NAME: ________________________________________________ WEEK 6-8

BLOCK & SECTION: _____________________________________ INSTRUCTOR: ___________________

TOPIC 4: A WORLD OF REGIONS

Introduction

Globalization
challenges the
dominance of
the state , it
nevertheless
produces
changes on
the structure of
states , and
therefore
requires
responses from
states
Globalization
challenges the
dominance of
the state , it
nevertheless
produces
changes on
the structure of
states , and
therefore
requires
responses from
states
Globalization challenges the dominance of the state , it nevertheless
produces changes on the structure of states , and therefore requires
responses from states. The world has been divided in different ways.
Because of historical factors, countries have been categorized as first world,
second world and third world. In recent times, nation states have been
identified either as the Global North or Global South. Most often they are
defined based on their wealth and development.

The process of globalization places into question geographically- bound

conceptions of poverty and inequality. The increase and intensification
of global flows spread both poverty and affluence. Underdevelopment
in developed countries may mirror the poverty of the global south , and
spaces the affluence in the developing world mirror those of the global
north.

Objectives

At the end of the lessons, the Pre-service Teachers will be able to:

a. Define the term “Global North-South”

b. Differentiate the Global South from the Third World

a. Differentiate between regionalization and globalization

b. Identify the factors leading to a greater integration of the Asian region

c. Analyze how different Asian states confront the challenges of globalization and
regionalization
 Try this!

Make a Collage showing the differences between rich and poor countries. Attach the collage in
a long bondpaper.

RUBRIC FOR COLLAGE

Think ahead!

1. MAKE 5 STATEMENTS STATING YOUR THOUGHTS/OPINION WHY A COUNTRY IS RICH OR POOR.

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 Africa and Israel (Odeh, 2010). Among the
characteristics of countries belonging to the global north
are:

• established democracy
• wealth
Read and Ponder
• technological advancement
• political stability
• aging population
WHAT IS THE NORTH-SOUTH DIVIDE? • zero population growth
The North-South Divide is a socio-economic and political • dominance of world trade and politics
categorization of countries. The Cold-War-era
generalization places countries in two distinct groups; On the contrary, the global South are societies with
The North and the South. The North is comprised of all agrarian economies like Africa, India, China, Latin
First World countries and most Second World countries America and others which do not have stable economy
while the South is comprised of Third World countries. and politics compared to the global North. These
This categorization ignores the geographic position of countries experience turmoil, war, conflict, poverty,
countries with some countries in the southern anarchy and tyranny (Odeh, 2010).
hemisphere such as Australia and New Zealand being
labeled as part of the North. The Global north is most often associated with first world
countries where powerful countries like the Group of
HISTORY Eight (G8) –Germany, Canada, France, Italy, United
Kingdom, Russia, Japan and the United States of
The origin of dividing countries into the North-South America is located.
Divide arose during the Cold War of the mid 20th
century. During this time, countries were primarily On the other hand, third world countries are now termed
categorized according to their alignment between the as the Global South.The Brandt line as shown below
Russian East and the American West. Countries in the was proposed by Willy Brandt in 1980. It is an imaginary
East like the Soviet Union and China which became line dividing the world into two regions based on their
classified as Second World countries. In the west, the GDP per capita.
United States and its allies were labelled as First World
countries. This division left out many countries which
were poorer than the First World and Second World
countries. The poor countries were eventually labeled as
Third World countries. This categorization was later
abandoned after the Second World countries joined the
First World countries. New criteria was established to
categorize countries which was named the North-South
Divide where First World countries were known as the
North while Third World countries comprised the South.

Prior to the division of world as Global North and Global

South, it was divided into three world country (Gorman,
2003):

• The “First World” are countries which are aligned with The map shows that generally rich countries are found in
the United States adhering to capitalism as their the northern hemisphere and poor countries are in the
economic and political system. southern hemisphere with the exception of Australia and
New Zealand. Nevertheless, this global partition has
• The “Second World” are countries aligned with the become blurry and less useful since the economies of
now-defunct Soviet Union adhering to the principles of many countries have changed overtime.
communism
THE NORTH (FIRST WORLD COUNTRIES)
• The “Third World” of non-aligned (and generally poor)
nations. People use the term “third world” to refer to poor The North of the Divide is comprised of countries which
nations in general, but many people are not certain of its have developed economies and account for over 90% of
origin. all manufacturing industries in the world. Although these
countries account for only one-quarter of the total global
With the end of the cold war, the term second world was population, they control 80% of the total income earned
not used anymore. around the world. All the members of the G8 come from
the North as well as four permanent members of the UN
Cold War is the term used to describe the rivalry Security Council. About 95% of the population in
between the United States and the Soviet Union and countries in The North have enough basic needs and
their respective allies after World War II. The Cold war have access to functioning education systems. Countries
centered on major political and economic propaganda comprising the North include The United States,
and not necessarily on recourse to weapons. It was Canada, all countries in Western Europe, Australia, New
George Owell, an English writer who first used this term Zealand as well as the developed countries in Asia such
in 1945 to refer to what he predicted would be a nuclear as Japan and South Korea.
stalemate between “two or three monstrous super-
states, each possessed of a weapon by which millions of THE SOUTH (THIRD WORLD COUNTRIES)
people can be wiped out in a few seconds.” (Britannica
Encyclopedia) The South is comprised of countries with developing
economies which were initially referred to as Third World
The Global North are developed European, North countries during the Cold War. An important
American, Australian societies. It also includes South characteristic of countries in the South is the relatively
low GDP and the high population. The Third World DIGITAL DIVIDE
accounts for only a fifth of the globally earned income
but accounts for over three-quarters of the global The global Digital Divide is often characterized as
population. Another common characteristic of the corresponding to the North-South divide, however it is
countries in the South is the lack of basic amenities. As interesting to note that Internet use, and especially
little as 5% of the population is able to access basic broadband access, is now soaring in Asia compared
needs such as food and shelter. The economies of most with other continents. This phenomenon is partially
countries in the South rely on imports from the North and explained by the ability of many countries in Asia to
have low technological penetration. The countries bypass older Internet technology and infrastructure,
making up the South are mainly drawn from Africa, coupled with booming economies which allow vastly
South America, and Asia with all African and South more people to get online.
American countries being from the South. The only
Asian countries not from the South are Japan and South DEVELOPMENT GAP
Korea.
The North-South divide has more recently been
named the development gap. This places greater
The North-South Divide (or Rich-Poor Divide) is the emphasis on closing the evident gap between rich
socio-economic and political division that exists between (more economically developed) countries and poor (less
the wealthy developed countries, known collectively as economically developed countries) countries. A good
“the North,” and the poorer developing countries (least measure of on which side of the gap a country is located
developed countries), or “the South.” Although most is the Human Development Index. The nearer this is to
nations comprising the “North” are in fact located in the 1.0, the greater is the country’s level of development and
Northern Hemisphere, the divide is not primarily defined the further the country is on its development pathway
by geography. The North is home to four out of five (closer towards being well developed).
permanent members of the United Nations Security
Council and all members of the G8. “The North” mostly Further readings:
covers the West and the First World, with much of the https://www.rgs.org/CMSPages/GetFile.aspx?
Second World. The expression “North-South divide” is nodeguid=9c1ce781-9117-4741-af0a-
still in common use, but the terms “North” and “South” a6a8b75f32b4&lang=en-GB
are already somewhat outdated. As nations become
economically developed, they may become part of the WHAT IS THIRD WORLD?
“North,” regardless of geographical location, while any
other nations which do not qualify for “developed” status "Third World" is a phrase that can be used to describe
are in effect deemed to be part of the “South.” a class of economically inferior nations. Historical
observations have developed a four-part segmentation
PROBLEMS WITH DEFINING THE DIVIDE for dividing the world’s economies by economic status.
Third World falls behind First World and Second
Classifying countries In the 1980s, the Brandt Line was World but is ahead of Fourth World though Fourth
developed as a way of showing the how the world was World countries are hardly recognized at all.
geographically split into relatively richer and poorer
nations. UNDERSTANDING THIRD WORLD COUNTRIES
According to this model:
There can be a few ways to divide up the world for
 Richer countries are almost all located in the Northern purposes of economic segmentation. Classifying
Hemisphere, with the exception of Australia and New countries as First, Second, Third, and Fourth World is
Zealand. a concept that was created during and after the
Cold War which ran from approximately 1945 to the
 Poorer countries are mostly located in tropical regions 1990s.
and in the Southern Hemisphere.
However over time it was realised that this view was too In general, nations are typically characterized by
simplistic. Countries such as Argentina, Malaysia and economic status and key economic metrics like gross
Botswana all have above global average GDP (PPP) per domestic product (GDP), GDP growth, GDP per
capita, yet still appear in the ‘Global South’. Conversely, capita, employment growth, and an unemployment
countries such as Ukraine appear to be now amongst a rate. Third World countries typically have inferior
poorer set of countries by the same measure. results to First World and Second World countries in
these areas. In these countries, inferior production and
labor market characteristics are usually paired with
Following the fall of the Soviet Bloc, which was relatively low levels of education, poor infrastructure,
commonly referred to as the Second World, many of its improper sanitation, and limited access to health care,
constituent countries were reclassified as developing, and lower costs of living.
despite being geographically northern. At the same time,
geographically southern nations previously considered Third World countries are often among those on close
“developing,” such as the East Asian Tigers or watch by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and
Turkey, have joined the modern First World, but are World Bank which seek to provide global aid for the
classified inconsistently in maps showing the North- purposes of projects that help to improve infrastructure
South divide. Similarly, dependencies of developed and economic systems comprehensively. Third World
nations are also classified as Southern, although they countries can also be the target of many investors
are part of the developed world. seeking to identify potentially high returns through
possible growth opportunities though risks are also
On an ideological level, some development geographers relatively higher. While Third World countries are
have argued that current concentration on the North- generally characterized as inferior economically,
South divide as the main organizing principle for innovative and industrial breakthroughs can lead to
understanding the world economy has overlooked the substantial improvements in a short amount of time.
role of inter-imperial conflicts between the United Countries that belongs to the third world countries
States, Japan, and Europe.
The gap between the ‘North’ and ‘South’ Despite very leadership. Regional economic cooperation is essential
significant development gains globally which have raised for addressing these challenges.
many millions of people out of absolute poverty, there is
substantial evidence that inequality between the world’s Asia’s economic rise is unprecedented. The region is
richest and poorest countries is widening. In 1820 home to over half the world’s population, produces three
western Europe's per capita income was three times tenths of global output (in terms of purchasing power),
bigger than Africa’s but by 2000 it was thirteen times as and consistently records the world’s highest economic
big. In addition, in 2013, Oxfam reported that the richest growth rates.
85 people in the world owned the same amount of
wealth as the poorest half of the world’s population. The Asian “miracle” (World Bank 1993) did not end with
Today the world is much more complex than the Brandt the 1997/98 financial crisis a decade ago; for some
Line depicts as many poorer countries have experienced countries, it marked the beginning of renewed
significant economic and social development. However, acceleration.
inequality within countries has also been growing and
some commentators now talk of a ‘Global North’ and a The question is no longer whether Asia will be central to
‘Global South’ referring respectively to richer or poorer the 21st century economy, but rather how it will exercise
communities which are found both within and between its prominent role and how its dependence on the rest of
countries. For example, whilst India is still home to the the world has decreased. Regionalism is a relatively new
largest concentration of poor people in a single nation it aspect of Asia’s rise.
also has a very sizable middle class and a very rich elite.
There are many causes for these inequalities including Asia’s economies are increasingly connected through
the availability of natural resources; different levels of trade, financial transactions, direct investment,
health and education; the nature of a country’s economy technology, labor and tourist flows, and other economic
and its industrial sectors; international trading policies relationships. This study focuses on 16 Asian economies
and access to markets; how countries are governed and that are already, in some respects, as closely intertwined
international relationships between countries; conflict as Europe’s single market.
within and between countries; and a country’s
vulnerability to natural hazards and climate change. HOW REGIONALISM CAN BENEFIT ASIA?

Regional cooperation, effectively structured and

CRITICISM
implemented, is a powerful new tool in Asia’s policy
arsenal. It can help Asia address regional challenges as
The North-South Divide is criticized for being a way of
well as provide stronger foundations for its global role.
segregating people along economic lines and is seen as
a factor of the widening gap between developed and
An integrated Asia can
developing economies. However, several measures
• link the competitive strengths of its diverse economies
have been put in place to contract the North-South
in order to boost their productivity and sustain the region’
Divide including the lobbying for international free trade
exceptional growth;
and globalization. The United Nations has been in the
• connect the region’s capital markets to enhance
forefront in diminishing the North-South Divide through
financial stability, reduce the cost of capital, and improve
policies highlighted in its Millennium Development Goals.
opportunities for sharing risks;
• cooperate in setting exchange rate and
macroeconomic policies in order to minimize the effects
of global and regional shocks and to facilitate the
WHAT IS ASIAN REGIONALISM?
resolution of global imbalances;
• pool the region’s foreign exchange reserves to
Asian regionalism is the product of economic interaction,
make more resources available for investment and
East Asian economies, in particular, focused on
development;
exporting to developed country markets rather than
• exercise leadership in global decision making to
selling to each other. Initially, they specialized in
sustain the open global trade and financial systems that
simple, labor-intensive manufactures.
have supported half century of unparalleled economic
development;
A dynamic and outward-looking Asian regionalism could
• build connected infrastructure and collaborate on
bring huge benefits not just to Asia, but to the world. It
inclusive development to reduce inequalities within and
could help sustain the region's growth, underpin its
across economies and thus to strengthen support for
stability, and—with the right policies—reduce inequality.
pro-growth policies; and
• create regional mechanisms to manage cross-border
Within national politics, regionalism examines the way
health, safety, and environmental issues better.
that political decisions center on people within specific
parts of the nation. One of the clearest examples in the
The opportunities are clear, which is why regional
United States is the traditional division between the
integration deserves a high priority in national policy
North, the South, and the West. ... Regionalism can also
making. Yet the challenge of cooperation should not be
be understood in international terms.
underestimated; it will require trust, innovation, and
compromise—and, most likely, time. Policy makers at
The center of gravity of the global economy is shifting to
the highest levels appear committed to pushing the
Asia. The region’s economy is already similar in size to
regional agenda forward, but considerable leadership
those of Europe and North America, and its influence in
and energy are needed to achieve results.
the world continues to increase. In many Asian
countries, the cycle of poverty has been broken; in
HOW ASIAN REGIONALISM CAN BENEFIT THE
others, this historic aim is within sight. Asia’s
WORLD?
extraordinary success has brought new challenges—
while rapid economic growth remains a priority, citizens
The rest of the world could benefit, too. So long as Asia’s
demand that it also be sustainable and more inclusive.
economies continue to integrate not just with each
And Asia is now so important to the world economy that
other, but also with the rest of the world, sustained Asian
it must also play a larger role in global economic
dynamism, strengthened by regional cooperation, could
bolster Asia’s role as a new and stabilizing engine of
global economic growth. There are many reasons why
Asia is likely to remain outward-looking—not least • create regional mechanisms to manage
because its economy is in large part built on economies health, safety, and environmental issues better, and
of scale and scope in manufacturing and so requires thus
global markets to perform at its potential. Indeed, contribute to more effective global solutions of these
because an integrated Asia will continue to have a problems.
powerful stake in the global economy, it would have both
an incentive and the leverage to play bigger role in While Asian regionalism is primarily motivated by the
keeping global markets open and vibrant. desire to advance welfare in the region, it would not do
so by
An integrated Asia can detracting from development elsewhere. On the
• generate productivity gains, new ideas, and contrary, Asian regionalism can help to sustain
competition that boost economic growth and raise global economic
incomes across the world; progress at a time when other major regions are
• contribute to the efficiency and stability of global reaching economic maturity
financial markets by making Asian capital markets
stronger and safer, and by maximizing the productive
use of Asian savings;
• diversify sources of global demand, helping to stabilize
the world economy and diminish the risks posed by
global imbalances and downturns in other major
economies;
• provide leadership to help sustain open global trade
and financial systems; and
• create regional mechanisms to manage health,
safety, and environmental issues better, and thus
contribute to more effective global solutions of these
problems.

While Asian regionalism is primarily motivated by the

desire to advance welfare in the region, it would not do
so by detracting from development elsewhere. On the
contrary, Asian regionalism can help to sustain
global economic progress at a time when other major
regions are reaching economic maturity.
• create regional mechanisms to manage
health, safety, and environmental issues better, and
thus
contribute to more effective global solutions of these
problems.

While Asian regionalism is primarily motivated by the

desire to advance welfare in the region, it would not do
so by
detracting from development elsewhere. On the
contrary, Asian regionalism can help to sustain
global economic
progress at a time when other major regions are
reaching economic maturity.
 See if you can do this!

1. MAKE
A TWO-COLUMN TABLE SHOWING 10 MAJOR DIFFERENCES OF THE GLOBAL
NORTH AND GLOBAL SOUTH.

2. MAKE AN ESSAY IDENTIFYING THE CHARACTERISTICS OF THE GLOBAL SOUTH IN

RELATION TO THE SOCIAL CONDITIONS OF THE PHILIPPINES.