Voices012015 Concepts of The Global South
Voices012015 Concepts of The Global South
Voices012015 Concepts of The Global South
Global South
The urge to come up with a new term highlights
not only the uncomfortable reality of previous
INTRODUCTION
terms, but also the political connotations of the
by Andrea Wolvers, Oliver Tappe, Tijo Salverda, Global South concept. It is not just a term; it
Tobias Schwarz (GSSC) also has political weight for better or for
worse. Leigh Anne Duck, who reflects on the
Where and what is the Global South? If you ask
Global South as co-editor of the journal The
people on the street, many would probably not
Global South, highlights the positive impact of
have the faintest idea. In everyday parlance and
the term. In compar
mass media, Global South has hardly become a
household term. In academic and (global) policy
Global South to carry more weight in resisting
circles, though, the term is used with much
hegemonic forces. Alvaro Mendez, as co-
more gusto. Politicians refer to it. The United
founder of the London School of Economics
Nations organize their statistical data in accord-
th Unit,
ance with the term. Academics write books
equally highlights the empowering aspect the
about it - or, as in our case, explicitly include the
term has and the unprecedented upward tra-
term in the name of a research center: Global
jectory of its usage. In theory, indeed, it appears
South Studies Center (GSSC).
to be a less hierarchical or evolutionary term
But what does the term entail? Who uses it and than the other two. Barbara Potthast, the
why? And what are the implications of marking speaker of our research center, highlights how
distinctions between the Global South and the this in the case of Latin America may actually
Global North? We thought it relevant to address lead to a reconsidering of its relationships with
these questions in more detail after all, we other parts of the world.
work for a recently established research insti-
However, Boike Rehbein states that those
tute featuring the term in its name. Accordingly,
choosing this terminology are mainly members
we asked a number of academics, journals and
of the upper classes in the Global South who
academic institutions to reflect on the term. In
profit from the political and economic reality
this online issue, we share their various per-
through expanding south-south relations, for
spectives and critical reflections on the notion of
example. Which term is used barely matters for
the Global South see also a short discussion
the large majority of the inhabitants of the so-
on a number of YouTube videos we have in-
called Global South. Indeed, Felix Lamech
cluded.
strates that it means little
The emergence of the term Global South in its to most Kenyans who live in a country con-
historical context constitutes an interesting pro- sidered to be part of the Global South.
cess, which illustrates how the term has been
The question remains as to the geographical
charged with various shades of meaning. Some
boundaries of the region referred to as the
of the contributions touch on the historical gen-
Global South. It readily conjures the notion of a
esis of the term and narrate how they experi-
division between the northern and southern
enced this process. Thomas Hylland Eriksen
hemispheres of the globe. A country like Kenya
and Jonathan Rigg, among others, reflect on
would then belong to both categories. But, as
the emergence of the notion, with particular
Rigg also highlights, the term should not be
regard to the historical trajectory of defining
taken too literally, with the equator dividing the
different (poor and rich) parts of the world. Rigg
world in two. Instead, it should be understood in
explains, for example, why he used the term
the wider context of globalization or global
Global South in the title of a book. He acknowl-
edges that the term is not perfect, yet he con-
In most cases it then becomes related to an
siders it more favorable than its predecessors,
economic division between rich(er) and poor(er)
countries, with most people in the so-called
Global South actually living in the northern hem-
1
Thanks to Adetayo Alabi, Magalí Armillas-Tiseyra,
Deborah Barker, Annette Trefzer, and Jay Watson for
feedback, and thanks to the members of the working
group for sharing their manuscript with me.
2
Nancy Bercaw, Kirsten Dellinger, Jeffrey T. Jackson,
historical experiences and current realities to- to promote the Decolonization of Area Stud-
gether into one homogenizing category. Do you ies , published in a volume that you edited in
have good arguments for using such a general- cooperation with E. Gutiérrez Rodríguez and S.
Costa ( Decolonizing European sociology.
Transdisciplinary approaches. Farnham: Ash-
(and cons) of such broad categories? gate, 2010). My reading is that he suggests a
MB: Historical patterns (as well as their ab- rethinking of all geographical labels that we
sence) are in the eye of the beholder. If we come up with when we describe the world sys-
never ask ourselves the question of whether or tem, because they emerged together with (or
not the countries and regions formerly colonized were the results of) concrete geopolitical strate-
by Western Europe retain economic, cultural gies military, imperial. But his decolonization
and political commonalities that relate to the critique leaves us with no terms at all. Is there a
experience of colonization, as well as a position way out of this dilemma?
in today's global power structures that reflects MB: The problem lies in the fact that the very
that experience, we will not receive an answer gesture of classification (whether of humans,
to such a question. We might thus miss one of the animal realm, or regions) as well as the
i-
Video: http://gssc.uni-koeln.de/node/475
Video: http://gssc.uni-koeln.de/node/477
EXPANSION
OIL
Recycling, India, Expansion, Archival Pigment
WATER