Global North and South Divide

Global North/South Gap

Research Question

The proposed study seeks to answer the question: What is the role of global governance arrangements in the divide between the Global North and the Global South?

Significance of Question

There is a gap in existing literature on the geopolitical aspects of the gap between the Global North and the Global South. Examining the role of global governance arrangements in the Global North/South gap is important to help understand the role of international politics/relations in this divide and shape efforts to address it.

Literature Review

The Global North/South gap is characterized by the challenge of sustainable development and interconnected globalized capitalism (Horner, 2019). Economic history has influenced the Global North/South gap as it shapes the nature of international relations (Reuveny & Thompson, 2007). The divide between the world’s richest and poorest countries is influenced by power dynamics that are rooted in the new global governance arrangements (Sofie, 2013). While networks are usually depicted as equal governance arrangements, inequalities in these arrangements exist and worsen the divide between the Global North and South. Global governance arrangement generates shifts in political and economic relations between nations (Jang, McSparren & Rashchupkina, 2016).

Theoretical Approach

International Relations Theory will be utilized as the theoretical approach for the proposed study. Using International Relations Theory, global governance arrangements and their role in shaping the Global North/South gap will be described in terms of the prevailing global order (Lennox, 2008). The other theory that will be employed in the proposed study is Dependence Theory, which suggests that poverty and underdevelopment are by-products of political, cultural, and economic factors (Benabdallah, Murillo-Zamora & Adetula, 2017). Based on this theory, the proposed research will evaluate how under-development in the Global South is as a result of the unfair policies and trading practices of the Global North.

Method

A qualitative research approach will be employed for the study since it seeks to explore the role of global governance arrangements in the Global North/South divide from an international politics perspective. Consequently, a qualitative survey research on this issue will be carried out since it is a less structured approach used to obtain in-depth information on an issue, topic, or problem. Qualitative survey research comprises a series of open-ended questions created by a researcher on a specific topic, issue, or phenomenon under investigation (Braun et al., 2020). For the proposed study, the researcher will administer a questionnaire to a group of experts on international politics and relations who will be identified using purposive or judgmental sampling approach. The questionnaire will be self-administered by the researcher and used to collect rich data and in-depth information regarding the phenomenon under investigation. The data will be collected for a period of a month and analyzed using thematic analysis, which entails identifying themes and patterns in a dataset. These emerging themes and patterns will be used to answer the research question and achieve its objectives.

Ethical issues in this study such as privacy and confidentiality as well as data protection issues will be addressed by requiring participants not to provide any personal identification information, ensuring voluntary participation, and using data for the purposes of this study only.

References

Benabdallah, L., Murillo-Zamora, C. & Adetula, V. (2017, November 19). Global South Perspectives on International Relations Theory. Retrieved February 5, 2021, from https://www.e-ir.info/2017/11/19/global-south-perspectives-on-international-relations-theory/