Can Global South Nations Reclaim Sovereignty?

Capitalism and modern warfare have become increasingly intertwined in contemporary geopolitical discourse, raising critical questions about the root causes of global conflicts. Political economist Jason Hickel has become a prominent voice in examining these connections, particularly regarding how economic systems impact nations in the Global South. In a thought-provoking discussion with journalist Varsha Gandikota-Nellutla, Hickel explores the complex relationship between capitalism, imperialism, and the sovereignty of developing nations. This conversation delves into whether the pursuit of profit and resource extraction fuels today's most pressing international conflicts.

The question of whether capitalism fuels contemporary wars represents one of the most contentious debates in political economy and international relations. Hickel argues that the structural nature of capitalist systems inherently creates conditions that can lead to conflict, particularly when wealthy nations seek to maintain economic dominance over less developed regions. The mechanisms of economic colonialism and extractive capitalism have evolved since traditional colonialism ended, yet their effects remain devastating for many Global South nations. Understanding these dynamics is essential for comprehending why certain regions remain perpetually destabilized and economically dependent.

Throughout history, economic interests have consistently motivated military interventions and geopolitical maneuvering. From the colonial era through the Cold War and into the present day, access to resources, markets, and labor has driven foreign policy decisions by wealthy nations. Modern conflicts in regions rich with valuable commodities—whether oil in the Middle East, minerals in Africa, or agricultural land in Latin America—often serve the interests of multinational corporations and wealthy investor nations. Hickel's analysis suggests that these are not coincidences but rather predictable outcomes of a system designed to concentrate wealth and power in the hands of a privileged few.

The concept of Global South sovereignty represents the fundamental right of developing nations to make independent decisions about their own resources, governance, and economic policies without external pressure or interference. For decades, countries in Africa, Asia, and Latin America have struggled to assert true sovereignty while operating within a global economic system that was designed during colonial times and continues to disadvantage them. Structural adjustment programs imposed by international financial institutions, debt bondage, and unfair trade agreements have effectively maintained a new form of colonial control. Hickel emphasizes that reclaiming sovereignty requires not just political independence but genuine economic autonomy and control over natural resources.

The legacy of colonialism continues to shape economic relationships between the Global North and South in profound ways. Colonial powers extracted resources and wealth for centuries, leaving behind depleted economies, poorly developed infrastructure, and deeply unequal societies. Even after formal independence, many nations remained economically dependent on their former colonizers, bound by trade relationships, debt, and market access agreements that favored Northern interests. This historical context is essential for understanding contemporary global inequalities and why Global South nations face such significant obstacles in achieving genuine economic development and political independence.

Hickel's work highlights how international financial institutions and trade frameworks perpetuate economic domination. The World Bank, International Monetary Fund, and various trade agreements often come with conditions that force Global South countries to prioritize debt repayment, privatize essential services, and open their markets to foreign competition. These policies have proven devastating for local economies, small farmers, and working-class populations while enriching multinational corporations and wealthy elites. The cycle of dependency created by these arrangements serves to maintain the global status quo where wealth flows from poor to rich countries rather than enabling genuine development.

Resource extraction and conflict form a dangerous nexus in many Global South regions. When valuable natural resources are present, external actors frequently become involved, often supporting authoritarian regimes or fomenting instability to maintain favorable conditions for resource extraction. The profits from these resources rarely benefit local populations but instead flow to multinational corporations and corrupt governmental elites, leaving communities impoverished despite living in resource-rich regions. This pattern repeats across Africa, Southeast Asia, and Latin America, demonstrating how capitalist imperatives can directly generate violence and instability in pursuit of economic gain.

The arms trade represents another dimension through which capitalism fuels modern conflicts. Wealthy nations profit enormously from selling weapons to various parties in global conflicts, creating financial incentives for continued warfare. Defense contractors and arms manufacturers lobby their governments to support military interventions and conflicts, ensuring ongoing demand for their products. This creates a perverse system where those profiting from war have strong motivations to prevent peace from breaking out. For Global South nations, limited military budgets mean they often depend on advanced weaponry supplied by wealthy nations, maintaining relationships of military dependency alongside economic subordination.

Beyond military considerations, Hickel points to how climate change and resource scarcity, exacerbated by capitalist overexploitation, will increasingly drive future conflicts. As agricultural productivity declines, water becomes scarcer, and environmental degradation accelerates, competition for remaining resources will intensify. Global South nations, least responsible for environmental destruction yet most vulnerable to its consequences, face the prospect of bearing the heaviest costs of climate-driven conflicts. This represents another mechanism through which capitalist systems concentrated in the Global North transfer the costs of their economic model onto developing countries, literally putting survival in question.

Gandikota-Nellutla's inquiry into how Global South states can reclaim sovereignty touches on perhaps the most crucial question for international development and peace. Hickel suggests that meaningful sovereignty requires breaking free from debt relationships, renegotiating trade agreements, and asserting control over natural resources. Many countries have begun exploring these paths—through regional cooperation, diversifying trading partners, investing in domestic industries, and supporting local agricultural production over export monocultures. Successful examples from countries that have implemented such strategies offer hope that genuine alternatives to exploitative economic relationships are possible.

The concept of decolonization of the economy extends beyond simply reducing trade with wealthy nations or defaulting on debt. It encompasses building resilient, locally-oriented economies that prioritize meeting the needs of their own populations first, rather than extracting wealth for export to global markets. This might involve land reform, support for small-scale farming, development of local manufacturing capabilities, and investment in education and healthcare systems that serve the majority rather than elite minorities. Such transformations face enormous challenges, including pressure from international institutions, opposition from domestic elites, and the practical difficulties of transitioning complex economies.

Regional cooperation among Global South nations represents a promising avenue for advancing collective sovereignty and reducing vulnerability to external pressure. When developing countries coordinate their economic policies, share technology and expertise, and establish regional trading blocs, they increase their bargaining power relative to wealthy nations and international institutions. Organizations bringing together countries from Africa, Asia, and Latin America have expanded in recent years, creating alternatives to Western-dominated trade and financial systems. These initiatives, though still developing, demonstrate that a more multipolar global economy is increasingly possible and desirable from the perspective of developing nations.

Hickel's broader argument suggests that achieving genuine peace and reducing conflict requires fundamental transformation of the global economic system. As long as powerful nations and corporations benefit from instability, resource extraction, and conflict in the Global South, peace initiatives and diplomatic efforts will remain limited in effectiveness. The international community must grapple with uncomfortable questions about whether wealthy nations are willing to accept a more equitable global system that would mean sharing resources and power more fairly. The answer to whether capitalism fuels modern wars may ultimately depend less on economic theory than on political will to transform the systems benefiting from current arrangements.

Looking forward, the dialogue between Hickel and Gandikota-Nellutla underscores that sovereignty and peace in the Global South are inseparable from addressing economic inequality and exploitation. Young people in developing nations increasingly recognize these connections, spurring social movements demanding real change rather than incremental reforms within existing systems. Whether Global South nations can successfully reclaim sovereignty while the fundamental structures of global capitalism remain intact remains an open question. What seems clear is that without addressing these underlying economic relationships, conflicts fueled by competition for resources and maintained by external interference will likely persist, perpetuating cycles of poverty, instability, and violence across much of the developing world.