Global Divides: The North and the South (LATIN AMERICA)

Global Divides: The North and the South (focus: Latin America) Global South refers to
the regions of Latin America, Asia, Africa, and Oceania mostly low- income and often
politically or culturally marginalized. It may also be called the "developing World" such
as Africa, Latin America, and the developing countries in Asia, "developing countries,"
"less developed countries," and "less developed regions” (122) including poorer
"southern" regions of wealthy "northern" countries (123). In general, Global South
refers to these 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 (124).
Contemporary critics of neo-liberal globalization use the global south as a banner to
rally countries victimized by the violent economic cures of institutions like the
International Monetary Fund.

Three Primary Concepts of Global South

1. It refers to economically disadvantaged nation-states and as a post-cold war
alternative to “Third World”. Third World" is a phrase frequently used to describe a
developing nation. The phrase "Third World" arose during the Cold War to identify
countries whose views did not align with NATO and capitalism or the Soviet Union and
communism. The First World described countries whose views aligned with NATO and
capitalism, and the Second World referred to countries that supported communism
and the Soviet Union (125a). Third World countries are largely characterized as poor
and underdeveloped. In these countries, low levels of education, poor infrastructure,
improper sanitation and poor access to health care mean living conditions are seen as
inferior to those in the world's more developed nations. As a result, the terms Third
World country and developing nation have become increasingly interchangeable in
recent decades (126b).
2. The Global South captures a deterritorialized geography of capitalism’s externalities
and means to account for subjugated peoples within the borders of wealthier
countries, such that there are economic Souths in the geographic North and Norths in
the geographic South.
3. It refers to the resistant imaginary of a transnational political subject that results
from a shared experience of subjugation under contemporary global capitalism. The
global South is not a directional designation or a point due south from a fixed north. It
is a symbolic designation meant to capture the semblance of cohesion that emerged
when former colonial entities engaged in political projects of decolonization and moved
toward the realization of a post- colonial international order (126). The process of
globalization places into question geographically bound conceptions of poverty and
inequality. The increase and intensification of global flows spread both poverty and
affluence. Spaces of underdevelopment in developed countries may mirror the poverty
of the global south, and spaces of affluence mirror those of the global north (127). The
strongest vehicle for social redistribution and the main mechanism for social transfer
is the state. The redistributative function of the state becomes crucial in the context of
economic globalization where the goal of neo-liberal economists and institutions is
precisely to dismantle local state oversight (128).
The development of the global south must begin by drawing most of the country’s
financial resources for development from within rather than becoming dependent on
foreign investments and foreign financial markets (129). The global south is not
relevant for those who live in countries traditionally associated with it but also
signifies that the south continues to be globalized. It also represents emergent forms of
progressive cosmopolitanism. It is an always emergent and provisional
internationalism.
New Internationalism in the Global South
The ills of the global south are being globalized. Underdeveloped states of the global
south are ravaged by merciless IMF policies in the 1980’s. The economic prescriptions
of the IMF as cures are recommended for countries in the global south. Other
countries like Greece realize the similarity of problems in the global south that
inspirations were drawn from poorer nations. The global south has provided model of
resistance for the world like Gandhi’s non-violence that initially directed at colonial
authority in India is now part of global protest culture, as well as benefits of critiques
of international financial institutions from the experiences and writings of intellectuals
and activists from the global south. A similar globalization of the south’s concern is
arising from the issue about global environment. Amidst the existential threat of
climate change the most radical notions of climate justice are being articulated in the
global south. As global problems increase, it is necessary for people in the north to
support people from the south. As a symbol and metaphor, global south is not only
relevant for those who live in countries traditionally associated with it. The global in
global south does not only mean that the south is the globe but also signifies that the
south continues to be globalized. The global south while embedded in specific
geographic imaginaries, represents emergent forms of progressive cosmopolitanism. It
is always emergent and provisional internationalism.