North–South divide

The North–South divide is a global socio-economic and political divide originating in the late 20th century and early 21st century. Generally, definitions of the Global North include the G8 countries, the United States, Canada, 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. The Global South is made up of Africa, Latin America, and developing Asia, including the Middle East, and is home to the BRIC countries: Brazil, India, China and Russia, which, along with Indonesia, are the largest Southern states. The North–South divide is a global socio-economic and political divide originating in the late 20th century and early 21st century. Generally, definitions of the Global North include the G8 countries, the United States, Canada, 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. The Global South is made up of Africa, Latin America, and developing Asia, including the Middle East, and is home to the BRIC countries: Brazil, India, China and Russia, which, along with Indonesia, are the largest Southern states. The North is mostly correlated with the Western world and the First World, along with much of the Second World, while the South largely corresponds with the Third World and Eastern world. The two groups are often defined in terms of their differing levels of wealth, development, income inequality, democracy, political and economic freedom, as defined by freedom indices. Nations in the North tend to be wealthier, less unequal and considered more democratic and to be developed countries; Southern states are generally poorer developing countries with younger, more fragile democracies and frequently share a history of past colonialism by Northern states. The Global South 'lacks appropriate technology, it has no political stability, the economies are disarticulated, and their foreign exchange earnings depend on primary product exports.' Nevertheless, the divide between the North and the South increasingly 'corresponds less and less to reality and is increasingly challenged.' In economic terms, as of the early 21st century, the North—with one quarter of the world population—controls four-fifths of the income earned anywhere in the world. 90% of the manufacturing industries are owned by and located in the North. Inversely, the South—with three quarters of the world population—has access to one-fifth of the world income. As nations become economically developed, they may become part of the 'North', regardless of geographical location; similarly, any nations that do not qualify for 'developed' status are in effect deemed to be part of the 'South'. The idea of categorizing countries by their economic and developmental status began during the Cold War with the classifications of East and West. The Soviet Union and China represented the East, and the United States and their allies represented the West. The term 'Third World' came into parlance in the second half of the twentieth century. It originated in a 1952 article by Alfred Sauvy entitled 'Trois Mondes, Une Planète.' Early definitions of the Third World emphasized its exclusion from the East-West conflict of the Cold War as well as the ex-colonial status and poverty of the nations it comprised. Efforts to mobilize the Third World as an autonomous political entity were undertaken. The 1955 Bandung Conference was an early meeting of Third World states in which an alternative to alignment with either the Eastern or Western Blocs was promoted. Following this, the first Non-Aligned Summit was organized in 1961. Contemporaneously, a mode of economic criticism which separated the world economy into 'core' and 'periphery' was developed and given expression in a project for political reform which 'moved the terms 'North' and 'South' into the international political lexicon.' In 1973, the pursuit of a New International Economic Order which was to be negotiated between the North and South was initiated at the Non-Aligned Summit held in Algiers. Also in 1973, the oil embargo initiated by Arab OPEC countries as a result of the Yom Kippur War caused an increase in world oil prices, with prices continuing to rise throughout the decade. This contributed to a worldwide recession which resulted in industrialized nations increasing economically protectionist policies and contributing less aid to the less developed countries of the South. The slack was taken up by Western banks, which provided substantial loans to Third World countries. However, many of these countries were not able to pay back their debt, which led the IMF to extend further loans to them on the condition that they undertake certain liberalizing reforms. This policy, which came to be known as structural adjustment, and was institutionalized by International Financial Institutions (IFIs) and Western governments, represented a break from the Keynesian approach to foreign aid which had been the norm from the end of the Second World War. After 1987, reports on the negative social impacts that structural adjustment policies had had on affected developing nations led IFIs to supplement structural adjustment policies with targeted anti-poverty projects. Following the end of the Cold War and the break-up of the Soviet Union, some Second World countries joined the First World, and others joined the Third World. A new and simpler classification was needed. Use of the terms 'North' and 'South' became more widespread. Being categorized as part of the 'North' implies development as opposed to belonging to the 'South', which implies a lack thereof. According to N. Oluwafemi Mimiko, the South lacks the right technology, it is politically unstable, its economies are divided, and its foreign exchange earnings depend on primary product exports to the North, along with the fluctuation of prices. The low level of control it exercises over imports and exports condemns the South to conform to the 'imperialist' system. The South's lack of development and the high level of development of the North deepen the inequality between them and leave the South a source of raw material for the developed countries. The north becomes synonymous with economic development and industrialization while the South represents the previously colonized countries which are in need of help in the form of international aid agendas. In order to understand how this divide occurs, a definition of 'development' itself is needed. Northern countries are using most of the earth resources and most of them are high entropic fossil fuels. Reducing emission rates of toxic substances is central to debate on sustainable development but this can negatively affect economic growth. The Dictionary of Human Geography defines development as 'rocesses of social change or to class and state projects to transform national economies'. This definition entails an understanding of economic development which is imperative when trying to understand the north–south divide. Economic Development is a measure of progress in a specific economy. It refers to advancements in technology, a transition from an economy based largely on agriculture to one based on industry and an improvement in living standards.