GLOBAL DIVIDES: THE NORTH AND THE SOUTH

The North–South divide is a socio-economic and political division of Earth

popularized in the late 20th century and early 21st century.

The term emerged in 1996.

NORTH
⚫ include the G8 countries, the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, all
member states of the European Union, Israel, Japan, Singapore, South Korea, as
well as Australia and New Zealand and four of the five permanent members of
the United Nations Security Council, excluding China.
◼ G8 countries are Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia, UK, and USA
◼ What is G8? It refers to the group of eight highly industrialized nations that
hold an annual meeting to foster consensus on global issues like economic
growth and crisis management, global security, energy, and terrorism.
⚫ account for over 90% of all manufacturing industries in the world
⚫ with one quarter of the world population—controls four-fifths of the income
earned anywhere in the world
⚫ Nations in the North tend to be wealthier, less unequal and considered more
democratic and to be developed countries who export technologically advanced
manufactured products

SOUTH
⚫ made up of Africa, Latin America, and developing Asia, including the Middle East,
and is home to the BRIC countries (excluding Russia): Brazil, India, and China,
which, along with Indonesia, are the largest Southern states.
⚫ comprised of countries with developing economies
⚫ with three quarters of the world population—has access to one-fifth of the
world income
⚫ Southern states are generally poorer developing countries with younger, more
fragile democracies heavily dependent on primary sector exports and frequently
share a history of past colonialism by Northern states

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To divide the world, there's what we call Brandt Line.

The Brandt line, a definition from the 1980s dividing the world into the wealthy
north and the poor south.

Countries' average latitude and GDP per capita according to The World Factbook
(2013). The Brandt Line is shown in bold.

The Brandt Line is a visual depiction of the north–south divide, proposed by West
German former Chancellor Willy Brandt in the 1980s. It encircles the world at a
latitude of approximately 30° North, passing between North and Central America,
north of Africa and the Middle East, climbing north over China and Mongolia, but
dipping south so as to include Australia and New Zealand in the "Rich North".

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THEORIES THAT EXPLAIN THE DIVISION

⚫ Dependency theory - examines the patterns of colonial relations which

persisted between the North and South and emphasizes how colonized
territories tended to be impoverished by those relations.

This one points to North nations as the suspect behind South nations remaining
impoverished or having slow economic recovery.

⚫ New Economic Geography explains development disparities in terms of the

physical organization of industry, arguing that firms tend to cluster in order
benefit from economies of scale and increase productivity which leads
ultimately to an increase in wages. The North has more firm clustering than the
South, making its industries more competitive. It is argued that only when wages
in the North reach a certain height, will it become more profitable for firms to
operate in the South, allowing clustering to begin.

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MORE DIFFERENTIATION OF NORTH AND SOUTH

Nations in the North are considered MEDCs or More Economically Developed

Countries.
This is because
1. They have a more stable economy
2. The have better standard of living and quality of life
3. They have longer life expectancy amongst citizens
4. They have higher education levels
5. They have better healthcare programs

Nations in the South are considered LEDCs or Less Economically Developed Countries.
This is because of
1. Unstable government
 2. Poor economy
3. Poor standard of living and low quality of life
4. Low GDP
5. Low performance in Human Development Index (HDI)
a) HDI is a statistic composite index of life expectancy, education, and per
capita income indicators, which are used to rank countries into four tiers of human
development.

HDI 2019 Report says Norway has the highest human development also called VERY
HIGH HUMAN DEVELOPMENT. Phiippines record HIGH HUMAN DEVELOPMENT at
106th, 10 places above the MEDIUM HUMAN DEVELOPMENT rank. The fourth level
is the LOW HUMAN DEVELOPMENT which is composed mainly of African countries
and some Middle Eastern Nations in the middle of civil unrest.
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CHALLENGES TO THE NORTH-SOUTH DIVIDE

Globalization has also challenged the notion of two distinct economic spheres. Following the
liberalization of post-Mao China initiated in 1978, growing regional cooperation between the national
economies of Asia has led to the growing decentralization of the North as the main economic
power.The economic status of the South has also been fractured. As of 2015, all but roughly the
bottom 60 nations of the Global South were thought to be gaining on the North in terms of income,
diversification, and participation in the world market.
 Globalization has largely displaced the North–South divide as the theoretical underpinning of the
development efforts of international institutions such as the IMF, World Bank, WTO, and various
United Nations affiliated agencies, though these groups differ in their perceptions of the relationship
between globalization and inequality.

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First, Second, and Third Worlds

North-South divide was fashioned out of the categorization which included mainly
the First, Second, and Third World distinctions - influenced largely by the Cold War
era between USA and USSR.
⚫ First World - USA and most of Western World who preached democracy
⚫ Second World - USSR, China and others who employ Marxist principles
⚫ Third World - non-aligned states, underdeveloped nations and with unstable
government and economy
◼ Third World was coined by French Scholar Alfred Sauvy in 1952 to
distinguish the formerly and presently (back then) colonized societies of
Asia, Africa, and Latin America to distinguish them from “first” world of
capitalism and “second” world of socialism.
◼ By the 1960s, “Third World” would suggest that the countries under this
category, embarking on the long path to modernity, had one of two paths to
follow, capitalism or socialism.
◼ Fred W. Riggs, in 2007, provided some interchangeable terms that can
characterize Third World, all of which suggest economic dilemma or lack of
development
◆ The Less Developed World
◆ Majority World
◆ Non-Western World
◆ The Poor World
◆ The Underdeveloped World
◼ Third World countries are also regarded as “ready and willing markets” to
the delight of First World producer states (e.g USA). Thus developing states came to be
associated with industrialization attempts by many Asian economies.
◆ From this emerge the Asian Tigers or Newly Industrialized countries.
The Economic Tigers of Asia are Singapore, Taiwan, Hong Kong and South
Korea)