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Paper short abstract

This study explores how unequal citation practices contribute to the marginalisation of African scholarship in global academia, highlighting structural biases in publishing and proposing pathways toward more inclusive and equitable knowledge production.

Paper long abstract

Citation practices are crucial for defining how academic work is perceived, its authority, and its impact on knowledge systems worldwide. Regardless of their significance, the available evidence shows significant inequality in these practices, which subjects scholars in Africa to unfair advantages. This paper discusses citation inequalities as one of the reasons for the marginalisation of African scholarship in the academic world. Based on a bibliometric investigation and critical scholarship on epistemic injustice and the decolonisation of knowledge, the research analyses citation patterns across different fields of study, including author setting, journal indexing, and network effects. The results indicate that publications by African-based scholars and journals are consistently less cited than those of their counterparts in the Global North, despite the existence of spheres of study directly related to African contexts. These disparities are compounded by key structural issues such as the hegemony of the Euro-American journals, linguistic biases, indexing bias on African journals, and the unbalanced research partnership. The paper contends that not only can such inequalities be applied to academic careers and funding accessibility, but academic knowledge can also be made more or less legitimate and authoritative. To address these imbalances, a review of research evaluation standards, the enhancement of African publishing infrastructures, and the adoption of more inclusive citation practices are required. The paper recommends maintaining the decolonisation of knowledge production worldwide and encouraging epistemic justice within academic circles.