GLOBAL DIVIDES

LOCATING THE
GLOBAL
SOUTH
ORIGIN OF THE GLOBAL
DIVIDES
 The Brandt Report (1983) was published by
a commission chaired by the former German
Chancellor Willy Brandt. The report identified:
1.THE NORTH – 2. THE SOUTH – is a
are those countries geographical convenience
that are above the based on the fact that
South 30 degree most of the Poor World lies
North. south of latitude 30 degree
North. (Except Australia
and New Zealand).
 The Global North (comprises one quarter of the
world population) refers to developed societies of
Europe and North America, which are
characterised by established democracy, wealth,
technological advancement, political stability,
aging population, zero population growth and
dominance of world trade and politics.
The Global South (are the developing countries)
(comprises three quarters of the world population)
represents mainly agrarian economies in Africa,
India, China, Latin America and others that are not
as economically sound and politically stable as their
global North counterparts and tend to be
characterised by turmoil, war, conflict, poverty,
anarchy and tyranny (Odeh, 2010).
North South
America Korea
Western HongKong
Europe Macau Malaysia Lebanon
Canada Singapore Somalia India
Japan Australia Haiti Philippin
New es
Zealand
 The terms the North and the South, when
used in a global context, are alternative
designations for “developed” and “developing”
countries.
The North–South divide is broadly considered a
socio-economic and political divide.
The Global North refers to the First World
Countries or Developed Countries.
The Global South refers to the Third World
Countries or the Developing Countries.
 C h a r a c te r is tic s o f th e N o r th C h a r a c te r is tic s o f th e S o u th

1 / 4 o f t h e w o r l d 's p e o p l e 3 / 4 o f t h e w o r l d 's p e o p l e

4 / 5 o f w o r l d 's i n c o m e 1 / 5 o f w o r l d 's i n c o m e

A v e r a g e lif e e x p e c t a n c y m o r e th a n 7 0 y e a r s A v e r a g e life e x p e c ta n c y o f 5 0 y e a r s

M o s t p e o p le h a v e e n o u g h to e a t 1 / 5 o r m o r e s u ffe r fr o m h u n g e r a n d m a ln u tr itio n

M o s t p e o p le a re e d u c a te d 1 / 2 o f th e p e o p le h a v e little c h a n c e o f a n y e d u c a tio n

O v e r 9 0 % o f t h e w o r l d 's m a n u f a c t u r i n g i n d u s t r y l e s s t h a n 1 0 % o f t h e w o r l d 's m a n u f a c t u r i n g i n d u s t r y

A b o u t 9 6 % o f t h e w o r l d 's s p e n d i n g o n r e s e a r c h a n d 4 % o f t h e w o r l d 's r e s e a r c h a n d d e v e l o p m e n t
development
THE IMPACT OF GLOBAL
DIVIDES
 The globalized world faces two
contradictory trends. While a
globalized market opens the prospects
of unimagined wealth, it also creates
new vulnerabilities to political turmoil
and the danger of a new gap.
  The impact of these new trends on the
developing world is profound.
In economies driven by a near imperative
for the big to acquire the small, companies
of developing countries are increasingly
being absorbed by American and European
multinationals.
While this solves the problem of access
to capital, it brings about growing
vulnerabilities to domestic political
tensions, especially in times of crisis.
And within the developing countries, it
creates political temptations for attacks
on the entire system of globalization.
The typical developing country’s economy
bifurcates: one set of enterprises is
integrated into the global economy, mostly
owned by international corporations.
The rest, cut off from globalization, employs
much of the labor force at the lowest wages
and with the bleakest social prospects. In the
process, bridging further gap.
CLOSING THE
GAP
 The North-South Divide is criticized for being a
way of segregating people along economic lines
and is seen as a factor of the widening gap
between developed and developing economies.
However, several measures have been put in
place to contract the North-South Divide
including the lobbying for international free
trade and globalization.
 The United Nations has developed a
program dedicated to narrowing the divide
through its Millennium Development
Goals.
This includes improving education and
health care, promoting gender equality,
and ensuring environmental
sustainability.