South-South Cooperation and Inclusive Growth

Abstract

Ongoing criticism over the efficacy of a modern development model characterised by an imbalance of power with respect to terms of action has in recent years spawned discussion regarding the utility of ‘South-South cooperation’ as a potential new development paradigm. We agree with many of the critiques levelled at development in its current form, particularly when considered in the context of the clearly growing disparity across the globe between those who have and those who have not (see Ortiz and Cummins, 2011). But we also have reservations related to questions as to what exactly South-South cooperation means, and indeed worry that this ‘new’ paradigm is not new at all if it merely reinforces a hegemonic view of two ‘worlds’, a North and a South. The primary objective of this Working Paper is thus to contribute to an understanding of how South-South cooperation might distinguish itself as a genuine alternative to prevailing macro-level development approaches. (…)