Exploring how Afrocentricity as a Theoretical Framework shapes the Interpretation of Qualitative Approach Research in Political Science

Qualitative approach unlike quantitative draws from qualitative phenomena. Qualitative approach in its very own nature draws from the lived experiences of individual and groups as well as the contexts wherein those people are housed. The latter could even be said to spill over to the institutions and governments presiding over those people. This article explores an alternative theory of Afrocentricity as an emerging theory in Political Science, grounded in African epistemology and lived experiences. The author seeks to unpack how this non-traditional theory of Political Science as employed by various scholars in the Global South especially in Africa and African diaspora disrupt the ongoing epistemic injustice in the discipline of Political Science. This is so given the fact that what are deemed to be the traditional theory of the discipline such as Realism, Liberalism and Marxism are informed by Euro-American and Western-centric value systems.

The paper suggests that the employment of Afrocentricity in qualitative approach enhances and enriches the interpretation and theoretical reflection of Political Science for a more inclusive, holistic approach in making sense of various political phenomena. Not only that, the author suggests that the usage of Afrocentricity in qualitative approach assist in changing the employment of qualitative research in its entirety.