STATEMENT BY DR. CARLOS CORREA, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF THE SOUTH CENTRE, TO THE MINISTERS AND GOVERNORS MEETING OF THE INTERGOVERNMENTAL GROUP OF TWENTY-FOUR (G24)
14 October 2025, Washington, D.C.
Developing countries have been borrowing at rates that are two to four times higher than those for the US and experienced a net resource outflow for the second year in a row. See the South Centre’s statement to the G-24 Ministers and Governors Annual meeting…
Trump and the Return of the Nation-State: Hegemony and Crisis of the Neoliberal Global Order
By Humberto Campodonico
This article examines the deepening crisis of the global economic and trade order established after World War II, a crisis accelerated by Donald Trump’s return to the United States presidency. Trump has adopted a stance openly hostile to neoliberal globalization, promoting instead a project centered on reinforcing the nation-state, employing commercial coercion, and using economic power to preserve US hegemony by neutralizing China. His “reciprocal tariffs” and the “Big Beautiful Bill” illustrate this shift, breaking with the World Trade Organization and consolidating elite power while sharply reducing social spending. Far from correcting the inequities of neoliberal globalization, these measures channel the social dislocations of deindustrialization and the impoverishment of the US Rust Belt into an authoritarian discourse of economic sovereignty.
The article situates this process within the broader crisis of democratic capitalism, marked by declining trust in liberal democracy and the rise of populisms and authoritarian regimes that capitalize on discontent without offering redistributive solutions. The analysis draws on Graham Allison’s “Thucydides Trap” and Carla Norrlöf’s reading of Ibn Khaldun to explain both hegemonic rivalry and internal fragmentation. Finally, it explores alternatives to the failed neoliberal order and argues for opening a collective debate on a new international system in which the Global South must play a role.
Reflections on Global Development in Times of Crisis: Arguments in Favour of an Alternate Development Paradigm
By K. Seeta Prabhu
The multiple interlinked and interacting crises that the world faces today is of unprecedented range and magnitude, halting progress and causing even a reversal in crucial Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) relating to well-being. The current situation of an unequal, unstable and unsustainable world that is fragile and leaves people vulnerable on multiple counts, is due to the policy decisions taken by national governments since the post second World War period that gave priority to economic growth and neglected both intra and inter-generational distributional issues. Economic growth was considered the end instead of the means it was meant to be and ‘being well-off’ was equated with ‘well- being’. The tendency to adopt a ‘Business as Usual’ approach is not an option as empirical analysis indicates that such an approach would lead to global warming that is 3–5 degrees Celsius above pre–industrial levels, which threatens the very existence of the planet. Earlier attempts at reorienting the current development paradigm towards equity and sustainability have not been successful, as exemplified by vaccine distribution during the Covid-19 pandemic, and the limited success of concepts such as inclusive growth and green growth. Often, the elements infusing equity have been add-ons to an inequitable growth process and are more in the nature of token gestures rather than serious efforts at change.
The combined human development and Lifestyle for Environment (LiFE) approach that is proposed in this paper is promising as it has the ethical values of equity and sustainability at its core, propagates the notion of the ‘common good’ and thereby fosters responsible consumption and production. It is also people-centric and builds on indigenous knowledge and agency. The ushering in of this transformational development paradigm will require the forging of a new social contract between the State and Society. Additionally, the developed countries must recognise their responsibility towards the environment and extend support and cooperation to developing countries in the pursuit of a common agenda of attaining a more equal and sustainable world. Increased flow of financial resources to developing countries as well as devising new financing mechanisms enhancing the equity and efficiency dimensions of financing for human development so as to accelerate progress on the SDGs will also be of paramount importance.
Impact of Global Trade Tensions on Developing Countries: How to respond to a reset of the global economic system
By Yuefen Li
The recent unilateral, significant and broad-ranging tariff hikes by the new United States administration have triggered unprecedented trade tension in the world and led to significant downward revisions of the world’s economic and trade growth projections for 2025 and beyond. The main aims of the U.S.’ trade policies are complex and strategic, not only about reducing the trade and fiscal deficits, but also addressing the dollar overvaluation problem, “reconfigur(ing) the global trading and financial systems to America’s benefit”, promoting economic “fairness” and “making America great again”. As what has frequently happened before, the poor countries are disproportionally affected by the negative repercussions of these policies, owing to their financial and capacity constraints and weaknesses to absorb the impact. This short paper analyses through which channels and to what degree trade tension would introduce economic, financial and political stability risks for developing countries, particularly in financially distressed developing countries. A few policy recommendations are also briefly mentioned.
Statement by Dr. Carlos Correa, Executive Director of the South Centre, to the Ministers and Governors Meeting of the Intergovernmental Group of Twenty-Four (G24)
October 2022, Washington, D.C.
Amid multiple crises and facing gloomier global economic prospects for 2023, the Ministers and Governors meeting of the Intergovernmental Group of Twenty-Four on International Monetary Affairs and Development (G24) was held on 11 October 2022 during the IMF and World Bank annual meeting. The South Centre is an observer of the G24. The written statement of Dr. Carlos Correa, the Executive Director of the South Centre, was circulated at the meeting.
STATEMENT BY DR. CARLOS CORREA, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF THE SOUTH CENTRE, TO THE MINISTERS AND GOVERNORS MEETING OF THE INTERGOVERNMENTAL GROUP OF TWENTY-FOUR (G24)
April 2022, Virtual Meeting
The lingering COVID-19 pandemic, monetary tightening and increasing geopolitical tension have slowed down the global economic recovery. Projections for the 2022 global GDP growth have been slashed by about one percentage point by major international institutions. Together with inflation, especially spikes in food and fuel prices, and ongoing supply chain disruptions, uncertainty and fragility are looming over the two-speed world economic recovery. This has dimmed the hope to halt or reverse the trend of the rapidly increasing number of people falling into extreme poverty and suffering from hunger. While the COVID-19 virus continues to mutate, the access to vaccination continues to be a major world concern. Developing countries’ supply and financing constraints for vaccines and critical medical products must be addressed.
In view of the multiple challenges faced by developing countries, the efforts of G24 in helping to coordinate the positions of developing countries on international monetary and development finance issues remain critical. The South Centre will continue to support those efforts.
STATEMENT BY DR. CARLOS CORREA, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF THE SOUTH CENTRE, TO THE MINISTERS AND GOVERNORS MEETING OF THE INTERGOVERNMENTAL GROUP OF TWENTY-FOUR (G24)
The world economy is showing signs of recovery, yet very uneven, and is facing a multitude of challenges including rising inequality within and among countries, vaccine nationalism in the face of raging COVID-19 variants, escalated debt burden for many developing countries, ravages of climate change and weakening multilateralism.
Now, we are at a pivotal moment to mend and fix the global systemic problems so that we can recover better, greener, more inclusively, and more resiliently. It is time to address root causes of the fragility, instability, divergence and asymmetries of the global economy.
Exploring synergies in multilateralism and human rights for a just, fair & equitable recovery from COVID-19
18 October 2021
15:30-17:00 CEST
Facilitated by the South Centre, this webinar is an opportunity for participants to exchange views and discuss how the Legally Binding Instrument on Transitional Corporations and Other Business Enterprises can support States’ efforts in other areas of the multilateral system towards enabling a just, fair, and equitable recovery after the COVID-19 pandemic.
Ending Extreme Poverty by Ending Global Tax Avoidance
by Abdul Muheet Chowdhary
The world is estimated to lose around USD 500-600 billion in revenues from corporate tax avoidance each year. Ensuring that governments can collect this revenue through ending global tax avoidance will play a major role in ending extreme poverty. Overseas aid provided to developing countries focused on eliminating extreme poverty must therefore incorporate addressing tax avoidance, especially by Multinational Enterprises, as a core component of their efforts.
South Centre Statement to the Ministers and Governors Meeting of The Intergovernmental Group of Twenty-Four (G24)
At the G-24 spring meeting, an important part of the discussion was about how COVID-19 could result in a setback to the fragile recovery of the world economy from the global financial crisis. Six months later, the current international discussions are about how long the pandemic will remain unchecked and how deep the world economic recession will be. Developing countries are licking their wounds and alarmed at the big financing gap between their plummeted fiscal revenue and skyrocketing financing needs for the pandemic response. The situation is dire. The world has passed the tragic milestone of losing one million lives to the pandemic. Some of the hard-won achievements made in implementing the Millenium Development Goals (MDGs) and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) have been reversed. Poverty and hunger will increase for the first time since the 1990s, the number of people facing starvation may double, gender and income inequality has been further widened as a result of the pandemic.
The Weakness of Economic Multilateralism
By José Antonio Ocampo
The weakness of multilateral cooperation was evident at the meetings of the Group of 20 and the Bretton Woods institutions in Washington. The limited international cooperation contrasts with the ambitious domestic policies adopted by some developed countries, and in particular the United States, to manage their crisis. The big losers will be the emerging countries, for whom cooperation has so far been minimal.
South Centre Statement to the Ministers and Governors Meeting of The Intergovernmental Group of Twenty-Four (G24)
The COVID-19 pandemic is not only a major health calamity with mounting humanitarian costs but also the biggest economic crisis since the Second World War. Immediate debt relief is needed for poor countries with unsustainable debt. The global pandemic requires a global solution and solidarity.
