In the past decade the term of “the South” or “the Global South” has more been used in analysis or practice of global politics. Despite this fact, it has not replaced existing terms such as “developing countries”, “Third World”, “poor countries”, or “less developed countries”. But now “the South” has taken a more dominant position.
Rizky Alif Alvian, S.I.P, researcher from Institute of International Studies (IIS) in Faculty of Social and Political Sciences UGM, said the meaning of the South has experienced analytical renewal, which either sees the South as developing countries, or the South as a global movement.
Even so, both have attributed marginality as one main characters of the South while the actors are brought together by ideology that emphasises equality and solidarity. In this landscape, the interpretation that sees the South as a global movement has interesting new facts.
"The South is no longer seen as geographically in the South of the equator, but South countries can also be found in the North. Global economy and politics around the world have changed this view,” he said at the Faculty on Friday (13/4) in a monthly discussion of the group.
According to Rizky Aliv, the South can be treated as a political articulation that is specific in global politics, characterised by strong emphasis on ideas of equality and solidarity. As typical political articulation, the presence or non-presence of South will be seen in the claims related to equality and solidarity in a specific global situation.
"So, actors that voice it does not necessarily to remain the same, it can be a state at one time, but it can also be NGOs at another time or even international organisations,” he said.
Another researcher, Husna Yuni Wulansari, shared the views. The point of meeting between both interpretations lies in its sensitivity towards global imbalance.
Meanwhile, Prof. Dr. Mochtar Masoed, reviewer, said it was important to consider the sociological perspective to bring up the dynamics of the study, thus sociological history and political history needs to be learnt further.
"It’s important to learn the history of diplomacy. Administrative requirements can be very dynamic nowadays,” he said.