The article critically reviews the recent publications in the field of social sciences regarding the themes of ‘Southern theories’, ‘theories from the South’ and ‘epistemologies of the South’ seeking to understand the limits and perspectives of this current wave of critique to the social sciences establishment. Analyzing the works of Boaventura Santos, Raewyn Connell and Jean and John Comaroff the article defines the use of the term ‘South’ as a circumstantial project under which different notions of theory are in a dispute for legitimacy. Such disputes are bringing to the center of the sociological debate the very notion of ‘theory’ and its production in a geopolitical context where Southern social scientists are actively participating in the international debates.