North-South relations

North-South relations The relationships between the advanced industrialized countries (the North) and the THIRD WORLD, or DEVELOPING COUNTRIES (the South). North-South relations became an issue in international politics following the process of decolonization, which brought a large number of new states into an international system in which they found themselves to be at a serious disadvantage, particularly in economic terms. The developing countries of the South tried through various means to reduce their dependence on the North. They were particularly active in the UN, notably in the UNITED NATIONS CONFERENCE ON TRADE AND DEVELOPMENT (UNCTAD) in 1964, where the framework was established for a set of demands for a new deal on world trade. The position of the South looked stronger by the late 1970s: OPEC (the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries) had set an example to all developing countries by successfully raising world energy prices, the demand for a NEW INTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC ORDER had been presented to a UN General Assembly session in 1974, and the issue of North-South relations had been made the subject of an international commission which met from 1977 to 1979 under the chairmanship of Willy Brandt (1913–92). (See BRANDT REPORT.)