Ebook: Developing the Global South: A United Nations Prescription for the Third Millennium

For four decades the UN has attempted to foster development in the countries of the Global South. The book provides a synopsis of these efforts, from the Brandt Commission Report to Boutros Boutros Ghali's Agenda for Development. Prof. Milkias presents opposing arguments in allotting responsibility for the growing gap between the North and the South and details the Millennium Development Goals and assesses their successes and failures so far. He provides suggestions for closing the gap, for removing the debt burden that is currently crushing the nations of the South, and for relieving the poverty, ignorance and disease that plague so much of humanity.

In this unique book Dr. Milkias places the focus on the United Nations contribution to the development of the nations of the Global South and summarizes what the UN has accomplished in advancing development during the last half century. The data is up to date and the mantra of Millennium Development Goals is explained in simple language.

Another new element in the book is the author s down-to-earth but comprehensive explanation of the gap between the North and the South. In succeeding chapters he explains reasons for the gap, elucidating the position of liberal economists on the one hand and dependency as well as participatory development analysts on the other. He enumerates structural inequalities in the era of globalization, the advantages of participatory development and sustainable growth as well as needs for technology transfer.

Although there are several books on the gap between the north and the south, not many explain chronologically and in detail UN attempts to help the south develop. In terms of actions to close the gap, the only book that comes near to covering the main features of development goals as this monograph does is a book published by the UN Millennium Project itself under the title: Investing in Development: A Practical Plan to Achieve the Millennium Development Goal (2005). That official publication brings together the core recommendations of the UN Millennium Project and outlines practical investment strategies and approaches to financing them. It also presents an operational framework that will allow nations of the south to achieve the Millennium Development Goals by 2015 and suggests that even the poorest of the poor among nations would be able to do so. This rosy picture is, however, far from reality and fails to pinpoint the problems that would hinder many nations development goals to be achieved by the target year of 2015.

"Developing the Global South," clearly upbeat about the future, not only explains the problems in detail and how to overcome them but also documents over 40 years of dramatic achievements as well as considerable amounts of unfulfilled hopes the traces of which can be clearly observed more than half way into the deadline set by the United Nations. The book is written for Third World Development scholars but in a style that is accessible and engaging for the layman as well.