UNIT VI.

GLOBAL DIVIDES: THE

NORTH AND THE SOUTH
Overview
This unit presents how globalization creates divisions between various
countries. During and after the Cold War, various classifications of countries have
emerged.

Learning Objectives
At the end of the unit, I am able to:

• define the term “Global South”;

• differentiate the Global South from the Third World; and
• analyze how a new conception of global relations emerged from the experiences
of Latin American countries.
THE NORTH AND THE SOUTH
Globalization creates divisions between various countries.

It is not really difficult to understand the concept of globalization. As seen in the

pictures below, there are branches of Starbucks, one of the famous cafes in the
world, in both developing and developed countries. These branches and others
around the world may offer more or less the same.
Despite the modern aesthetic of these cafes, the world
outside them can be very different like what you see in the
pictures below.
GLOBAL DIVIDES DURING THE COLD
WAR
First, Second, and Third World

The terms originated during the Cold War when the world was divided into three
classifications based on politics and economics.

• First World – capitalist and industrialized Western countries.

• Second World – communist countries and their allies.
• Third World – least developed countries that were formerly colonized. Third
World which means “underprivileged people” was coined by a French demographer
Alfred Sauvy in 1952.
Defining the Third World:

Third World countries are also referred to as impoverished countries

because it composed of mostly poor countries. It is also a group of non-
alliance countries from the first and second world which refused
capitalism and communism during the Cold War.
GLOBAL DIVIDES AFTER THE COLD
WAR
Global North and Global South
At the end of the Cold War, new and simpler classification was created – the
North-South Divide. The previous First World countries became the Global
North and the Third World countries became the Global South.
The North-South Divide or Rich-Poor Divide is the socio-economic and political
division that exists between the wealthy developed countries, known
collectively as “the North,” and the developing countries or least developed
countries, or “the South.”
Global North comprises of wealthy, industrialized, and democratic countries
such as:

• USA, Canada, Western Europe, Australia, New Zealand, Developed parts of

Asia.
• Global South comprises generally of developing or the least developed
countries such as:
• Regions of Asia, Africa, Middle East, Latin America
Defining the Global South
Global South is composed of developing or less developed countries. The term
emerged to avoid the “poor” stigma associated with the term “Third World”. It
reflects underdevelopment and imbalances of economic and political power
between countries.
Struggles in the Global South made global
Global South can also be a metaphor, implying that the problems of the south
like poverty and environmental issues are getting globalized.
The Latin American Experience and the
Dependency Theory
After World War II, Latin American countries such as Mexico, Central America,
and the islands of Caribbeans are still underdeveloped because they were
colonized by the Spaniards and Portuguese. This is also an example of
Dependency Theory.

This theory explains that the South’s economic development decreases and it
increases the North’s economic development because these rich countries
exploit the poor countries.
THANK YOU