The Global North and The Global South

return to the list of Cases

The terms Global North and Global South emerged in the second half of the 1900s as alternatives to earlier, more rigid categories such as First World, Second World, and Third World. The Brandt Line, a concept introduced in the 1980s, provided a simple visual representation of this division, separating the world's wealthier, industrialized countries (the North) from poorer, developing ones (the South). While a simplification, this framework offered a compelling image of global inequality and became a widely used reference point in discussions about development.

The Brandt Line and UNCTAD

While the Brandt Line offered a popular visualization, international bodies like the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) were instrumental in formalizing these global classifications for policy and international cooperation. Rather than relying on a strict geographic line, UNCTAD introduced more technical distinctions, such as developed economies, developing economies, and economies in transition. Over time, these categories grew more nuanced, but the broad conceptual division between a North and a South remained central to the work of the United Nations. Although the economic realities of specific countries have changed since the 1980s, this general framework continues to shape official reports, international negotiations, and aid programs, making it an institutionalized feature of global economic dialogue.

A New Political Identity

The Global North-South framework influenced more than just international policy; it reshaped how societies perceived themselves and their place in the world. For many in the North, the division highlighted structural inequalities and prompted calls for aid, trade reform, and more inclusive global governance. For countries in the South, the term provided a shared identity that transcended national and regional differences. It fostered solidarity among nations that, despite their diverse cultures and histories, faced common challenges related to poverty, colonial legacies, and marginalization in the global system. This perspective created a new narrative of development. The South was no longer viewed primarily as a passive recipient of aid from the North but as a collective agent.

South-South Cooperation

The principles of South-South Cooperation (SSC) predate the term itself, with ideological roots in the 1955 Bandung Conference, where newly independent Asian and African nations gathered to promote solidarity and oppose colonialism. Officially framed by the United Nations in the 1970s, SSC describes collaboration among developing countries in areas like trade, technology, and infrastructure. The guiding ideal is that nations with shared experiences can exchange knowledge and resources on terms of equality and mutual benefit, challenging the traditional, top-down flow of assistance from the Global North.

In practice, however, the landscape of SSC is far more complex. The rapid growth of major emerging economies, particularly China, India, and Brazil, has introduced new power imbalances within the Global South. While this cooperation provides crucial alternatives for financing and development, it can also create new forms of dependency, debt, and strategic competition. The narrative of partnership based on shared struggles does not always align with the geopolitical and economic interests that drive these relationships. Furthermore, SSC projects can face significant challenges regarding transparency, environmental standards, and labour protections.

A New Global Dynamic

Contemporary North-South relations are defined by a central tension between enduring power structures and new assertions of influence. While countries of the Global North continue to hold dominant positions in key international financial and political institutions, this established order is increasingly challenged by the growing assertiveness of the Global South. This shift is best exemplified by the rise of influential blocs like BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa). By creating alternative economic and political forums, these nations actively contest the existing global framework and advocate for a more multipolar world. This dynamic, pitting historic inequality against a rising demand for a more balanced system, will ultimately shape the future of international cooperation and conflict.

Video

A music video on borders between the global north and south [4m 51s]

New Model Army is a British alternative rock band that has been active since the 1980s and is known for lyrics that sometimes address various social issues. The composition under examination offers a narrative of the practical challenges associated with global migration and labour systems. It outlines the realities of border crossings, documentation procedures, and institutional controls that differentiate the movement of goods and capital from that of individuals.

Lyrics

You could be there - on a dark October night 
Waiting for the moment to be swimming across the freezing river 
Holding a plastic bag of belongings just out of the water 
Climbing up the banks on the other side, hiding in the trees 
So cold that you hardly show as a target 
On the heat seeking gear of the Border Control 
But you made it, you're another one over 
Sleeping on a bench in a railway station in the heart of Europe 
Haven't eaten anything for two days straight 
But where there's a will, there's always going to be a way

And every door is guarded and every guard costs money 
So the women are bought and kept and raped and sold as slaves 
Because the family borrowed from The Man 
And The Man has always got to be repaid 
For the deals of the borders and the fake IDs 
And the stolen passports all locked away 
While the women are working and gagging down on their knees 
And somewhere in the back of Terminal Three 
In the clogged-up corridors of the Immigration Authorities 
Whole families with the wrong bits of paper 
Are waiting to be sent back to where they came from, 
Escorted by officials out across the tarmac 
With their wrists bound tight with cable-ties behind their backs

It's dawn and there's fog in Rotterdam harbour 
And the guard's on his break and the dogs are chained by the wire 
Three figures come out from behind the cranes 
And make it across the train tracks 
Clamber aboard a Panamanian freighter headed for the Isle of Grain 
Find a place to hide in a stack of containers - another payload of World Trade 
Because goods are free to move but not people 
Oil is free to move but not people 
Jobs are free to move but not people 
Money is free to move but not people 
And today they got a man hauled off a truck in the Port of Calais 
We watch them in silence as they lead him away clutching his battered suitcase 
But his face betrays him - lost and scared and defeated 
Sitting in the back of the white Port Authority van 
Well, where do any of us come from? It's pretty hard to say 
While high in the sky above us tonight 
The bombers are heading the other way - south and east 
Into the blood red crimson sunrise of another Imperial day

(Sullivan/Dean)

Source: https://www.newmodelarmy.org/the-music/lyrics/97-another-imperial-day

Discussion

1. The text states that the Brandt Line was a "simplification" but also a "compelling image." Discuss the primary benefits and drawbacks of using such simplified models to explain complex global realities like economic inequality.

2. How does the concept of a shared Global South identity help or hinder the unique development goals of individual nations within that group? Does a country like Brazil share enough in common with a country like Bangladesh for the label to be consistently useful?

3. The Brandt Line places Australia and New Zealand in the Global North despite their geographic location in the Southern Hemisphere. Conversely, it places some rapidly developing and wealthy nations (e.g., Singapore, Qatar, South Korea) in the Global South. What do these exceptions reveal about the limitations of a purely geographical or static economic model for understanding global divisions?

4. The lyrics contrast the free movement of goods, oil, and money with the restricted movement of people. What does this reveal, if anything, about the priorities and power dynamics of the contemporary global system?

5. The song concludes by contrasting the northward journey of a migrant with the observation that "the bombers are heading the other way: south and east." In what ways does this line connect the issue of migration to the broader dynamics of conflict and military intervention in North-South relations?

Critical Thinking

1.  Examine the relationship between the analytical, institutional perspective of the article and the personal, lyrical perspective of the song. The article presents broad concepts like structural inequalities and multipolar world, while the song illustrates the human consequences of these systems for individuals. Analyze how these two narratives interact with and inform each other. How does the institutional framing provide context for the individual's experience, and how does the personal narrative add a human dimension to the abstract concepts discussed in the article?

Further Investigation

1. Investigate the rise of specific economic blocs like BRICS. Look beyond their economic influence and research their stated political goals. How do these goals challenge the existing international framework dominated by institutions traditionally led by the Global North, such as the World Bank or the International Monetary Fund?

2. Research the historical development of concepts like international aid and development assistance. Trace how the narrative around these concepts has shifted from a top-down, donor-recipient model to a more collaborative, partnership-based approach. How does the concept of South-South Cooperation fit into or diverge from this historical evolution?

return to the list of Cases

contact  |  quotes  |  site map

© 2025 Serdar Kaya