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THE GLOBAL DIVIDE:World Social Forum, Can the Global Divide Be Bridged?

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International Relations-PSC 201
VU
LESSON 38
THE GLOBAL DIVIDE
The difference in per capita income between the world's poorest and richest countries has more than
doubled over the last 25 years.
According to UN estimates, merely 3% of the annual increase in the world's wealth is needed to eradicate
poverty. Yet developed countries have been hesitating to meet pledges made two decades ago to devote
0.7% of the value of their annual GDP to aid for poorer nations.
World Social Forum
World Social Forum was formed in 2001 by a coalition of Brazilian trade unions, charities and left-wing
political and environmental groups. Over the past four years, it has expanded into a loose coalition of such
organizations from around the world. Instead of believing that big business can change the world for the
better, the World Social Forum demands that both the corporations and the governments of rich countries
must change the way that they deal with the people and nations of the developing world.
The World Social Form considers economic forces, if left unchecked, often contributes to the
marginalization of the weakest. Often described as a `Carnival of the Oppressed', the World Social Forum
puts forth suggestions to fight poverty, disease and environmental damage and it hopes to replace the
prevailing inequities of globalization by a fairer, healthier, cleaner version of global trade in which poorer
countries have better opportunities to grow.
Can the Global Divide Be Bridged?
Conventional economic wisdom maintains that an average annual growth rate of about 7% is enough to
alleviate poverty in developing countries.
But even if some countries like China or India can actually achieve such growth, it is unlikely that all
developing countries would be able to grow this much without completely depleting the already strained
natural resource reserves of the planet.
Even economically, the gap between worldwide savings and necessary investments is simply too wide to
achieve so much global growth anytime in the near future. Of course, economic growth is important for
reducing poverty, but growth itself does not guarantee equity. To ensure equity it is essential to look at how
the benefits of growth are distributed not just within but also between countries.
Relevant Vocabulary
Equity ­ just or equal outcomes
Inequality ­ lack of equality or divide between the haves and have nots
Conventional ­ traditional
Coalition ­ alliance or union
Suggested Readings
Students are advised to visit the following web-pages for this lecture, which provide useful and interesting
information:
The Digital Divide
www.globalpolicy.org/globaliz/define/davos.htm
Bridging the Global Divide
observer.guardian.co.uk/ global/story/0,10786,591598,00.html
Table of Contents:
  1. WHAT IS INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS AND WHAT IS ITS RELEVANCE?
  2. APPROACHES TO INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS: THEORIES IN IR
  3. APPROACHES TO INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS:Traditional Approach
  4. THE NATION-STATE SYSTEM:Further Evolution of Nation-State
  5. THE NATION STATE SYSTEM: BASIC FEATURES OF A NATION-STATE
  6. NATIONAL INTEREST:Criteria for Defining National Interest
  7. NATIONAL INTEREST:Variations in National Interest, Relevant Vocabulary
  8. BALANCE OF POWER (BOP):BoP from a historical perspective
  9. BALANCE OF POWER (CONTINUED):Degree of Polarization, Functions of BoP
  10. DIPLOMACY:How Diplomacy Functions, Traditional Versus Modern Diplomacy
  11. DIPLOMACY (CONTINUED):Diplomatic Procedures & Practices, Functions of Diplomacy
  12. COLONIALISM, NEO-COLONIALISM & IMPERIALISM:Judging Colonization
  13. COLONIALISM, NEO-COLONIALISM & IMPERIALISM:Types of Neo-Colonialism
  14. COLONIALISM, NEO-COLONIALISM & IMPERIALISM:Objectives of Imperialism
  15. NEW INTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC ORDER:Criticism of IEO, NIEO Activities
  16. NEW INTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC ORDER:Prerequisites for the NIEO
  17. NON-ALIGNMENT MOVEMENT:Origin of NAM, NAM’s Institutional Structure
  18. NON-ALIGNMENT MOVEMENT (CONTINUED):Cairo Summit, Egypt - 1964
  19. NON-ALIGNMENT MOVEMENT:Criticism of NAM, NAM and Pakistan
  20. THE COLD WAR AND ITS IMPACTS - INTRODUCING THE COLD WAR PHENOMENON
  21. THE COLD WAR AND ITS IMPACTS (CONTINUED):Truman Doctrine, Marshal Plan
  22. THE COLD WAR AND ITS IMPACTS (CONTINUED):End of the Cold War
  23. DISARMAMENT AND ARMS CONTROL:History of Disarmament
  24. DISARMAMENT AND ARMS CONTROL (CONTINUED):Other Disarmament Efforts
  25. THE RELEVANCE OF INTERNATIONAL LAW IN INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
  26. THE RELEVANCE OF INTERNATIONAL LAW IN INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS (CONTINUED)
  27. INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS:Need for IGOs, Categorizing IGOs
  28. INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS (CONTINUED):United Nations, Criticism of the UN
  29. INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS (CONTINUED):European Union, World Bank
  30. THE ROLE OF DECISION MAKING IN INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
  31. DECISION MAKING (CONTINUED):Rational Actor Model, Group Politics Model
  32. SYSTEMS APPROACH TO IR:Underlying Assumptions, Elements of the System
  33. SYSTEMS BASED APPROACH (CONTINUED) – DISTINCT SYSTEMS IN IR
  34. LIBERALISM AND SOCIAL DEMOCRACY:Neoliberalism
  35. LIBERALISM AND SOCIAL DEMOCRACY (CONTINUED):Liberalism vs. Social Democracy
  36. INTEGRATION IN IR:Preconditions for Integration, Assessing Integration
  37. GLOBALIZATION AND ITS IMPLICATIONS:Advocates of Globalization
  38. THE GLOBAL DIVIDE:World Social Forum, Can the Global Divide Be Bridged?
  39. FOCUS ON FOREIGN INVESTMENTS:Pro-poor Foreign Investments
  40. CONFLICT AND CONFLICT RESOLUTION:Components of a Conflict
  41. CONFLICT RESOLUTION:Creative response, Appropriate assertiveness
  42. THE GLOBAL ENVIRONMENT:Global Concern for the Environment
  43. THE GLOBAL ENVIRONMENT:Environmental Concerns and IR, Some Other Issues
  44. HOW IR DIFFER FROM DOMESTIC POLITICS?:Strategies for altering state behavior
  45. CHANGE AND IR:Continuity in IR, Causality and counterfactuals, IR in a nutshell