Prof. Thierry GARCIN
Executive summary: The concept of the global South, which emerged from the 2000s, developed in the 2010s and spread widely at the beginning of the war in Ukraine (2022–…). The weight of the new political, legal and economic context is crucial, in particular the weakening of international law and the enhancement of force for itself. Mainly promoted by China, which relied on the BRICS movement and then BRICS+, the global South intends to amend the international system, challenging capitalism and the democratic regime, applying new economic standards and imposing less Western regulatory systems. In fact, the global South cannot be understood without China’s American antagonism: China benefits from major assets, while the United States relies heavily on illegal but effective means of coercion. The question therefore arises as to the sustainability of this movement and the forms it could take, as it remains hybrid and often contradictory.
KeywordsASEAN, BRICS+, China, United States, India, Japan, United Nations (UN), international organizations, Russia, South overall.
Abstract: Initiated in the early 2000s, further developed during the 2010s, and widely promoted by China at the beginning of the Ukraine war (2022–…), the notion of the “Global South” is not a doctrine but a worldwide movement shaped by a triple political, juridical, and economic context, marked in particular by the severe weakening of international law and the use of force for its own sake. Closely linked to the momentum of the BRICS and BRICS+, the Global South challenges capitalism as a unique economic rule and democracy as a universal model of governance. It seeks to impose new economic standards and cannot be understood without considering the antagonism between the United States and China. While China benefits from key structural assets, the United States relies on coercive, sometimes illegal but effective tools. The question remains whether the Global South constitutes a lasting movement, and in what form, given its hybridity and internal contradictions.
Key-words: ASEAN, BRICS+, China, Global South, India, international organisations, Japan, Russia, United States, United Nations Organization (UNO).
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