3/26/23, 7:15 PM G-SOSC005 ENR32 CONTEMPORARY WORLD 2nd Sem ( 2022-2023 ) - https://dlsud.edu20.

org/student_lesson/show/3983760…
Home

G-SOSC005 ENR32 CONTEMPORARY WORLD 2nd Sem ( 2022-2023 )

Political Globalization

The North-South Divide

Immersive Reader

What is the North-South Divide?

The North – South Divide  is described as the socio – economic and
political division that exist between the wealthy developed
countries, called “the North”, and the underdeveloped/developing
countries known as “the South”.  It is interchangeably called
politics of development and underdevelopment.. (Aja, 2001 cited by
Ebaye, 2016). 
 
Thus, North-South divide, obviously, does not refer to the
geographical division of the globe but socio-economic and political
schism existing in the world.
 
 
How do they differ from each other?
 
      North                            South
Economic Progress Economic Weakness
Heavily
Largely Consuming
Productive/Industrialized
Strong Market Economy Weak Market Economy
Stable Government Unstable Government 

Colonialism and the North-South Divide

 
The North –South divide is said to be a ‘heritage of
colonialism.'    The colonial powers have become the ‘North” and
obviously, the ones colonized are now known as the “South” (Brown,
2018).  
 
Brown (2018) explains that “[T]he history of colonialism supports
the paternal nature of the relationship that is still present.  She
https://dlsud.edu20.org/student_lesson/show/3983760?from=%2Fstudent_lesson%2Fshow%2F3983760%3Flesson_id%3D18355329%26router%3Dtr… 1/4
3/26/23, 7:15 PM G-SOSC005 ENR32 CONTEMPORARY WORLD 2nd Sem ( 2022-2023 ) - https://dlsud.edu20.org/student_lesson/show/3983760…

agrees with Dados and Connell  that the use of the term  “Global
South” references “an entire history of colonialism,” with the
South generally being composed of former colonies that have been
stripped of resources by the North.
 
Neo-Colonialism and the North-South Divide
Ebaye and Ogbang (2016) maintained that “in the 1960s and the 70s
when colonialism collapsed in most part of the 3rd world, the
international economic system was structurally stacked against the
less developed countries of South”.  They also said that “the MNCs
and Bretton wood institutions were part of the facilitators use by
the industrial North to exploit, subjugate, expand and deepen their
domination of post - colonial economics." 
 
Neocolonialism created a hierarchical structure on which the rich
North were the center (core) of the world economic system, while
the South remained at the periphery of the system (Bade 1983 cited
by Ebaye and Ogbay).
 
Indeed, political independence had already been achieved by the
former colonies.  However, it cannot be denied that economic
dependence of the South (former colonies) to the North (the
colonizers) is still evident in today’s world.   
 
Industrial Revolution and the North-South Divide
Industrial revolution, according to Ebaye and Ogbang (2016),
occurred when earlier known civilization in Africa, Asia and the
19th century’s Latin America were capitalized (non-industrialized)
economies. Industrial revolution soon became an export phenomenon
itself. 
 
Accordingly,  industrialization has resulted to acquisition of
wealth and technology by the North.  Industrial revolution was not
only about the production of various goods; it has showcased the
application of technology in the production process to achieve
better goods and even happiness.  Various firms were developed for
the manufacture of different goods and services. In fact, some of
them were for the production of sophisticated navigation aids
weapon that were necessary for overpowering and subjugating the
more premature and unarmed south (Ebaye &Ogbang, 2016).
https://dlsud.edu20.org/student_lesson/show/3983760?from=%2Fstudent_lesson%2Fshow%2F3983760%3Flesson_id%3D18355329%26router%3Dtr… 2/4
3/26/23, 7:15 PM G-SOSC005 ENR32 CONTEMPORARY WORLD 2nd Sem ( 2022-2023 ) - https://dlsud.edu20.org/student_lesson/show/3983760…

 
The Brandt Line and the North-South Divide
Conversely, the initial idea of the North and South emerged from
what was known as the “Brandt” line, which separated the globe into
the rich North and poor South with some exceptions (notably,
Australia and New Zealand. The Brandt line has fallen out of favor
since it was never updated in order to account for many markers of
both concepts co-existing in the same region (Brown, V).
 
The ‘Brandt Line’ is said to refer to “a visualisation created to
illustrate international inequalities and the socioeconomic gulf
that separates regions of the world, popularised in North-South: A
Programme for Survival – also known as the Brandt report” (Lees,
2020).
 
Note: Willy Brandt was a German Chancellor who chaired Independent
Commission that published the Brandt Report.
 
The New International Economic Order
Houari Boumedienne, the  former President of Algeria and Chair of
the Organisation of Non-Aligned States (ONAS), initiated a campaign
to modify the established institutions and structures of the global
economy. At the Fourth Summit Conference of the ONAS in Algeria,
held in December 1973, Boumedienne announced a Declaration and Plan
of Action for the Establishment of a New International Economic
Order (NIEO), which called for protection of the real value of
commodities, the right of developing states to expropriate foreign
enterprises, and the international regulation of multinational
corporations (Davis, 2012).
 
The Declaration built on the establishment of the North-South
Conference on
International Economic Cooperation a month earlier by the UN, which
included
Saudi Arabia and Algeria on its panel. The Declaration’s key terms
were reiterated
in the Sixth Special Session of the UN General Assembly in 1974.
This was given
more formal expression later in the UN Charter of Economic Rights
and Duties of

https://dlsud.edu20.org/student_lesson/show/3983760?from=%2Fstudent_lesson%2Fshow%2F3983760%3Flesson_id%3D18355329%26router%3Dtr… 3/4
3/26/23, 7:15 PM G-SOSC005 ENR32 CONTEMPORARY WORLD 2nd Sem ( 2022-2023 ) - https://dlsud.edu20.org/student_lesson/show/3983760…

States of the same year, proposed by Mexico (Jones, 1983 cited by

Davis).
 
Other Events which have Implications on the North-South Divide 

Decolonisation of Asia and African States and the moves of Latin

American States to free themselves from US domination
Cold War
The Oil Crisis of the 1970’s
The major institutional changes in the international
realm (Davis,  2012)

 
The Current Face of the North-South Divide
The following salient points are obtained from the talk given by
Dr. Enrique Iglesias in 2014, former Foreign Minister of Uruguay
which depict the transformation in the role of the south in the
global political economy:

The rise of the South is unprecedented in speed and scale;

The rise of the South provides opportunities to the North;
The South is becoming a major engine in keeping afloat the
situation of the world economy through trade, exchange of
technology, and others.
South contribute more to global economic growth of developed
countries  (The Rise of the Global South: Towards an Agenda
for the New Century). Watch the video here:
https://youtu.be/EDDGYv3gqEY
Previous Continue

https://dlsud.edu20.org/student_lesson/show/3983760?from=%2Fstudent_lesson%2Fshow%2F3983760%3Flesson_id%3D18355329%26router%3Dtr… 4/4