What is the Global South?

The term ‘Global South’ has gained popular use among leaders and commentators on international politics to help describe global divisions and to group together countries with common positions on global issues. These countries may feel their views have not been heard fully or their interests not adequately reflected in the multilateral system.

Jorge Heine, an international relations scholar and former Chilean diplomat, says countries in the Global South are “increasingly asserting themselves on the global scene”.

However, some commentators caution that it is too simplistic and also inaccurate; while the term suggests a clear-cut geographical divide of the world map into north and south, most uses include countries in the northern hemisphere such as China and India.

Is this a new concept?

No.

Since the end of the Second World War a multitude of terms have been used to differentiate the world into different geopolitical blocs. The Cold War division of east and west remains partially in use, while the Non-Aligned Movement continues to represent countries who sought to avoid alignment with either of the Cold War superpowers.

Most analyses of the Global South identify its first use in the late 1960s, by political activist Carl Oglesby writing about the Vietnam War. Later, the so-called Brandt Line, a line drawn across a world map by the former German Chancellor Willy Brandt, provided one way to divide the wealthy, industrialised north from the south.

However, it is only in recent years that ‘Global South’ as a term has become commonly used.

Who is in the Global South?

There is no definitive definition of the Global South, which means there is no definitive list of countries.

One way of identifying countries is to look at the membership of the G77, a group of developing countries established in the 1960s to articulate and promote their collective interests at the United Nations. The group now numbers 134 states from Central and South America, Africa, Asia and Oceania, and refers to itself as the “global south”.

The Non-Aligned Movement also numbers 120 countries.

Another indicator is the list of the 125 countries that attended the first virtual Voice of the Global South summit in India in January 2023.

Why is the term growing in prominence?

The effects of and international responses to climate change, the covid-19 pandemic, the conflict in Ukraine, and challenges of food and energy security have exposed divisions within and frustrations with the existing multilateral system. This system has at its core the United Nations, but includes many other international institutions such as the World Bank and IMF (International Monetary Fund).

One of the arguments put forward by India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi for initiating and hosting two Voice of the Global South summits in 2023 was his assertion that “most of the global challenges have not been created by the Global South. But they affect us more.”

Many countries that fall under the ‘Global South’ umbrella have long felt their views have not been heard or their interests not adequately reflected in international agreements or multinational forums. Indonesia’s Foreign Minister Retno LP Marsudi made this point in her speech at the UN General Assembly session in September 2023: “The global architecture of today benefits only the selected few.”

Shifting balance of power

There is also growing recognition that the global balance of power is shifting; the 2023 UK government review of defence, security and foreign policy identified this as one of the four trends that would shape the international environment.

Some commentators talk of a new era of great power competition between the United States, China and Russia, recalling how the world divided into American and Soviet spheres of influence during the Cold War.

However, many countries are pushing back against the implication that they have to choose sides in this new iteration of global competition. For example, Matias Spektor, Professor of International Relations at Fundação Getulio Vargas in São Paulo, says many countries have opted for neutrality in the conflict in Ukraine “to avoid being trampled in a brawl among China, Russia, and the United States”.

Kenya’s President William Ruto articulated this perspective when responding to a journalist’s question about choosing between Chinese or US investment, saying: “people want to pull us to a conversation on whether we are facing East or we are facing West. We are neither facing West nor East, we are facing forward where opportunities are.”

Who leads the Global South?

The Global South is not a formal bloc; there is no overarching agreement or an organising secretariat. But some countries are taking a more prominent role than others.

India is one of the leading proponents of the Global South. India’s Prime Minister initiated and hosted two Voice of Global South summits in 2023, bringing together over 100 countries to “share their perspectives and priorities on a common platform”.

The Economist magazine says China has launched a “concerted campaign to present itself as a natural leader for the developing world”. President Xi Jinping has described China as a member of the Global South.

However, C Raja Mohan, a former member of India’s National Security Advisory Board, suggests China and India are championing the idea of the Global South as part of a wider global battle for influence: between China and India, and between China and the US.

South Africa has “sought to position itself as a leading voice of the global south” according to analysis by the South African Institute for Strategic Studies. President Cyril Ramaphosa has spoken of the need to strengthen the voice of Africa and the Global South in the broader multilateral system.

What are some of the issues with the term ‘Global South’?

The label encompasses an array of countries with vastly different histories, economies, ideologies, climates and interests. Some argue that putting them together under one label is unhelpful.

The term has become a “convenient shorthand” to describe the non-Western world, according to C Raja Mohan, who argues it is a hindrance rather than a help:

Lumping countries such as these into a single category—and then defining this category as inherently different from a global north—is a barrier to understanding a complex world.

Comfort Ero, President of the International Crisis Group non-governmental organisation, agrees. She says it offers a “compelling but misleading simplicity (as can its counterpart, ‘the West’)” and warns policymakers to not lose sight of the diversity the term encompasses.

Stewart Patrick and Alexandra Huggins of the US-based think tank Carnegie Endowment point out the term includes both small states, such as Benin and Fiji, and major powers. Four of the 10 largest economies in 2023 are in the Global South, according to IMF data (in purchasing power parity terms): China, India, Indonesia and Brazil.

However, Audrey Wilson, managing editor at Foreign Policy magazine, which has published many articles either using the term or discussing its merits, says that while many analysts question its legitimacy, “what is certain is that the global south will remain a central figure in diplomacy and summitry in 2024”.

About the author: Louisa Brooke-Holland is an international affairs researcher at the Commons Library specialising in Africa and defence.

Image credit: NASA on the Commons, Flickr