The Global South and The Dependency Theory: Negative Impacts

According to Heine (2023), the term Global South has various interpretations, particularly in political and economic contexts. The term refers to countries that are developing, such as countries in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. In contrast to the Global North, countries in the Global South have long faced challenges such as poverty, lack of income equality, and lower life expectancy due to the processes of colonialism that created unequal economic systems around the world.

The systems that emerged from colonialism and trade created an unequal global structure whereby the Global South was dependent on the Global North. This inequality persists today under systems of neocolonialism. Munro (2018) explained that the dependency theory, introduced by Raúl Prebisch in the late 1950s and gaining traction during the 1960s and 1970s, suggested that the underdevelopment of countries in the Global South is largely influenced by their position within the global economy. This system allows developed nations to benefit from low-cost labour and raw materials sourced from these developing countries, which in turn supports the growth of the economies in the developed world. Consequently, these developed nations sell products back to the developing countries at inflated prices, resulting in capital outflow. This situation perpetuates a cycle that exacerbates the economic disparities between the Global South and the Global North.

Heine (2023) added that in 1969, Carl Oglesby introduced the concept of the Global South to describe the developing or underdeveloped countries in relation to the Global North, which refers to the developed nations. His aim was to highlight how the political and economic influence of these developed countries contributes to the economic challenges faced by the developing nations.

Dependency theory opposes modernization theory, which proposes that post-colonial, Global South, or developing countries can catch up with developed nations if they have effective policies. Rather, dependency theory promotes the idea of reforming the global economy without putting a focus on the privileges in the developed countries, which are the cause of the undeveloped countries’ economic struggles.

In 1969, countries in the Global South sought to diminish the economic and political influence of the Global North by establishing the National Alliance of Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (NAM) and the Group of 77 (G77). Their objective was to tackle the unequal international economic system and provide a platform for the Global South nations to unite and overcome the powerlessness imposed by the Global North.

Despite these efforts, economic and political influences from the Global North continue to impact the region. The systems that have shaped the social, economic, and political structures of the world since colonization continue to perpetuate systemic inequalities across the world, which has resulted in very unequal wealth distribution across and within nations. According to the United Nations (n.d.), “Income inequality between countries has improved, yet income inequality within countries has become worse. Today, 71 percent of the world’s population live in countries where inequality has grown.”

Globally, access to wealth, opportunity, food, services, and all other core necessities that allow for a good life are becoming increasingly skewed in favour of the wealthy. In order to address this global problem of inequality, the rise of the wealthy, and the increasing numbers of people living below the poverty line, the UN has created Sustainable Development Goals, with goal 10 addressing inequality (UN, n.d.). Alongside global organizations addressing this state of inequality, governments, corporations, NGOs, and all levels of government and community must actively work to challenge policy and legislation that perpetuate these systems of inequality.

References

Heine, J. (2023, July 3). The Global South is on the rise – but what exactly is the Global South? The Conversation. https://theconversation.com/the-global-south-is-on-the-rise-but-what-exactly-is-the-global-south-207959

Munro, A. (2024, October 1). Dependency theory. In Encyclopedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/topic/dependency-theory

United Nations. (n.d.). Inequality – Bridging the divide. UN75 2020 and Beyond: Shaping our Future Together. https://www.un.org/en/un75/inequality-bridging-divide#:~:text=Inequalities%20are%20not%20only%20driven%20and%20measured%20by,which%20continue%20to%20persist%2C%20within%20and%20between%20countries