The Global south region as a whole has experienced a resurgence in the international arena where its concerns were largely dismissed. This revival of the Global South bloc can be credited to various reasons.
First, the growing aspirations of the developing world, coupled with its greater economic stakes within the global economy makes it largely unavoidable. Second, with two major economies, India and China both varying for the leadership of the region, the geopolitical stakes have also been raised in terms of competition, making it a matter of global attention.
With growing national aspirations, both India and China have seen greater opportunities not only for the elevation of their respective countries but also for the developing world. However, some fundamental differences in both their approaches towards the Global South differentiates their calls for leadership.
China on its end has advocated strongly for a change in the status quo of the international system, while India on the other end has called for reforms within the existing framework.
China’s detrimental leadership of the Global South
China’s revisionist agenda is evident in its efforts that promote alternative frameworks for international governance and development. Through initiatives like the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), China has sought to build a new economic order centred around its leadership, yet with a different charter of frameworks altogether. The BRI, encompassing infrastructure projects across Asia, Africa, and Latin America, has been the major driver of this alternative and has aimed to enhance China’s strategic influence and create economic dependencies that enhance its own global standing.
This has also led to aspersions against China utilizing this revisionism to strengthen its own economic and military influence in adversarial territories.
China’s revisionist overtures have also caused Western democracies to view Beijing’s growing influence as a threat to the current international order. This has resulted in a geopolitical rivalry that has manifested in the form of trade disputes, military confrontations and diplomatic stand-offs.
Moreover, China’s economic policies have drawn criticism from recipient countries for creating debt dependencies among developing countries. The economic dependency has also undermined the political and economic stability of the developing world, making them vulnerable to Chinese influence and less capable of pursuing independent policies that align with their national interests. Thus, though such measures, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), in its attempt to advocate for the Global South has instead caused severe economic burden upon the developing world.
India’s way for the Global South
India on the other hand, has undertaken a more pragmatic approach as compared to Chinese revisionist overtures. While both the countries agree on the fundamental concerns, the path India has taken in its leadership of the Global South has been far more integrative and accommodative. Its global pitch for mutual cooperation has also promoted various agendas that include digital transformation, inclusive development, clean energy, gender equality, sustainable infrastructure and adequate reforms in the international system. Through such endeavours, New Delhi has also managed to push towards fulfilment of the development aspirations of the Global South through forums such as the G20.
India’s own domestic fulfilments too are moving in the positive direction in response to its ambition of promoting the goals of development as a primary agenda in its objectives. Welfare schemes aimed towards decreasing economic and social inequalities as well as improving healthcare accessibility is playing a significant role in taking it a step closer to living onto its global commitments of paving the way for other countries to follow upon.
Beijing’s stronghold within the global economy and especially within the developing world has prevented many countries in forging greater dependency on China In these circumstances, invariably India is seen as an alternative in terms of economic might that could potentially deter Chinese dominance in the region to begin with. This is also projected in the fact that many countries are reconsidering and seeking India as a viable option against China’s growing hawkish approach.
China’s advocacy for the Global South, led by its calls for revisionism also aims to reshape the global order in ways that alter western dominance. While this strategy may by and large align with the aspirations of the developing world, the subsequent consequences of such an endeavour will eventually affect the developing world first. Thus, it is important that a pragmatic approach as that of India be headed to b the Global South. Only then will the process of integrating into the global economy bring far greater benefits for the aspirational objectives of the developing world.
