South-South cooperation

Syllable breakdown

Dictionary meaning

a framework for economic, technical, and political cooperation between developing countries in the Global South that bypasses the traditional donor-recipient model of North-South development assistance; South-South cooperation encompasses trade agreements, investment flows, technology transfer, knowledge sharing, and diplomatic alignment among countries of Asia, Africa, and Latin America; China's engagement with Africa through infrastructure financing, the BRICS framework linking Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, and African-Asian agricultural knowledge exchange partnerships are all examples; proponents argue South-South cooperation offers developing countries more equitable partnerships than traditional aid, while critics note that it can replicate extractive dynamics despite its solidarity rhetoric