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The authors argue that while mainstream IR marginalizes the Global South through 'Othering' (exclusion based on difference), some Global South IR scholarship—specifically from China—employs 'Selving' (inclusion based on imagined sameness). By analyzing 234 articles from China-based journals between 2010 and 2020, the study finds that Chinese IR often represents Africa as a partner in a 'community with a shared future,' yet this narrative frequently positions China's own development experience as the leading model for African states. This process of 'Selving' creates a new hierarchy where African perspectives are silenced or subsumed under Chinese experiences, effectively replacing Western epistemic hegemony with a China-centric one rather than achieving true pluralization of the discipline.