User:Saad.Negm/sandbox

Article Evaluation

Evaluation of Wiki Article: Home economics (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Home_economics)

- Clearly, a well structured article with multiple legitimate sources

- I especially like how methods in which the science of home economics is taught be listed by country

- The information is precise and the paragraphs separate concise relevant information

- Although there is the use of multiple adjectives, there does not seem to be a strong biased opinion for any element discussed

- Most, but not all, citations were from a singular source: Goldstein, Carolyn M., 2012. Creating Consumers: Home Economists in Twentieth-Century America. Chapel Hill: The University of North Carolina Press.

- Multiple talk subjects have been created to improve the article

- Some improvements done have been noticed as great elements of this article as I made my first pass at it

- Examples of improvements are the college list and relevant links which I appreciated but did not mention above

- A merger of articles has been made to benefit the individual who would search for either terms (Home Economics & Consumer Science)

Peer Review - Transnationailty (Article Draft by José Vasquez)

Hello José! First, I would like to say how great it is that you have identified some key aspects of the article that you want to improve. You mention how "very vague" the current article is and that its language is "not approachable to a general audience". I can definitely agree with these two points being an important element to focus on when working on this article. I too have noticed, depending on the field of study the articles’ content relates to, that many articles’ wordings seem to be written in a method by which university graduates and researchers structure their findings in their papers. It’s indeed great that you and your team will turn an article that is not so easy to read into an article anybody with a common understanding of the English language can comprehend.

It sounds like an excellent idea to include a list of companies and organizations that function beyond and within many different state lines. This, however, may be a little risky and will require close attention to the selected companies’ function and production methods. I also recommend to do research on what exactly makes an already officially established transnational company or organization what it is. There are likely to be different possibilities in becoming a transnational company or organization and listing the different methods (with one or two real examples of institutions that fit the description) may help out in fleshing out the article.

This idea of updating the article is very important in my eyes. The advantage of Wikipedia is that it is somewhat an organic, living encyclopedia that perpetually grows and adapts. Adding real world examples of corporate entities and organizations that functions and influences by means of transnationality to the article will certainly help the article grow and provide more useful and relatable information to the subject. I’m pretty convinced that you and your team will provide a great addition to the article and the worldwide Wikipedia editing team.

*** WIKIPEDIA PROJECT - POSC 2200 w/ Dr. Martin, Sarah ***

To Do List

• Note down some concepts that may be further developed on the wiki article Global South

৹ Use of the term section (paragraph 2) could potentially elaborate the contribution of China in African to increase manufacturing and production within the continent rather than improving infrastructure alone

• Research on the topic of the common criteria that defines and categorizes a country as part of the "southern divide"

Global South sub-topics

• Introduction

1. Introduction has to be more clear/to the point/simplify
2. What is in the article
3. Reference (improve) (remove 2)

• Term

• Economics

1. Industry
2. Agriculture

• Neocolonialism (?)

• Politics

1. Ideology

• Government

1. International cooperation between Global South states
2. Military power
   • Overall Global South Statistics
   • Individual states of the Global South (Statistics)

• Cultural

1. Health
2. Education

Wikipedia Project Draft

In our Wikipedia project, we want to improve the article ‘Global South’:  (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Global_South). We would like to start with improving the introduction. The language used is too difficult and it is not to the point either. In our opinion, the introduction needs to be simplified, so readers with different backgrounds are able to read it. The article should start with a definition of the Global South and after that it should explain what is in the article, so the readers know whether the article is useful for them or not.

The article right now, only provides the reader with information about the term ‘Global South’. This is why we want to add information about the three following subjects: politics, economics and culture. The article will start with giving information about the background of term, like it is now. However, we will need to make some adjustments, for some of the references are incorrect. After we are done with adding information about the term, we will continue with the political characteristics of the Global South. We will do this by discussing the ideology, international cooperation between Southern States and the military power these states possess. Following the politics of the Global South, we will discuss the economics. Here, our focus will be on both industry and agriculture. The article will also mention neo-colonialism in Africa.

We have found multiple sources that discuss aspects of the Global South as an entity such as its development and building blocks for its society, economy, environment & resources, planning, design & governance, as well as other elements that contribute to the Global South as a whole.

Throughout the course of this project, the article is intended to be modified within a user’s sandbox. The edited information will be made clear including any information added, modified, and removed with reasons given to each action.

Editing Article Portion

World map showing a traditional definition of the North-South divide

World map representing Human Development Index categories (based on 2017 data, published in 2018).

  Countries described as high-income by the World Bank

The Global South is an emerging term which refers to countries seen as low and middle income in Asia, Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean by the World Bank. These nations are often politically and culturally developing countries or less developed countries. Global South does not necessarily refer to geographical south (many Global South countries are in the geographical north). The term started to develop as using “Third World” to describe these countries was seen inferior compared to “First World”.  “Developing countries”, “less developed countries” and “less developed regions” are also seen inappropriate to refer to Global South.

Rise of the term

The first use of Global South in a contemporary political sense came about in 1969. Carl Oglesby writing the liberal Catholic journal Commonweal in a special issue on the Vietnam War, argued that centuries of US “dominance over the global south… have converged … to produce an intolerable social order.”

The term continued to gain attraction and appeal throughout the second half of the 20th century. It appeared in fewer than two dozen publications in 2004, but in hundreds of publications by 2013. The emergence of this new term Global South meant looking at the troubled realities of its predecessors ,i.e, Third World or Developing World. However, the term Global South has a positive connotation to it. Compared to earlier uses, the term is less hierarchical and is instead one used to alienate class systems.

Debates over the term

With the development of the term Global South, most scholars preferred using the term Global South as than its predecessor developing countries. Leigh Anne Duck, the co-editor of the journal Global South, has argued that the term is better suited to "resist hegemonic forces that threaten the autonomy and development of these countries." According to her, nations get free to govern themselves, directing themselves to get developed through Global South. Other critics and scholars like Alvaro Mendez (co-founder of the London School of Economics and Political Science's Global South Unit) have applauded the empowering aspects of the term. In his article, Discussion on Global South he talks about the emerging economies in the nations such as China, India and Brazil. With the emergence of new economies, people are questioning the web of international politics and how the world works. Changes in policies are being asked to consider for development of nations. It is predicted that by 2030 80% of worlds middle-class population will be living in developing countries. Finally, the growth in popularity of the term "marks a shift from a central focus on development and cultural difference" within the Global South and instead recognizes the importance of their geopolitical relations.

However, some scholars disagree with the term. Some critics of the term argue that such "huge blanket terms" should be eliminated. Others have argued that the term Global South, its usage, and its subsequent consequences and implications mainly benefit those from the upper classes of countries within the Global South, those who stand "to profit from the political and economic reality [of] expanding south-south relations."

Furthermore, the geographical boundaries of the Global South continues to be a source of ongoing debate, with many critics and scholars like Andrea Hollington, Oliver Tappe, Tijo Salverda and Tobias Schwarz agreeing that the term is not a "static concept." Some like Rodolfo Magallanes have argued against the feasibility of "grouping together a large variety of countries and regions into one category [because it] tends to obscure specific (historical) relationships between different countries and/or regions" and the power imbalances within these relationships. Furthermore, he argues that this "may obscure wealth differences within countries – and, therefore, similarities between the wealthy in the Global South and Global North, as well as the dire situation the poor may face all around the world." Therefore, these scholars argue that the term should not be understood geographically, "connoting an image of the world divided by the equator, separating richer countries from their poorer counterparts." Rather, the geography of the Global South should be more readily understood as economic and migratory, the world understood through the "wider context of globalization or global capitalism." Beginning to understand the Global South in these terms shows that "most people in the so-called Global South actually live in the Northern Hemisphere."

Uses of the term

The term Global South "emerged in part to aid countries in the southern hemisphere to work in collaboration on political, economic, social, environmental, cultural, and technical issues." This is called South–South cooperation (SSC), a "political and economical term that refers to the long-term goal of pursuing world economic changes that mutually benefit countries in the Global South and lead to greater solidarity among the disadvantaged in the world system." The hope is that the countries within the Global South will "assist each other in social, political, and economical development, radically altering the world system to reflect their interests and not just the interests of the Global North in the process." It is guided by the principles of "respect for national sovereignty, national ownership, and independence, equality, non-conditionality, non-interference in domestic affairs, and mutual benefit." Countries using this model of South–South cooperation see the cooperation as a "mutually beneficial relationship that spreads knowledge, skills, expertise and resources to address their development challenges such as high population pressure, poverty, hunger, disease, environmental deterioration, conflict and natural disasters." Furthermore, these countries also work together to deal with "cross border issues such as environmental protection, HIV/AIDS," and the movement of capital and labor.

As Global South leaders have become more assertive in world politics, South-South cooperation has increased to "challenge the political and economic dominance of the North." SSC has become a popular political and economic concept today because of the recent "geographical shifts in manufacturing and production from the North to the Global South" and the recent "key diplomatic achievements" of several countries in the Global South in states such as China. These contemporary economic trends have "enhanced the historical potential of economic growth and industrialization in the Global South," which has allowed for renewed targeted SSC efforts that "loosen the strictures imposed during the colonial era and transcend the boundaries of postwar political and economic geography." Used in several books and American Literature special issue, the term Global South, recently became prominent for U.S. literature.

Politics

The Global South only started governing themselves in the second half of the twentieth century. They were often governed by an imperial European power until decolonization started taking place. In addition, it should be mentioned that the political systems in the Global South are very diverse. Nonetheless, there are characteristics that can be seen in most of the Global South states concerning politics. First of all, the states have been focusing on establishing a democratic government in the past few decades. As previously mentioned, they used to be ruled by European powers and had no government of their own. There was a small, often military, elite in power throughout the first decades after the period of decolonization. This changed in the 1990s when the people got more power in states as India, Brazil and South Africa. However, this process towards a democratic state has often been challenging. One of the barriers they had to deal with, was the corruption and nepotism that was embedded in their system. Another challenge to this process of democratization, is to make the people participate in the democratic system. The inhabitants of the Global South were relatively new to the democratic system and had to be enticed to participate, this is referred to as ‘effective citizenship’. Sociologist Patrick Heller defines it as following: ‘Closing this gap between formal legal rights in the civil and political arena, and the actual capability to meaningfully practice those rights is what I mean by effective citizenship.’

Economy

‘Developing countries’ is another way to describe the Global South and this term is more accurate when it comes to the economy of the Global South. They had a lot of work to do to set up a decent infrastructure and economy after they had gained their independence. They have been relying on investments from foreign countries since the decolonization in the twentieth century. These funds have focused on improving the infrastructure and industry. However, these investments led to a system in which the states of the Global South got exploited. They sold their raw materials, such as rubber, for a very low price to Western countries. In addition, Western countries used the cheap labor in the Global South for their production. The Western countries benefited significantly from this system, but it left the Global South undeveloped. This system of exploitation is also know as Neocolonialism. Neocolonialism is a system in which less-developed countries are controlled by developed countries.  It does not necessarily mean that former colonies are still controlled by their former colonizer, but it refers to colonial-like exploitation. Several institutions have been established to put an end to this system of exploitation. One of these institutions is the New International Economic Order. They have a ‘no-strings-attached’ policy that demands developing countries to remain or become self-sufficient. More specifically, they wanted sovereignty over natural resources and industrialization. The global issues most often discussed by nations from the ‘global south’ are ones such as globalisation, global health governance, health and prevention needs. This is contrasted by issues brought up by North American-based nations that tend to address innovations in science and technology. They therefore also demanded technology transfer from developed countries to tighten the gap between the developed and developing countries. However, these demands by the NIEO were rejected by the developed countries. . This rejection led to a prolonging of the neocolonialist system. However, the rise of China might imply the rise of the BRIC countries. There is an increasing cooperation between these four (sometimes five when South-Africa is included) and they are rapidly growing.

See also

• North–South divide
• South–South cooperation
• Global South Development Magazine