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Global Divides: The North and the South

  • Global South Definition

    • Metaphor for interstate inequality

    • Product of Western imagination

    • Historically rooted in divisions among nations

    • Refers to socio-economic and political divide in the southern hemisphere

    • Includes Africa, Latin America, Asia, and the Middle East

    • Represents developing countries

  • Global North Characteristics

    • Home to G8 members and powerful UN Security Council members

    • Comprises developed countries like Canada, France, Germany, etc.

    • Adheres to fair labor practices, free trade, and sustainable development policies

  • Global Divide Experiences

    • Overseas Filipino workers' reflections on differences between Philippines and Western countries

    • Challenges faced despite higher incomes abroad

    • Temporary nature of vacations back home

  • Global South:

    • Refers to countries located below the equator, primarily in Africa, Latin America, Asia, and Oceania.

    • Represents developing or newly industrialized nations with emerging economies.

    • Often characterized by high poverty rates, limited access to resources, and challenges in infrastructure development.

    • Includes countries like Brazil, India, South Africa, and Indonesia.

    • Focuses on economic and social development, aiming to improve living standards and reduce inequalities.

    Third World:

    • Originated during the Cold War to categorize countries that were not aligned with NATO or the Communist Bloc.

    • Initially included countries with lower income levels and less industrialization.

    • Term has evolved to represent developing countries facing economic and social challenges.

    • Can encompass countries from various regions, including parts of Africa, Asia, and Latin America.

    • Emphasizes the need for international cooperation and support to address issues like poverty, healthcare, and education.

Asian Regionalism

  • Regionalization vs. Globalization

    • Globalization: Expansion of social relations across world-time and world-space

    • Regionalization: Growth of societal integration within a specific region

    • Globalization is borderless, while regionalization is geographically specific

  • ASEAN Integration

    • ASEAN's three pillars: political security, economic, and socio-cultural community

    • Focus on human rights, economic cooperation, cultural exchange, and disaster management

    • Collaboration with East Asian countries like China, South Korea, and Japan

  • Economic Growth in Asia

    • China as an economic superpower with high population

    • Regional collaborations and partnerships driving economic progress

    ASPECTS THAT LED TO A GREATER ASIAN INTEGRATION

    1. Integration has been market-drive.

    • Integration of systems and institutions in Asian countries

    1. Formal institutions such as the Asian Development Bank (ADB) were established.

    • Establishment of formal institutions like the Asian Development Bank (ADB) in the 1960s

    • ADB promotes social and economic development in Asia through loans, technical assistance, grants, and equity investments

    1. Economic grants and overseas development assistance by better Asian economies

      • Example: Japanese International Cooperation Agency (JICA) focuses on human security and quality growth

    2. Production networks have been expanded.

      • Expansion of production networks in Asian economies

      • Different countries specialize in various products like electronic products, palm oil, rubber, natural gas, and motor vehicles

    3. Cooperation among ASEAN and East Asian countries ensued the ASEAN +3 Financial Ministers’ Process that established two economic structures- the Chiang Mai Initiative and The Asian Bond Markets Initiative.

      • to strengthen policy dialogue on financial and monetary matters

    4. EU is rules- based, ASEAN follows a consensus rules as an approach to decision making.

      • This process process prevents collision of cultural beliefs and economic policies that are understandably not easy to unite because of the regions diversity of archipelagic lives.

    Asian countries' response to globalization challenges in

    • BIG GROUP

      • Formation of groups like the Asian Development Bank (ADB) to react to global integration

      • Establishment of ASEAN as a reaction to globalization

        • ASEAN aims to accelerate economic and cultural development, promote collaboration, provide training facilities, improve transportation and trade standards, and maintain close relationships

    • SMALL GROUP

      • Asian regionalism lacks institutions and bureaucratic bodies to serve the region unlike the European Union model of single market in goods and services.

      • Reaction to globalization (and the West) also gave rise to terror groups, like the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) which has spread to the Muslim communities in the Southern Philippines, Indonesia, and Malaysia.

    • LOCAL COMMUNITIES

      • Examples: Santi suk village in Thailand created its own currency called bia, that was regulated by a central bank in a village.

      • Other forms of disengagement appeared in the formation of self-sufficiency groups, community-owned rice milks, and cooperative shops; the gathering of traditional herbal practitioners and the preference for local products (Kimura, 2014).

CONCLUSION

  • Impacts of Global Divides and Regionalism

    • Disparities between Global North and South influencing individuals' lives

    • ASEAN's regional efforts contributing to economic growth and cultural exchange

  • Globalization vs. regionalization: globalization is worldwide, while regionalization focuses on specific geographical regions

  • Regionalism as a response to world homogenization and division, leading to various forms of regional alternatives