The research project “Security Doctrines in a Changing World: Exploring Asian and Western Policy Strategies towards Africa (2020-2021)” engages with historical roots, principles and contemporary practices of South-South Cooperation in an increasingly multipolar world, in the context of wider debates on Global International Relations (IR). While focusing on Indian foreign policy strategies vis-à-vis East Africa, the project accounts for various modes of South-South cooperation that contrast with models of international aid, development and peacebuilding promoted in the global North. More specifically, the project combines an analysis of policy-making processes with insights into the field-level practices of South-South partnerships in East Africa. By providing novel empirical and conceptual insights, the projects aims to contribute to better reflecting perspectives from the global South in IR theory.