Advantages and Disadvantages of the G-77

I would like to discuss the main points raised in Adil Najam’s paper “The View from the South: Developing Countries in Global Environmental Politics.” Specifically, I would like to focus on the advantages and disadvantages of referring to the developing world as one whole, or the “global South” as it is known in common parlance. Najam recognizes that the developing countries of the world cannot simply be referred to as one entity; surely, the political activities that occur within these countries are far too varied to group them all together as one whole. While Najam recognizes that each country differs in its environmental needs and policies and that they often disagree, he also points out that there is a sense of unity among these countries. The biggest advantage that developing countries have in sharing a common identity is that it gives them a stronger voice in the international arena. Inevitably, the sharp divide that exists between global North and global South can lead to the more powerful countries having all the power, while the voices of the less powerful countries are lost. Forming one unified whole helps developing countries become stronger in dealing with global environmental politics and helps them overcome domination by developed countries. In addition, grouping developing countries together will likely lead to greater cooperation among them. Such cooperation not only gives these countries a stronger voice and more power, but can also help them aid each other in the development process. This aligns strongly with Frank Biermann’s discussion on “capacity-building” in the developing world, which states that the formation of a global environmental organization would allow developed countries to provide technical assistance to developing countries. This process can also work between developing countries so that they can provide each up other with assistance in the development process.

On the other hand, there are several disadvantages in grouping the developing countries together as one whole. For one, it completely deindividualizes each country and ignores their individual needs entirely. Grouping all of the developing countries together is basically calling them all the same. In reality, the developing countries of the world are vastly different from each other. While they all face a similar economic situation, their needs in light of the global environmental crisis are extremely various. Each individual country has its own environmental issues and grouping them together (especially when dealing with global environmental politics) would completely ignore this individuality. In addition, grouping the developing countries together could actually have the opposite effect that Biermann predicted when talking about “capacity-building.” Instead of fostering greater cooperation among developing countries, it could actually lead to more disagreement among them due to the broad nature of each country’s environmental problems. Such disagreement would likely lead the countries to resent each other and take away from the strength of their collective voice in the international arena. Quite frankly, this is the last thing that developing countries need at a time when they’re trying to develop their economies while simultaneously dealing with their environmental issues.

Najam points out that despite their differences, developing countries have found a way to work together and prefer to address international issues through their collective organization, the G-77. The success of the G-77 seems to suggest that grouping countries together could have beneficial impacts on them. Najam talks about some of the benefits that the G-77 has had, including greater economic cooperation and technical assistance among some of the countries. I agree with Najam’s point that grouping these countries together is beneficial simply because in such a polarized world, less powerful countries would be unable to exert an influence on global politics without a unifying voice. When we bring complex issues such as transboundary pollution and climate change into the mix, we see that there is a serious need for unification among the countries of the world. Grouping the developing world into one whole would provide this unification and aid in the process of global environmental negotiations.