India holds the potential to act as a bridge between the North and South and to come up with innovative and acceptable models of development in a post-2030 agenda world
As the world fast approaches its timeline of 2030 to meet the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs_, it is visible that several nations, including the developed economies, are lagging behind in most of the sustainability targets. The vigour with which UN Agenda 2030 was institutionalised in 2015, replacing the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), may have fizzled out due to several factors. For starters, the ongoing polycrisis across the globe paints a gloomy picture for the coming decade or so. Politically-triggered conflicts are impacting the economic, social and environmental domains, leading to a backsliding in targets achieved so far. It then becomes essential to think of a strategy beyond 2030 which is conducive to the current geopolitical context, acceptable to all the nation states, and, most importantly, sustainable in the long-run.
South-South cooperation: The genesis
Post the Second World War, particularly in the 1960s and 1970s, decolonisation took shape, where almost three dozen new states in Asia and Africa achieved autonomy (Figure 1).
Figure 1: Geographic view of decolonisation
Source: Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) Education
Lacking the wherewithal to deal with their newly-found independence, these nations suffered from multiple challenges in governance, economic security, ensuring political rights, providing access to basic resources and amenities etc. As expected, the traditional donors (or the former colonial powers) looked for avenues to exert influence through a variety of economic, political and social channels, aid being one of them. The colonial baggage created pressure, political tensions and economic interdependence between the two.
In the 2000s, the (re) emergence of development providers exemplified by BRICS, particularly India and China, has challenged the dominant approach of the Western-led aid model. Initially sceptical of this Southern boom in development aid, the West eventually made their peace with it and started to acknowledge their importance as pivotal development actors. Ever since, the Global South has been crying themselves hoarse demanding equal stakes, equal footing and equal voice at the larger developmental table. In this sense, the traditional donor-recipient model was not reaping actual benefits but reinforcing the hegemonic influence of the Global North.
The (re) emergence of development providers exemplified by BRICS, particularly India and China, has challenged the dominant approach of the Western-led aid model.
In this context, South-South cooperation began gaining traction as a ‘manifestation of shared goals, experiences and sympathies’ of the developing countries to gain solidarity, collective action, national sovereignty and ownership. Though the Southern countries underscored the importance of no conditionalities, the idea behind South-South Cooperation was to complement the existing North-South synergies and not to replace it. This paved the path potentially for a more collaborative and cooperative framework between the developed and developing countries to tackle pressing and common global challenges. South-South cooperation does reflect positive intentions yet there were undercurrents hampering its progress in the long-run.
Several criticisms have been laid on South-South Cooperation such as reinforcing colonial legacies and taking things too far ahead without actually focusing on real-world problems. Critics also state that this development modality is actually being utilised by the advanced nations to keep their influence intact in the Southern world. Moreover, the heterogenous nature of the Global South presents a diverse set of interests, priorities, political stances and economic stakes. It becomes challenging to combine and converge them into a single to-do list.
However, these critiques can actually leverage South-South Cooperation in the years to come. With the international community contemplating on a roadmap post-2030, South-South Cooperation may actually provide the answer. As developing countries, particularly India, come up with innovative models to counter transnational challenges in areas like digital public infrastructure (DPI), climate smart agriculture, disaster-resilient infrastructure via the Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI), renewable energy via International Solar Alliance (ISA), amongst others, these initiatives have certainly grabbed international eyeballs.
The China factor is a pertinent challenge. Its expansive infrastructure financing project, the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) has been unprecedented.
Further, during India’s G20 Presidency, its initiative of convening the Voice of the Global South Summit has been hailed by the global community, including the European union (EU), and the United States (US) as a welcome step. Offering this type of platform to the developing countries is one-of-a-kind as it not only brings all of them together in a single space but also results in a multiplicity of ideas and innovations. However, geopolitical and geoeconomics challenges cannot be ignored. The China factor is a pertinent challenge. Its expansive infrastructure financing project, the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) has been unprecedented. These projects, in fact, have threatened the Western institutions, which have been largely missing from the global infrastructure scene. However, their environmental and social repercussions are jeopardising global stability and (dis)order.
In this sense, India is certainly poised and in a favourable position to drive the conversation on sustainable development through the framework of South-South Cooperation. Essentially, it needs to supplement and complement the existing synergies between the North and the South. Challenges persist and charting a trajectory to development is an uphill task. However, India holds the potential to act as a bridge between the North and South and possibly come up with innovative and acceptable models of development in a post-2030 agenda world.
Swati Prabhu is an Associate Fellow at the Observer Research Foundation.
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Dr Swati Prabhu is Associate Fellow with the Centre for New Economic Diplomacy at the Observer Research Foundation. Her research explores the interlinkages between development ...
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