Kapuscinski Lectures: From the Third World to the Global South - Lives and afterlives of a global political project

Join #KAPTalks in Helsinki with Associate Professor Alina Sajed (McMaster University) on 27th February to learn if and how the terms "Third World” and "Global South” are still relevant today. The moderator will be Dr Teppo Eskelinen (University of Eastern Finland). The event is free of charge.

Alina Sajed is an Associate Professor in the Department of Political Science at McMaster University. Her expertise lies in the area of politics of the Global South, focusing particularly on the challenges of decolonization, and on the political, social and economic challenges of post-independence societies; Third Worldism and development policies; with a regional focus on North Africa and Middle East.

The on-site event will be held during the Development Days Conference 2025 in collaboration with the Finnish Society for Development Research and the Finnish Partnership for International Development (UniPID) at the University of Helsinki (Main Building Fabianinkatu 33, Small Festive Hall).

There is KAPTalks studio at the University of Eastern Finland in the Kuopio Campus at the Snellmania building, room SN204, and in the Joensuu Campus at the Aurora building, room AU210, where interested audiences can gather to watch the KAPTalks together.

The project is a joint initiative of the European Commission, the United Nations Development Programme and the University of Eastern Finland. The Kapuscinski Lectures is an initiative funded by the European Commission.

Register and join the event online and onsite!

Background

The term ‘Global South’ is not an uncontroversial one. There have been many debates in the last few decades regarding its usefulness, both analytical and historical, but especially its connection to another equally debated term, ‘Third World.’ In the midst of these debates, however, there has appeared a loose consensus around their meaning and their linkages. The lecture elucidates the meaning and histories of both terms, and the connections and ruptures between them.

The term Global South cannot be considered separately from that of the Third World. In fact, the idea of Global South could not have emerged without taking seriously the conceptual work done by the term Third World, and indeed without the legacy left by Third Worldism and its historical landmarks. The lecture focuses on understanding not only the emergence of the term Third World, but especially the central role played by processes of capitalist expansion to conceptualizing both Third World and Global South, albeit in different ways and at different historical junctures.

The question that lies at the core of debates around the terms Third World and Global South is the following: what (if anything) connects the Third World project to the Global South? While the rise of emerging economies (the BRICS: Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) has been hailed by some as signalling the end of the US’ political and economic hegemony (and that of the West, more generally), and the arrival of multipolarity, others see little hope in this relatively recent development.

About the Kapuscinski Lectures

Top global thinkers discuss development in the European Union countries and beyond. The series Kapuscinski Lectures, named for Ryszard Kapuscinski, a Polish reporter and writer who covered developing countries, is organized jointly by the European Commission, the United Nations Development Programme and partner universities and development thinktanks.

Over 150 lectures gathered since 2009 over 50,000 participants. The lecture series offers students from the European Union member states an unprecedented opportunity to learn and discuss about development issues such as climate change, human rights, aid effectiveness, Europe-Africa relations, Sustainable Development Goals among other. The high-level events contribute to the debate and formulation of the European development policy. The lectures are livestreamed at http://www.kapuscinskilectures.eu and their content is shared on this website.

The lectures honor the name of Kapuscinski, a Polish journalist and writer, who died in 2007. Kapuscinski, whose books were translated into many languages, was often named the “Third World Chronicler” or the “Voice of the Poor” for his famous reportages and books describing developing countries on all continents. Among other books, he was famous for: “The Emperor” on Ethiopia, “Shah of Shahs” about Iran, “The Shadow of the Sun” about Africa, “Another Day of Life” about Angola, and “Imperium” about the Soviet Union.

More about Kapuscinski Lectures and planned events: http://kapuscinskilectures.eu