Challenging Hegemony: Political Islam and the North-South Divide

Abstract

The North–South divide has remained a major fissure in the international system since the days of European colonialism. Even though it was an important feature of the system during the post-World War II years, its significance was not adequately appreciated for more than four decades because of the political and academic obsession with the Cold War, especially with the balance of terror that appeared to threaten the very existence of all of humanity. Nonetheless, the divisions between North and South manifested themselves in various forms during the Cold War era. They did so in the continuing confrontation between North and South over residual issues of colonialism, racism, and apartheid. They were evident in the attempt by the G-77 to improve the terms of economic exchange between North and South, especially through the unsuccessful attempt to create a New International Economic Order (NIEO). They were demonstrated in the activities of the...