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YOUTH PARTICIPATION IN GLOBAL DECISION-MAKING PROCESSES
Global Politics: Politics at UNCED
UNCED was not merely a conference on Environment and Development but also served as the first major gathering of countries after the ending of the Cold War. It marked a departure from the Cold War politics and the arrival of alignments based on new political and economical opportunities. These new alliances were built around the "North" basically comprising the G7 countries and the "South" which consisted of the G77 and China. Both used the conference to blame the other for the ecological damage and both used the call for "global" action to avoid acting at the local and national level.
Both the North and the South are convenient constructs. The countries of the North are only united in maintaining their domination over the South, yet fight each other for that privilege. However the picture of the starving South is used to justify further arms expansion as a means to protect themselves from the hungry masses of the South.
Countries in the South are too economically tied to the North to be united in their struggle. The Southern voice is heard much louder in some countries rather that others, particularly countries which use it to serve domestic political needs. They use the picture of the country challenging the colonial North to construct nationalism and unity. They even use the new enemy as the reason for domestic problems and dissent.
For example, Malaysia constantly blames the North for internal problems such as workers demanding their rights. The government insists that such struggles are instigated by the North in order to destabilize the country, and to curtail economic success of the country.