As contribuições teóricas das pensadoras feministas negras: Lélia Gonzalez, Sueli Carneiro e Carla Akotirene nas pesquisas acadêmicas das relações internacionais no Brasil

Abstract

The field of International Relations in Brazil often operates with limited diversity in theoretical perspectives and shows an even greater scarcity of contributions from Black female theorists, who face additional barriers due to racial and social inequalities. Known as epistemological silencing, this phenomenon raises critical questions about representation and inclusion in academia. Since the institutionalization of IR in Brazil, a significant gap in the incorporation of racial studies into the field has been evident. Consequently, this study will be grounded in a decolonial perspective, criticizing the colonial structures that persist, drawing on theorists like Aníbal Quijano and authors Maria Lugones, Françoise Vergès, and Ochy Curiel. The issue addressed is whether the theoretical contributions of Black feminist thinkers: Lélia Gonzalez, Sueli Carneiro, and Carla Akotirene are present in academic research within International Relations. The hypothesis assumes that these authors' contributions remain underrepresented in research due to variables such as machismo, racism, sexism, and colonial structures that shape academia. From this, it was necessary to: 1) analyze the theoretical works of Lélia Gonzalez, Sueli Carneiro, and Carla Akotirene; 2) understand how the theoretical contributions of these thinkers could be integrated into the traditional theoretical framework of IR; and 3) investigate whether and to what extent the concepts of these authors are present in Brazil's leading International Relations journals. The analysis revealed that despite the relevance of these themes, there is a historical silencing within the academic field due to the Euro-American legacy that structures the discipline, exposing the dominance of Eurocentric approaches and the consequent invisibility of epistemologies from the Global South. The research employed qualitative methods to theoretically and critically elucidate the issues raised by the three authors, combining a literature review, analysis of academic texts, anticolonial, postcolonial, and decolonial theses and dissertations, using deductive hypotheses to understand the impact of race issues within the IR field. And it also utilized bibliometrics to analyze the presence of the authors in 12 scientific journals on International Relations in Brazil. Feminist methodology, particularly Black feminism, was essential to the understanding of this study, preserving the positionality of the author, a Black woman.