The Global South

Notes

• Not called third world anymore because it is a cold war term

  • Third world is meant to mean neutral

• Measure economic development based off GDP

  • How much money they bring in each year

  • Doesn’t account for size of country

  • Doesn’t take into account geography

• Now measure using Purchasing Power Parity

  • Estimates the buying power of income across different countries using US prices

  • Takes into account that some countries are more expensive to live in than others

  • How much money is needed to purchase the same basket of goods in different countries in USD

  • The lower the PPP the lower the economy of the country

• Economic sectors

  • 3 types

  • Primary

    • Most of GDP is being made in agriculture

  • Secondary

    • Most GDP is made in manufacturing and industry

      • Making things (factories)

  • Tertiary

    • Most of GDP is made in service

      • White collar jobs

        • Tech

        • Finance

        • Real estate

  • More concentrated the country is in primary activities the less developed they are

  • More concentrated they are in the tertiary sector, the more developed they are

    • Post-industrial

• 2 related NGO’s

  • Transparency International

    • Measures how corrupt a country is

      • Closer to 100 the better

    • NIC values vary

  • Freedom House

    • Looks at democracy

      • How are the civil liberties protected

      • Political rights

    • Measure 0-100

      • Higher the score the more protected the rights

NIC

• Newly Industrialized Country

• Many have made or grown economies because tertiary sector countries have moved their manufacturing there

• Most are in Southeast Asia, the Caribbean and Latin America

• Have 2 factors

  • Have experienced economic growth

  • Have generally started democritizing

• Experience compressed modernity

  • Became more modern in a short amount of time

  • Improving record of free, fair, and competitive elections

  • Tend to be predictable and consistent → stability

  • Good with rule of law

  • Growing civil society

• Democratic consolidation

  • Democratizing to a point where it does not appear that it will revert back to old authoritarianism

• South Korea, Brazil, Turkey, India,

• Started to be included in the global economy

  • More connected in the global economy than a LDC

  • Has more political influence globally

• Experience rapid urbanization

  • Created mega cities

    • Have a population of more than 10 million people

• Mid to high of human development index

LDC

• Lesser developed country

• More of them

• Varying degrees of public loyalty to the state

  • Personal first before connection to the country

  • Tribes being grouped together

• Tend to have a very mixed record on protection of human rights, of upholding ruke of law

• Elections may happen but are often accompanied by violence

• Lot of cronyism

  • When the leader is elected, the positions in bureaucracy are given because of connections, money, or loyalty

  • A little further than a patron-client system

• Lots of ethnic tensions

  • Politics is related to ethnic identities

• Have very inefficient or troubled economies

  • Often concentrated in primary sector or oil

    • It doesn’t stay in country long

    • Is not refined there

• Tend to have low global influence or reputation

  • Tend to be marginalized

  • Dont have much impact on global events

• Low levels of urbanization

  • Only a couple of cities

  • Usually capitals

• Low quality of life

  • Not abundant in health and human services

    • Low life expectancy

    • High rates of infant mortality

  • Under educated workfore or educated workforce that does not have access to jobs

  • Low levels of literacy

  • Low scale on human development index

• UNDP

  • United Nations Development Programme

• FDI

  • Foreign Direct Investment

  • The investment of foreign assets into domestic economies

  • Two philosophy of what FDI does to LDC

    • Dependancy Theory

      • Economic development of LDC’s and NIC’s are being blocked by the post-industrialized nations who exploit them

      • Vicious Circle theory

        • Poverty perpetuates itself

          • Incomes are low so money cannot be saved

          • Without savings there is no capital or investment

          • Without capital productivity remaqins low

          • The lack of investment leads to low productivity

          • Low productivity leads to low incomes

      • Sometimes because of neocolonialism

        • The idea of an unequal relationship between developing world and the developed world

    • Rostow’s Model

      • Westernization or Modernization

      • The global south countries need to copy the same steps as the west to modernize and economically develop

        • When a country is in its traditional society

        • Pre-conditions for takeoff

          • There needs to be certain traits or characteristics in place for industrialization

            • Having people who are skilled

            • High levels of agricultural production (enough food so not everyone needs to be constantly farming)

            • Capital 

        • Takeoff

        • Drive to maturity

        • Age of high mass consumption

      • Liberal democracies are at stage 5

      • NIC’s are between 3 and 4

      • LDC’s are at 1 and 2

Important Vocab

Carrying Capacity: The maximum population size that an environment can sustain indefinitely without degrading the environment. 

Communal Group: A group of people who share a common identity, such as ethnicity, language, or religion, often influencing social and political dynamics. 

Conditionality: The practice where international organizations (like the IMF) require countries to implement specific policies in exchange for financial aid or loans.

Debt Crisis: A situation in which a country is unable to meet its foreign debt obligations, often leading to economic instability and dependence on international financial institutions.

Debt Trap: A cycle where a country takes on more debt to pay off existing debt, worsening its financial position over time.

Dependency: A theory that explains how the economic development of some countries is constrained by their dependence on wealthier, developed nations.

Dependency Theory: A concept suggesting that resources flow from poorer nations (the periphery) to wealthier nations (the core), perpetuating inequality.

Failed State: A country where the government has lost the ability to provide basic services, maintain order, or exercise authority over its territory.

Foreign Aid: Financial or material assistance given by one country to another, often for humanitarian, developmental, or strategic reasons.

Fundamentalism: A strict, literal interpretation of religious texts and doctrines, often associated with resistance to modernity and secularism.

Global South: A term used to describe less economically developed countries, primarily in Africa, Latin America, Asia, and the Middle East.

Globalization: The process of increasing interconnectedness and interdependence among countries through trade, communication, and cultural exchange.

Hard Currency: Stable and widely accepted currencies (like the U.S. dollar or Euro) used in international trade and finance.

Human Development Index (HDI): A composite statistic used to rank countries by levels of human development, considering factors like life expectancy, education, and income.

Identity: The qualities, beliefs, and expressions that define a person or group, often tied to culture, ethnicity, nationality, or religion.

Imperialism: The policy or practice of extending a nation's power by acquiring territories or exploiting resources from other countries.

Import Substitution: An economic policy aimed at reducing dependency on foreign goods by encouraging domestic production.

Indirect Rule: A form of colonial governance where local rulers maintain authority under the oversight of colonial powers.

Microcredit: The provision of small loans to individuals, particularly in developing countries, to support entrepreneurship and alleviate poverty.

Newly Industrialized Country (NIC): Countries that are transitioning from developing to developed status through rapid industrialization and economic growth.

Parastatal: Government-owned corporations or agencies that engage in commercial activities.

Patron-Client Relations: A system where a powerful individual (patron) provides resources or protection in exchange for loyalty and support from clients.

Structural Adjustment: Economic policies imposed by international financial institutions that require countries to implement austerity measures and liberalize their economies.

Subsistence Economy: An economy where people produce most of what they need to survive, with little surplus for trade or profit.

Third World: A term historically used to describe countries not aligned with either the capitalist West or communist East during the Cold War, often referring to developing nations.

HDI - Human Development Index

IMF - International Monetary Fund

MNC - Multinational Corporation

NGO - Nongovernmental Organization

NIC - Newly Industrialized Country

OPEC - Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries

WTO - World Trade Organization

International Monetary Fund (IMF): An international organization that provides financial assistance, advice, and economic monitoring to its member countries.

Multinational Corporation (MNC): A company that operates in multiple countries, often influencing global trade and economic policies.

Nongovernmental Organization (NGO): A nonprofit organization that operates independently from the government, often focusing on humanitarian or development issues.

Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC): A group of oil-producing countries that coordinate policies to regulate oil production and pricing.

World Bank: An international financial institution that provides loans and grants to countries for development projects and poverty reduction.

World Trade Organization (WTO): An international body that regulates global trade by establishing rules and resolving disputes between member countries.