Global North and South: Latin America & Asian Regions

• The unit focuses on the world of regions, specifically global divides between the North and South, with a focus on Latin America, and Asian regionalism
• Unit coverage spans weeks 6, 7, and 8, totaling 9 hours
• Global Divides: The North and the South takes 4.5 hours, covered in weeks 6 and 7
• Asian Regionalism also takes 4.5 hours, covered in weeks 7 and 8

Learning Objectives

• Define the term "Global South."
• Differentiate the Global South from the Third World
• Differentiate regionalization from globalization
• Identify the factors leading to a greater integration of the Asian Region

Global Divides: The North and the South (focus: Latin America)

• Global South refers to the regions of Latin America, Asia, Africa, and Oceania
• These regions are mostly low-income and often politically or culturally marginalized
• The Global South is also referred to as the "developing World", encompassing Africa, Latin America, developing countries in Asia, "developing countries", "less developed countries", and poorer "southern" regions of wealthy "northern" countries
• The Global South represents countries with "interconnected histories of colonialism, neo-imperialism, and differential economic and social change," resulting in large inequalities in living standards, life expectancy, and access to resources.
• Contemporary critics of neo-liberal globalization use the Global South as a symbol to unite countries victimized by the economic policies of institutions like the International Monetary Fund

Three Primary Concepts of Global South

• It represents economically disadvantaged nation-states and serves as a post-Cold War alternative to the "Third World."
• "Third World" described nations not aligned with NATO and capitalism or the Soviet Union and communism during the Cold War.
• First World countries aligned with NATO and capitalism, while Second World countries supported communism and the Soviet Union
• Third World countries are largely poor and underdeveloped, with low education, poor infrastructure and healthcare
• The Global South captures a deterritorialized geography of capitalism's externalities and includes subjugated peoples within wealthier countries.
• It represents a resistant imaginary of a transnational political subject, resulting from shared experiences of subjugation
• The Global South is symbolic, capturing cohesion among former colonial entities engaged in decolonization and moving towards a post-colonial international order
• Globalization questions geographically bound conceptions of poverty and inequality
• Increased global flows spread both poverty and affluence, with underdevelopment in developed countries mirroring poverty in the Global South and affluence mirroring the Global North
• The state remains the strongest vehicle for social redistribution, crucial in economic globalization where neo-liberal economists aim to dismantle local state oversight

Development of the Global South

• It should prioritize drawing financial resources for development from within rather than relying on foreign investments and markets
• The Global South is relevant not only for countries traditionally associated with it but also signifies the continuous globalization of the South and represents emergent forms of progressive cosmopolitanism
• It is an always emergent and provisional internationalism

New Internationalism in the Global South

• The problems of the Global South, such as those caused by IMF policies in the 1980s, are being globalized
• Countries like Greece recognize similarities with the Global South and draw inspiration from poorer nations
• The Global South provides models of resistance, such as Gandhi's non-violence, and critiques of international financial institutions
• Concerns, such as climate change, are being globalized and radical notions of climate justice are being articulated in the Global South
• The Global South is not only relevant for countries traditionally associated with it but also embodies cosmopolitanism
• While embedded in specific geographic imaginaries, it represents emergent forms of progressive cosmopolitanism and is always provisional

Asian Regionalism

• Regionalism involves the decentralization of political powers from higher to lower levels
• Top-down regionalism involves the decentralization of competencies or establishment of regional institutions by the state
• Bottom-up regionalism includes all patterns of endeavors toward political decentralization within the region
• Globalization intensifies economic, political, social, and cultural relations across borders
• It involves a consciousness of that intensification and reduces the significance of territorial boundaries

Views of Globalization in the Asia Pacific and South Asia

• Globalization is seen as an external phenomenon pushed into the region particularly by the United States and Europe
• Globalization is a process transforming the Asia Pacific and South Asia, bringing economic development, political progress, and social and cultural diversity
• The Asia Pacific and South Asia includes East Asia, South Asia, the Pacific Islands, and South Asia
• It includes economically developed states like Japan, South Korea, Singapore, and Taiwan and impoverished countries like Cambodia, Laos, and Nepal
• It also includes the largest and most populous states like China and India, and some of the world's smallest countries like the Maldives and Bhutan
• The Asia and South Pacific has emerged as a new political force with economies having strategic relevance in today's global system
• A foreign policy shift called “Pacific Pivot” was implemented by the United States to commit more resources and attention to the region
• Labeled the "Pacific Century," the Asia Pacific became a key driver of global politics and is home to key allies and emerging powers like China, India, and Indonesia
• Globalization in the Asia Pacific and South Asia is an external phenomenon transforming the region and bringing economic development, political progress, and social and cultural diversity

Asia Pacific and South Asia's Impact on Globalization

• Asia was central in the early modern world economy and more advanced than the West in some areas
• Colonies in Asia influenced the West and vice versa.
• Colonialism wasn't only Western Domination, but reflects Western and modern ideas

Impacts

• Japan imports raw materials like coal and iron to gain a competitive edge in global manufacturing
• China follows a similar development pattern and now surpasses Japan, the US, and Europe in steel production
• China also surpassed the World Bank in lending to developing countries, impacting the availability and consumption of goods worldwide
• India emphasized an export-oriented strategy, especially in textiles and software development
• India and China are major sources of international migrant labor, including skilled labor
• They are among the top recipients of migrant remittances.
• Rising regional free trade agreements in Asia may bolster globalization
• Regionalism promotes learning and enables scaling up from regional to global cooperation and Institutional frameworks for trade
• Regionalism adopts "Open Regionalism" to cooperate with outside actors, resolving tensions between regional trade agreements and global trade
• "Open" refers to non-discrimination, openness in membership and economic flows, exemplified by Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC)
• The region produces global cultural phenomena like "Hello Kitty," Anime, Pokemon, Power Rangers, Korean popular culture ("K-Wave"), and "Gangnam Style"
• Asia Pacific and South Asia contribute significantly to globalization in history, economy, political structure, and culture

Region-Making in Southeast Asia and Middle-Class Formation: The Third Wave

• Regionalization involves complex interactions yielding hybrid East Asia
• Hybridization stems from regional economic development driven by developmental states and capitalism
• This fostered sizeable middle-classes sharing similarities in profession and lifestyle, as well as aspirations and dreams
• These middle classes are expanding the regional consumer market
• Middle classes in East Asia emerged from regional economic development in the postwar era
• This occurred under the American informal empire in “Free Asia” using the US-led regional security system and the triangular trade system
• National states actively promoted middle-class growth under democratic or authoritarian regimes to neutralize class conflict
• The first wave of regional economic development occurred in Japan (mid-1950s to early 1970s)
• The second wave happened in South Korea, Taiwan, Hongkong, and Singapore (1960s and 1980s)
• Middle class formation in Southeast Asia was fuelled by global and regional capitalism in alliance with national states
• In Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan middle class created by developmental states and national capitalism
• New urban middle classes in East Asia have created their lifestyles based on their income and status

Middle Classes in The Philippines

• New urban middle classes emerged in the post-1986 Philippines through growth in retail trade, manufacture, banking, and real estate development
• Expansion of specialist services like accounting, advertising, computing, and market research also played a role, fostered by government policies of liberalization and deregulation
• The development of these new enterprises has been oriented both toward the export and domestic markets
• This resulted in increasingly diverse sources of foreign investment and variable subcontracting, franchise, and service relationships

Regional Implications of Middle -Class Formation in East Asia

• Complex historical forces shaped new urban middle classes
• They’ve emerged due to Southeast Asia's regional economic development under guidance by the US and various development states
• Lifestyles shaped by things that are American, Japanese, Chinese, South Korean, Islamic and other ways of life, often mediated by the market
• Political consequences vary across East Asia due to of the rise of East Asia middle classes
• Coherent Thai middle classes are coherent socially and ascendant politically
• Counterparts in Malaysia and Indonesia are socially divided, dependent on the state, politically assertive and vulnerable
• Philippine middle classes are socially coherent, less dependent, culturally ascendant, but politically vacillating