Abstract
This introductory contribution examines the ‘Global South’ as a meta category in the study of world politics. Against the backdrop of a steep rise in references to the ‘Global South’ across academic publications, we ask whether and how the North–South binary in general, and the ‘(Global) South’ in particular, can be put to use analytically. Building on meta categories as tools for the classification of global space, we discuss the increasing prominence of the ‘Global South’ and then outline different understandings attached to it, notably socio-economic marginality, multilateral alliance-building and resistance against global hegemonic power. Following an overview of individual contributions to this volume, we reflect on the analytical implications for using the ‘Global South’ category in academic research. Insights from China, the Caribbean, international negotiations or academic knowledge production itself not only point to patterns of shared experiences but also highlight the heterogeneity of ‘Southern’ realities and increasing levels of complexity that cut across the North–South divide. Overall, we argue for an issue-based and field-specific use of the ‘Global South’ as part of a broader commitment to a more deliberate, explicit and differentiated engagement with taken-for-granted categories.
Highlights
The ‘Global South’ in the study of world politics: examining a meta categorySebastian Hauga,b, Jacqueline Braveboy-Wagnerc and Günther Maiholdd,e aGerman Development Institute/Deutsches Institut für Entwicklungspolitik (DIE), Bonn, Germany; bChrist’s College, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK; cPolitical Science Department, The Graduate School and University Center and the Colin Powell School, the City College of the City University of New York (CUNY), New York, NY, USA; dGerman Institute for International and Security Affairs/Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik (SWP), Berlin, Germany; eFreie Universität, Berlin, Germany ABSTRACTThis introductory contribution examines the ‘Global South’ as a meta category in the study of world politics
We suggest that taking the ‘Global South’ seriously, as a category in its own right, would improve the ways in which scholars make sense of world politics
While empirical realities have always been considerably more complex than binary frames suggest, individual contributions demonstrate that North–South heuristics can be put to analytical use in a variety of ways to investigate macro dynamics that continue to shape different segments of world politics
Summary
Sebastian Hauga,b, Jacqueline Braveboy-Wagnerc and Günther Maiholdd,e aGerman Development Institute/Deutsches Institut für Entwicklungspolitik (DIE), Bonn, Germany; bChrist’s College, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK; cPolitical Science Department, The Graduate School and University Center and the Colin Powell School, the City College of the City University of New York (CUNY), New York, NY, USA; dGerman Institute for International and Security Affairs/Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik (SWP), Berlin, Germany; eFreie Universität, Berlin, Germany
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