Classifying the World

About the lecture

In this lecture introducing the concept of uneven global development, we discuss various ways of classifying and measuring countries based on their degree of development. We begin by looking at the definitions of the Global North, Global South and the Brandt line, and how these tend to reflect historical and power differentials rather than geographical locations. We then move onto the terms First World and Third World, initially coined in the context of the Cold War, before later evolving into a more derogatory classification of the world. To finish off, we touch on the classifications of low-income, middle-income and high-income countries, emphasising that the transition between these categories is not always straightforward and may impact eligibility for development aid.

About the lecturer

Dr Paul Gilbert is a Senior Lecturer in International Development in the School of Global Studies at the University of Sussex since 2017. Prior to this, he has taught at the University of Brighton (Human Geography), Brunel University (Anthropology) and the University of Birmingham (Gender & Development). Since 2018 he has been the Development Studies Pathway Lead at Sussex for the ESRC SeNSS Doctoral Training Partnership. Previously he has also acted as the Convenor of the PhD International Development (2018-2021), Convenor of the MA Environment, Development and Policy (2018-2021), elected Senator for the School of Global Studies (2020-2022) and Senate member elected to the University Council (2021-2022). He is also a Series Editor for the new Bristol University Press series 'Business, Finance & International Development', and a member of the Steering Group of 'Diversifying & Decolonising Economics'. Currently, his primary research focus is on the entanglements between public and private finance in development and social policy. He is a co-investigator on the ESRC-funded ‘Contractors & Consultants’ project, which is concerned with the role of for-profit actors in the administration of aid-funded projects (2021-2024). Another current focus involves a turn to archival research. This work concerns the intellectual history of development studies and the relationship between independence and liberation movements, and teaching/research in development studies.