CONTEMP WEEK 7

• Global South


  Applies to Latin America, Europe, Africa, and Oceania. Predominantly (although not all) low-income and occasionally economically or culturally disadvantaged areas beyond Europe and North America.
• The term "Global South" indicates a change from a dominant emphasis on the growth of cultural identity to a focus on its international force ties (Dadous & Connell, 2012).
• North and the South

  Modern-day representations of inequality among countries specifically among Western and non-Western states.
• Nation-states' primary motivation in pursuing regionalization is the individual and collective achievement of development and progress because these are perceived as uneven phenomena.
• Brandt Report (2021)


  An analysis prepared by the Independent Commission on International Development Issues chaired by Willy Brandt in 1980. It was about a line that divided the "developed" Global North and the "developing or underdeveloped" Global South.
• The Global North

  • Europe
  • Israel
  • Taiwan
  • South Korea
  • Japan
  • Canada
  • United States of America
  • New Zealand
  • Australia
• The Brandt Report


  Explains that the countries categorized under the North are more developed because they can interact frequently and successfully
• The North

  • They benefit from sophisticated trading and economic exchange levels, improving their population's quality of life
  • They account for a fourth of the world's combined wealth
  • They enjoy high life expectancy and education levels
  • They control over 90% of manufacturing worldwide
  • They can spend much of their budget on research and development
• The Global South

  • Africa
  • Latin America
  • Asia (including China)
  • Russia
  • Middle East
  • Caribbean
  • Pacific
• The South

  • They comprise approximately 130 countries, all underdeveloped or poor
  • They comprise three-fourths of the world's population and hold only a fifth of the world's wealth
  • Their citizens' life expectancy is lower than that of the North because many suffer from hunger or malnutrition
  • They need more basic amenities
  • Half of the South's population has little to no chance of getting an education
  • They only account for 4% of research and development and 10% of the world's manufacturing industry because technological penetration is almost nonexistent in these countries
  • Their economies also rely heavily on imports from the North as well as for loans, debts, and other obligations
• Third World


  Term coined in 1952 by the French historian Alfred Sauvy, compared to the "Third Estate"
• Third World


  • Gave a clear image to the developing countries regarding political alignment and economic status
  • Although ruled by European colonies, Third World citizens lived far from global economic, political, and military power
• Until recently, most Third World citizens were colonized, most illiterate, and few would have been aware that they constituted a sizable fraction of the world's population even then
• Third World leaders (educated partly in Europe or America)

  Raised their awareness and exposure to a Western culture, which raised expectations and hopes
• This awareness and exposure to a Western culture inspired many Third World leaders to improve colonial living conditions and win political independence
• Increased mobility and travel and the two World Wars fueled opposition to the First World's dominance (colonization)
• Many of the troops that fought in these conflicts, notably on the Allies' side, came from what would later be known as the Third World
• Many Europeans also served in Asia, and their exposure to conditions in the colonies may have helped erode the colonial powers' resolve to keep their empires unbroken
• Global South


  More than a metaphor for underdevelopment
• World country categories

  • First World
  • Second World
  • Third World
  • Fourth World
• First World


  Industrialized countries with political and economic stability and high levels of human health
• Second World


  Communist-socialist states, also industrialized
• Third World


  Countries that are neither involved with the First or Second Worlds, generally defined as less-developed countries
• Third World countries

  • Africa
  • Asia
  • Latin America
• Fourth World


  Coined in the 1970s
• The terms have since grown to refer to development levels, but they still need to be updated. They are no longer used to distinguish between developed and developing countries.
• Global South


  A significant portion of Latin America can be classified as part of this
• Latin American countries

  • Have been characterized by a relationship of dependency on Northern states
  • Have been subjected to colonial rule and adopted their colonizers' languages, cultures, religions, and economic and political systems
  • Remained economically dependent on their former colonizers after attaining political independence
• Regionalization in Latin America

  1. Latin American countries worked to regionalize as early as the 1960s

  2. They even tried to integrate their economies

  3. They aimed to create the Latin American Free Trade Association in the South and a Central American Common Market

  4. All of these efforts failed in the 1970s because of the member countries' disharmonious political relationships
• MERCOSUR


  The Common Market of the South that took off in the 1990s
• MERCOSUR founding states

  • Uruguay
  • Paraguay
  • Argentina
  • Brazil
• MERCOSUR achievements

  1. Progressively eliminated tariff barriers

  2. Established a standard external tariff

  3. Enhanced trade and investment among their economies

  4. Achieved relative success when employment increased among its member countries
• Latin American experience in regionalism

  Primarily a post-colonial era characterized by poverty, neglect, and underdevelopment
• Latin American experience in regionalism

  • Led to the development of world views which sought to explain the causes of these experiences
  • Eventually shaped and influenced the leaders of the Latin American countries to create a regional grouping that would serve as a venue for cooperation and mutual development
• Peter Schott's empirical comparison

  Compared Latin America's and Asia's export structures to the United States
• Latin American manufacturing exports receive a higher price than Asian exports in product markets where the two regions compete directly
• Possible explanation for greater productive efficiency of Asian countries

  Raises doubts about Latin American countries' ability to continue competing with Asian products in the U.S. markets without technological improvements
• Bernardo Blum's argument

  Geography, such as resources, location, and climate, is the primary determinant of countries' wealth and income distribution
• Income per capita is positively correlated with export structure
• Sebastian Claro's assumption

  A part of Latin American countries' poor economic performance could be attributed to the region's fear of Globalization