The biggest takeaway from the successful G20 leadership summit in New Delhi is that India has firmly placed itself as a strong global voice representing the viewpoints of the developing nations. This positioning has enormous implications for international development cooperation and economic diplomacy, which, until now, have been tools in the arsenal of wealthy nations to exert influence on poor and developing countries.
In addition, the inclusion of the African Union as the 21st member in the G20 is another significant step towards strengthening the representation from emerging nations. With membership in the G20, the African Union—with its vast resources and most significant free trade area—can represent its economic interests at a global scale and advance its economic interests. India's long history of partnership and strong multilateral relations with the African Union implies that its position at the global scale is further consolidated now with an ally from the G20.
India's long history of partnership and strong multilateral relations with the African Union implies that its position at the global scale is further consolidated now with an ally from the G20.
In the wake of these developments and shifting geopolitical power positions, the frameworks, forums and institutions of conventional South-South Cooperation are becoming less and less relevant for India. As the world observes the United Nations Day for South-South Cooperation annually on September 12, it is important to critically evaluate this forum and its processes. Given India's global ambitions, it is time to update these obsolete ideas and look ahead. Here are a few reasons why India must re-evaluate the South-South Cooperation framework:
The very designations 'South' and 'North' are remnants of colonial ideas. They inherently define regions of the world in relation to Western (often European) benchmarks. By using these terms, even in the context of development cooperation, one is inadvertently perpetuating colonial constructs, and reminding developing nations of the burden of colonial history. This emphasis on geographical imaginaries of North and South instead of shared interests, cultures and values undermines the basic tenets of cooperation and mutual trust.
South-South Cooperation does not adequately address challenging issues such as the continuing impacts of colonisation.
South-South cooperation, when approached with genuine decolonial intent, could be a powerful tool to counteract the legacies of colonialism. It can offer pathways to reclaim autonomy, build on shared histories and experiences, and collaboratively chart the future. However, this largely depends on the intentions and methodologies the participating nations employ. Unfortunately, South-South Cooperation does not adequately address challenging issues such as the continuing impacts of colonisation. And without a clear decolonial agenda, development cooperation can give rise to neo-colonial ideas and propagate other forms of oppression in smaller and less developed countries.
Even though the idea of South-South Cooperation was conceptualised to counter the exploitative nature of North-South relations, it still needs to fully achieve this goal. South-South Cooperation is being used by the Northern countries to exert their influence on a wide range of geopolitical issues, including development cooperation. For instance, northern countries still use the South-South Cooperation framework to further their economic interests by nudging India to engage with African countries within their frameworks/programmes.
Additionally, the exploitative nature of North-South relations extends even in the Western media’s imagination of South-South Cooperation, often represented through poor and malnourished children eating their meals. This representation often results from the popular perception of nations in the Global South propagated over decades by wealthy countries.
The so-called ‘Global South’ is not a homogenous entity. These countries have extremely diverse cultures and political systems. They also have varying levels of development, and achieving mutual interests can often be very challenging. This broad diversity also means they have competing interests that can inhibit cooperation. For instance, regional rivalries or resource disputes can overshadow collaboration’s potential benefits.
The exploitative nature of North-South relations extends even in the Western media’s imagination of South-South Cooperation, often represented through poor and malnourished children eating their meals.
South-South Cooperation also needs a strong institutional framework that caters to the diverse set of embers from people with low incomes and developing nations. With the absence of such frameworks coupled with limited resources, the collaboration between member states is less efficient and not sustainable. Limitations on resources are also hindering the cooperation among members.
India’s development cooperation objectives are broadly based on South-South Cooperation to collaborate on areas such as agricultural development, human rights, urbanisation, health and climate change. While, previously, India viewed South-South Cooperation as an alternative to the traditional North-South Cooperation that can help a country become a significant international player in the business of aid, it is becoming clear that South-South Cooperation does not represent the country's ambitions to the fullest at this stage. This is partly because, at the global stage, South-South Cooperation is seen as an expression of solidarity among peoples and countries of the South rather than as a viable substitute for Overseas Development Assistance.
While South-South Cooperation is weighed down by several issues, the rise of multilateral institutions such as BRICS and plurilateral cooperation such as G20 are taking centre stage. India plays an active part in both these blocs. It is becoming increasingly clear that emerging powers like the BRICS nations will play a significant role in the future, with China and Russia already showing a readiness to lead on global issues and provide international development aid. The New Development Bank, a multilateral development bank established by BRICS, has made several strides recently and has already provided loans to Brazil, China, India and South Africa for their economic recovery. India's active participation in G20's efforts in mobilising development finance and cooperation is significant for Global South nations.
It is becoming clear that South-South Cooperation does not represent the country's ambitions to the fullest at this stage.
Given the presented arguments, India's evolving stature in the global arena, underscored by its role in the G20 and ties with the African Union, demands reconsidering the South-South Cooperation framework. While the original ethos behind this cooperation was to foster unity and progress among developing nations, its inherent colonial undertones, susceptibility to Northern influence, and the lack of a cohesive structure due to the diverse interests of the "Global South" nations render it less effective for India's expanding global ambitions. The ascent of plurilateral and multilateral formations, particularly BRICS and G20, suggests a more fitting avenue for India to address global challenges and economic diplomacy collaboratively.
Vikrom Mathur is Senior Fellow at the Observer Research Foundation
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Vikrom Mathur is Senior Fellow at ORF. Vikrom curates research at ORF’s Centre for New Economic Diplomacy (CNED). He also guides and mentors researchers at CNED. ...
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