How to locate the global south
everywhere and nowhere. It is everywhere because political leaders, including Joe Biden, Narendra Modi, Emmanuel Macron and Xi Jinping, have recently adopted the term. And yet it is nowhere.
The global south is not labelled on any map nor in any atlas. Indeed, many countries considered part of it are actually in the northern hemisphere. Such cartographical contortions are silly—but then so is talk of “the West" when its coterie includes Australia and New Zealand.
The simplest working definition of the global south is that it refers to most, but not quite all, non-Western countries. Some analysts would rather ditch the term altogether, arguing it is too amorphous to be helpful. Yet it does convey useful information.
The rise of the phrase reflects the rise of the countries themselves. And it denotes a wide-ranging critique of Western countries’ policies that is sometimes valid, but also sometimes veers into nihilism. The global south’s heft in global affairs is growing as its share of output has risen: it accounts for roughly 40% of world GDP and around 85% of the world’s population.
With this increased heft comes increased ambition. The most ambitious country of all is China, which aspires to lead the emerging world. As our analysis this week outlines, its economic power and ability to influence and coerce other emerging economies is now second only to that of America.
Even so, China’s clout has stark limits and could plateau as it grows more autocratic. Its engagement in a new wave of mercantilism may cause a trade shock in the emerging world. Other countries have rising aspirations to link up with and influence other states in the global south, too.
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