang Yongle noted that Vijay’s lecture embodied the perspective of Marxist political economy, offering insightful views on the new mood of the Global South and proposing new research agendas.

This seminar was part of the “Understanding the Global South” sub-series in the “Autonomous Knowledge System Construction and New Perspectives in Area Studies” series organized by the Institute of Area Studies. The sub-series had previously held four seminars on topics such as the Global South and new globalization, the role of the Global South in the complex world, and Russia and Latin America’s understanding of the Global South.