THE CONTEMPORARY WORLD
GE 6
MODULE 3
CHAPTER III
A World Regions
Lesson 1: Global Divides: The North and the South
a. North and South
b. Global South vs. The Third World
Lesson 1: Global Divides
The world comprises of different countries,
people and natural features which was
situated in the different location. Countries
composed of different regions which create
an association to have a common purpose
for their security and peace.
The North-South Divide is the socio-economic and political division that exist between
the wealthy developed countries, known collectively as “the North”, and the poorer
developing countries (least developed countries) or “the South”. 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 drifting levels of wealth,
development, income inequality, democracy, political and economic freedom, as
defined by freedom indices.
A. North and South
The division between rich and poor
countries which most of the developed
countries located at Northern
Hemisphere and the most of the
developing countries is in the Southern
Hemisphere. It is considered a s a
sociopolitical division which created a
development gap among nation-
states.
The North–South divide is a socio-economic and political division of Earth popularized
in the late 20th century and early 21st century. Generally, Global North are
characterized by established democracy, wealth, technological advancement,
political stability, aging population growth, and dominance of world trade and politics.
This includes the United States, Canada, almost all the European countries, Israel,
Cyprus, Japan, Singapore, South Korea, Australia, and New Zealand.
The Global South refers to the less–developed countries of the world. The term
“Global South” emerged in the 1950s. The Global South is not as economically sound
and politically stable as their global North counterparts and tend to be characterized
by turmoil, war, conflict, poverty, anarchy and tyranny (Odeh, 2010). This represents
mainly agrarian economies in Sub-Saharan Africa, Latin
America and the Caribbean, Pacific Islands, and the developing countries in Asia,
including the Middle East. It is home to the BRIC countries: Brazil, India and China,
which, along with Indonesia and Mexico, are the largest Southern states in terms of
land area and population.
Global North Global South
Comprised of only one quarter Accounts for the three-quarters
(25%) of the total global population (75%) of the global population BUT only
Richer and more economically accounts a fifth (20%) of the globally
developed region earned income
Accounts for over 90% of all Poor and less developed region
manufacturing industries Relatively low GDP and the high
About 95% of the population have population
enough basic needs and have access to Only 5% of country’s population has
functioning education systems enough food and shelter
Source of raw materials and labor for
the “North”
The economies of most countries in
the South rely on imports from the North
and have low technological penetration
B. Global South vs. The Third World
During Cold War, the Global Divide was made official with the West Power (United
States and Allied countries) and the East Power (Soviet Union and
China). They divided the world into three (3) categories that embodies 3 types of
countries along the globe: the First World, Second World, and the Third World.
The term “Third World” is referred as underdeveloped or developing countries. These
countries were those that were well on their way to becoming rich and
“developed”. The Third World was the non-aligned World, distinct from the First
(capitalist) and Second (socialist/communist) Worlds. But pretty quickly the
Third World became a quick-and-easy referent for the “Poor World” because it has
been under-developed by the Rich or “First World”, through processes of
globalization and capitalist expansion (Rigg, 2007)
The “Three Worlds Theory”
Composed of industrialized and democratic
countries, which most members were assumed to
be allied with the US against Soviet Union.
(Canada, Australia, Japan, Western Europe, etc)
Former communist countries that aren't quite in
poverty but aren't prosperous
either (East Germany, Georgia, Poland,
Ukraine, etc)
Non-aligned world and as the global realm of
poverty and under-development.
(Afghanistan, Latin America, Asian countries, etc.)
The “three world theory” made no longer sense when in 1989-1991, the Second World
ceased to exist as the Soviet Union collapsed. After the demise of the Second World,
new terms were adopted for the socio-economically divided planet, differentiating a
wealthy “Global North” from an impoverished “Global South”. The “Global North”
mostly covers the First World, with much of the Second World. While “Global South”
covers the countries from the Third World.
The emergence of the term “Global South” is normally used to mean countries that
are faced with social, political and economic challenges – for instance poverty,
environmental degradation, human and civil rights abuses, ethnic and regional
conflicts, mass displacements refugees, hunger, and diseases. The nations of Africa,
Central and Latin America, and most of Asia are collectively known as the “Global
South”. The concept of the Global South shares some of the limitations of the concept
of the Third World. It evokes imaginations of a geographical North-South divide, which
does not correspond to the complex entanglements and uneven developments in the
real world.
Lesson 2: Asian Regionalism
a. Regionalization vs. Globalization
b. Integration of Asia
Lesson 2: Asian Regionalism
Asia was colonized by a variety of major powers, including Portugal, Spain, the
Netherlands, France, Britain, the United States and Japan. Each colonizer left behind
specific social, political and economic legacies. The multiplicity of colonial
experiences only served to emphasize the differences among the countries and
societies of Asia. More recently, the Cold War also divided the Asian region.
ASEAN was the first major regional player to emerge and has been at the center of
regional developments including APEC, ARF, ASEAN Plus Three and the East Asian
Summit as East Asian regionalism has evolved over time ASEAN’s pivotal regional
role has also been accepted by China and Japan in good part because they need the
ASEAN members as followers if they ever want to be considered global leaders. This
relationship has in turn given ASEAN considerable leeway in terms of the activities of
its member governments in region-building endeavor.
As the result of Asian regionalism, it does not only make Asian economies grown
richer but also, they become closer together. Asian regionalism is the product of
economic interaction, not political planning. As a result of successful, outward
oriented growth strategies. (Beeson and Stubb, 2012)
A. Regionalization vs. Globalization
The processes of globalization and regionalization reemerged
during the 1980s and heightened after the end of the Cold War in the 1990s. At first,
these two processes are contradicting since globalization, by definition is global while
regionalization is naturally regional. Jacoby and Meunier, 2010, p.1 defined
Globalization as “the increased flows of goods, services, capita, people, and
information across borders” while according to Hurrell, 2007, p.4 Regionalization is
“the societal integration and often undirected process of societal economic
interaction”. Further, Regionalization is the formal process of intergovernmental
collaboration between two or more states (Ravenhill, 2008, p. 174)
Regionalism is a political process characterized by economic policy cooperation and
coordination among countries (Claudio,2018). The goal of regionalism became
encapsulated in the concept of an East Asian community. Although removing
economic barriers was the principal thrust of most agreements to promote
regionalism, a ‘community’ connotes shared values and joint responses to security
threats.
DIFFERENCE between Regionalization and Globalization
Regionalization Globalization
Nature Divides an area into Promotes integration of
smaller segments called economies across state
regions borders all around the
world
Market Monopolies are more likely Allows many
to develop. Monopoly corporations to trade on
means one producer international level; it
controls supply of a good allows free market
or service, and where the
entry of new producers is
prevented or highly
restricted.
Cultural & Societal Does not support Acceleration to
Relations multiculturalism multiculturalism through
free and inexpensive
movement of people
Aid A regionalized area does Globalized international
not get involved in the communities are more
affairs of other areas willing to aid countries
stricken by disasters
Technological Advanced technology is Globalization has driven
Advancement rarely available in one great advances in
country or region technology
B. Integration of Asia
Regional Integration is the process by which two or more nation-states
agree to co-operate and work closely together to achieve peace, stability, and wealth.
The entire world is moving towards integration, it is inevitable. In Asia, the Southeast
Asian countries have already formed ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian
Nations) including APEC (Asia Pacific Economic Council),
ARF (ASEAN Regional Forum), ASEAN Plus Three and the East Asian Summit. This
regional power block appears to work fine, the members states fit very well together
due to these factors that leads the Asian Region into greater integration:
• TRADE: The world economy is intertwined with each other and we all
want and need something from another part of the world, including global trade
facilities, and since these nations are geographically located near each other
they can readily supply each other’s needs.
• SIMILAR CULTURE: The cultures of Asia is diverse, but they do share
many things. This makes it an easier fit during times of negotiations.
• COMMON GOALS: The Asian region recognizes the mutual benefit of
a slow integration, and that is to accelerate the economic growth, social
progress and cultural development and to promote peace.
• SIMILAR SECURITY NEEDS: aside from small localized rebels, this
association needs only to contend with foreign-supported terrorist groups
which are usually handled well.
