The Global South is a concept and a geo-historical term that refers to a diverse group of countries, primarily located in Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the Caribbean. It is not a strict geographical demarcation, as it includes nations like India and China, which are in the Northern Hemisphere. The concept emerged in the latter half of the 20th century as a critique of global inequalities and power imbalances. American activist Carl Oglesby first coined the term in 1969 to denote countries beset by the "dominance" of the Global North. It gained traction as a less hierarchical alternative to the Cold War-era "Third World".
The core problem it addresses is the shared experience of colonialism, economic dependency, and the struggle for political autonomy. The mechanism for its collective action is South-South cooperation (SSC), which is guided by principles such as respect for national sovereignty and non-interference in domestic affairs. This cooperation aims to amplify the collective voice of these nations to rebalance global power. The concept is deeply connected to the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM), founded in 1961, and the Group of 77 (G77), a coalition of developing countries established in 1964 to defend their economic interests. The G77 now has 134 member states and refers to itself as the Global South.
Recently, the term has seen a resurgence, evolving from a deficit-based framing to a more assertive concept representing shared aspirations for development and justice. This shift is evident in the push for reforming the multilateral system and advancing climate justice. India, for instance, hosted two Voice of the Global South Summits in 2023 to consolidate this collective agenda.