SOCSCI

• Global South


  More than the extension of a "metaphor for underdeveloped countries". It refers to the countries' interconnected histories of colonialism, neo-imperialism, and differential economic and social change through which large inequalities in living standards, life expectancy, and access to resources are maintained.
• Global North


  Developed societies of Europe and North America, which are characterized by established democracy, wealth, technological advancement, political stability, aging population, zero population growth and dominance of world trade and politics.
• The North—with one quarter of the world population—controls four-fifths of the income earned anywhere in the world. 90% of the manufacturing industries are owned by and located in the North.
• The South—with one quarter of the world populations—has access to one-fifth of the world income.
• Brandt Line


  A visual depiction on understanding the drastic differences in the economic development for both the North and South hemispheres of the world based on GDP per capita, proposed by Willy Brandt in the 1980 through the Brandt Report.
• Causes of inequalities between Global North and Global South

  • Availability of natural resources
  • Different levels of health and education
  • The nature of a country's economy and its industrial sectors
  • International trading policies and access to markets
  • How countries are governed and international relationships between countries
  • Conflict within and between countries
  • A country's vulnerability to natural hazards and climate change
• Economists have argued that international free trade and unhindered capital flows across countries could lead to a contraction in the North – South divide. In this case more equal trade and flow of capital would allow the possibility for developing countries to further develop economically.
• The United Nations established its role in diminishing the divide between North and South through the Millennium Development Goals.
• Realism


  Generally assumes that the international system is inherently disorderly and relations are anarchic because primary actors are perpetually locked against a struggle for power and security. The behaviours and actions of these states are directed toward the promotion of their self-interest. There can be no middle ground or moderation with regard to the scope of power accumulation. A state either has power or none at all.
• Marxism


  A theory based on the same economic theory that emerged from the works of Karl Marx. Specifically argues that the instability in the international system results from different facets of class struggle such as the problems due to capitalism, exploitation of resources by the few, uneven distribution of wealth, and the institutionalization of inequality and injustice.
• Realism and liberalism are politics-centric theories of international relations.
• The Starbucks and the Shanty: Spaces of Underdevelopment in Developed Countries may Mirror the Poverty of the Global South, and Spaces of Affluence in the Developing World Mirror those of the Global North.
• The Global South is Everywhere, but it is also Somewhere, and that Somewhere, Located at the Intersection of Entangled Political Geographies of Dispossession and Repossession.
• Spaces of Underdevelopment in Developed Countries may Mirror the Poverty of the Global South, and Spaces of Affluence in the Developing World Mirror those of the Global North
• The Global South is Everywhere, but it is also Somewhere, and that Somewhere, Located at the Intersection of Entangled Political Geographies of Dispossession and Repossession
• Major Theories


  • Realism
  • Liberalism
  • Marxism
  • Constructivism
• Realism


  Generally assumes that the international system is inherently disorderly and relations are anarchic because primary actors are perpetually locked against a struggle for power and security
• Realism


  The behaviours and actions of these states are directed toward the promotion of their self-interest. There can be no middle ground or moderation with regard to the scope of power accumulation. A state either has power or none at all
• Marxism


  A theory based on the same economic theory that emerged from the works of Karl Marx
• Note that realism and liberalism are politics-centric theories of international relations
• Marxism


  Specifically argues that the instability in the international system results from different facets of class struggle such as the problems due to: Capitalism, Exploitation of resources by the few, Uneven distribution of wealth, and The institutionalization of inequality and injustice
• Liberalism


  General assumptions of liberalism center on the notion that the rejection of power politics is the only possible outcome of international relations
• Liberalism


  States are not the only primary actors in the international politics according to liberalism. International organizations such as supranational authorities and non-government organizations to include business organizations and non-profit organizations play critical roles in shaping international relations
• Constructivism


  Considers international politics as a real of interaction influenced by the identities and practices of actors and directed further by the incessantly changing norms
• Constructivism


  The motivation behind the behaviours and actions of a state is shaped by their interactions with other states and actors
• Constructivism


  Constructionism perceives these actors as social beings whose identities and interests are the product of social structures
• Major Premise: The Underdevelopment of Certain States or Peoples and their Lack of Representation in Global Political Process is a Reality
• Prevalent: Imbalances of Aggregate Economic and Political Power Between States
• Interstate Dimension
• The Starbucks and the Shanty
• Globalism (Steger): Global economic integration is not only inevitable given the rise of new technologies; it is more importantly, a normative international goal
• Civilization Discourse: Dominant ideology of colonialism and the logic that shaped the birth of the international order
• Modernization Theory (Rostow): Outlined historical progress in terms of a society's capacity to produce and consume material goods
• Clash of Civilizations (Huntington): A clash of civilization is the main source of conflict in the post-cold war world
• End of History (Fukuyama): The complete triumph of western capitalism and liberalism turns the west into the telos of political organization, which all must aspire to
• The Lexus (Friedman): Global progress in terms of a binary between embracing free trade and being left behind by the pace of international economic and technological development. The alternative to Lexus is stagnation, making injunction to globalize an imperative in the quest for global modernity
• Lenin: Capitalism's strength is premised on the creation of new markets via imperialism
• Sukarno: Colonialism has also its modern dress, in the form of economic control, intellectual control, actual physical control by a small but alien community within a nation. It is a skilful and determined enemy, it appears in many guises
• Third Worldism: Began as common resistance to new forms of colonialism
• The South continues to be globalized