Title:	Decolonizing science and open-access publishing: a problem or an opportunity?
Authors:	BONATTI, M. EUFEMIA, L. REYNALDO, R. G. CHAVEZ, M. B. TURETTA, A. P. D. ROSA, T. da S. RUDGE, R. CARCAMO-MALLEN, R. SIEBER, S.
Affiliation:	MICHELLE BONATTI, UNIVERSIDADE VILA VELHA; LUCA EUFEMIA, HUMBOLDT-UNIVERSITÄT ZU BERLIN; RENATA GUIMARÃES REYNALDO, UNIVERSIDADE FEDERAL DO RIO DE JANEIRO; MARIANE BONATTI CHAVEZ, UNIVERSIDADE DA REGIÃO DE JOINVILLE; ANA PAULA DIAS TURETTA, CNPS; TERESA DA SILVA ROSA, UNIVERSIDADE VILA VELHA; RODRIGO RUDGE, FUNDAÇÃO GETÚLIO VARGAS; ROBERT CARCAMO-MALLEN, HUMBOLDT-UNIVERSITÄT ZU BERLIN; STEFAN SIEBER, HUMBOLDT-UNIVERSITÄT ZU BERLIN.
Date Issued:	2025
Citation:	Crossover Science, v. 1, n. 1, 2025.
Description:	This opinion article examines the complex relationship between open-access (OA) publishing and the decolonization of science, highlighting how current OA models may inadvertently perpetuate colonial power dynamics in knowledge production and dissemination. While Global North research institutions increasingly pay for open-access articles to make research publicly accessible, the article processing charges (APCs) create significant barriers for researchers from the Global South. These charges, typically in highly valued currencies like Euros or US dollars, combined with translation costs for non-English speaking countries and reduced funding for science in many Global South nations, reinforce existing inequalities. The paper draws on decolonial scholarship, particularly Walter Mignolo's concept of the geopolitics of knowledge, to analyze how conditioning publication on both Western academic models and economic resources deepens the South/North dependency and maintains the Euro/Anglo-centric hegemony in science. As more prestigious journals become exclusively OA with mandatory APCs, researchers from less-funded institutions face increasing exclusion from knowledge production, even as knowledge access becomes theoretically more democratic. The article concludes by highlighting emerging initiatives to address these inequities, including Science's non-paying public access systems and open-access non-paid journals in the Global South, while emphasizing that decolonizing science and open-access publishing should work in tandem to create a more equitable and inclusive scientific landscape that values diverse knowledge systems.
Keywords:	Acesso aberto Publicação técnico-científica
DOI:	https://doi.org/10.70579/csci.v1i1.86
Notes:	Publicado também em português: Descolonização da ciência e publicação de acesso aberto: um problema ou uma oportunidade?
Type of Material:	Artigo de periódico
Access:	openAccess
Appears in Collections:	Artigo em periódico indexado (CNPS)