In the opening episode of Season 6, Dan Banik reflects on his personal journey of recovery after a medical emergency and uses this experience as a lens to explore a world in transition — one marked by fragmentation, shifting power, and the rise of the Global South. He argues that despite turbulence and uncertainty, actors across the Global South are reshaping global development, offering new possibilities for a more just, inclusive, and hopeful international order.
In the first episode of In Pursuit of Development Season 6, host Dan Banik returns after an unexpected year-and-a-half hiatus following a serious health emergency. Dan examines how the world has entered a period of profound flux. The once-stable liberal international order is giving way to a more fragmented and contested multipolar reality. He explores how trade wars, weakening multilateral institutions, debt crises, environmental stress, and disruptive technologies are reshaping global politics and development. However, amidst this turbulence, he identifies a powerful countercurrent — the growing visibility and influence of the Global South. Dan unpacks how countries across Asia, Africa, and Latin America are asserting new forms of leadership and cooperation — through the G20, BRICS, and South–South partnerships — and how this shift is transforming debates on trade, climate justice, technology, and governance. The episode also reflects on the challenges within the Global South itself, including internal inequalities, differing national interests, and the risk of reproducing old hierarchies in new ways.
Despite the uncertainty of this “interregnum” moment, Dan closes with a message of cautious optimism — a politics of hope grounded in evidence. He highlights global progress in health, education, poverty reduction, and renewable energy, emphasizing that crises often generate creativity and collaboration. The episode sets the stage for a new season of conversations with scholars, activists, and policymakers who will explore how the Global South’s choices — and the world’s response — will shape the future of global development.
Welcome to a brand-new season of In Pursuit of Development. I’m Dan Banik, and before we begin, I want to share something personal with you.
It’s been quite a long time since the last episode aired. Over a year and a half, in fact. That absence wasn’t planned. In October of last year, I had a heart attack. It was sudden, frightening, and completely unexpected. The months that followed were filled with hospital visits, and the slow, humbling work of recovery.
The good news is that I’m doing better now. I’m recovering steadily, and feel ready—grateful, really—to begin yet another new season with you. But I have to admit: the struggle is constant. However, I also live with new forms of gratitude. Gratitude for the welfare state that held me. Gratitude for doctors and nurses who gave me back to my family. Gratitude for for the chance to feel the warmth of the Oslo sun on my face.Â
Life, I have learned, offers no guarantees. The only certainty is that everything can change. Suddenly. Without warning.Â
That truth isn’t new, of course. But it landed with a new kind of force. I’ve found myself paying closer attention to ordinary things: listening to music with more care, calling my father or my children for no particular reason, noticing how routine hours quietly make up a life.
We don’t get to control the trials that come our way. We only control how we respond to them. My response has been imperfect. But it’s also been filled with grace I didn’t earn and help I couldn’t give myself. And that, I’ve learned, is enough—to begin again, and to keep beginning, for as long as I’m given.
Rather unusually, I’ve decided to feature myself in the opening episode this season. I want to set the scene for what’s to come by taking you through some of the major geopolitical shifts and development debates shaping our world right now—before we welcome a wide range of voices to enrich the conversation in the weeks ahead.
The world we live in today feels unsettled. We’ve entered a period where the familiar rules no longer seem to apply in the same way they once did. Over the last few years, we’ve witnessed a remarkable transformation in the international landscape: trade wars between the United States and China, a weakening of multilateral institutions, the re-emergence of geopolitical blocs, and an increasingly transactional form of global politics.
For decades after the Cold War, the liberal international order—anchored in free trade, multilateral cooperation, and shared rules—offered a kind of backbone to global affairs. It wasn’t perfect, of course. But there was a sense that disputes could be channeled through institutions like the World Trade Organization, that global development efforts could be coordinated through multilateral frameworks, and that crises could be addressed collectively.
Today, that sense of stability has been replaced by something more fragmented, more contested, and at times, more chaotic. Power is no longer concentrated in one dominant pole. The United States remains a global power, but it now shares the stage with China, India, the European Union, and increasingly assertive regional actors in Africa, the Middle East, Latin America, and Southeast Asia.
This shift from a unipolar to a multipolar world is reshaping the very foundations of international cooperation. The scholar Barry Buzan has described moments like this as “interregna”—periods between hegemonies, where the old order is fading but a new one has yet to fully take shape. In this interregnum, rules are being contested, alliances are shifting, and new narratives are emerging about what global order should look like.
One of the clearest manifestations of this shift is the erosion of multilateralism. Institutions like the WTO are increasingly gridlocked. Climate negotiations struggle to produce meaningful commitments. The Bretton Woods system, which has structured the global economy for decades, is under strain. The UN Security Council, designed for a very different era, often finds itself paralyzed by great power rivalry.
Meanwhile, the rise of what some call “transactional geopolitics” is changing how states interact. Instead of relying on stable alliances or shared institutions, countries are increasingly engaging in short-term, interest-based deals. India’s foreign minister, S. Jaishankar, has described this as operating in a “transactional bazaar” of global politics—where countries pursue multiple alignments simultaneously, guided by pragmatism rather than ideology.
Trade wars are a vivid example. The United States has imposed tariffs on a range of Chinese goods, and China has responded in kind. This has disrupted supply chains and encouraged a trend known as “friend-shoring,” where countries shift production to politically aligned partners. While this creates new opportunities for some states, it also risks bypassing low-income economies that had benefited from earlier waves of globalization.
At the same time, geopolitical tensions are intersecting with economic fragility. More than 50 low- and middle-income countries are now in or near debt distress. Higher interest rates, tighter credit, and a retrenchment of global banks have made it harder for frontier markets to access long-term financing. Conflicts in Ukraine, Gaza, Sudan, Myanmar, and across the Sahel are disrupting trade routes and creating instability that ripples far beyond national borders.
It’s easy to look at all of this and feel overwhelmed—to see only crisis. And to be fair, the challenges are enormous. But that’s not the whole story. Because alongside this turbulence, something equally significant is happening: the rise of the Global South.
The term “Global South” has become much more prominent in recent years, but it’s also a complex and contested concept. Historically, it was often used as a synonym for the “Third World,” referring to lower-income countries, many of which experienced colonialism and later pursued development outside the orbit of Cold War superpowers. But as Benedicte Bull and I have argued in a recent piece, the Global South today should be understood not just as a geographical category, but as a geo-historical and political concept.
It refers to a diverse set of countries that share, in different ways, experiences of marginalization within the global system and aspirations for a more just international order. It’s about historical trajectories of colonialism and structural inequality—but also about new forms of agency and leadership.
What’s striking is how much more visible and assertive the Global South has become in shaping global debates. This isn’t just about rhetoric. It’s about real influence.
Take the G20, for example. In 2023, during India’s presidency, the language of the “voice of the Global South” became central to the agenda. In 2024, Brazil built on this by foregrounding inequality, climate justice, and poverty eradication as global priorities. In 2025, under South Africa’s presidency, these themes are being pushed even further. The African Union’s inclusion as a permanent G20 member was a watershed moment, symbolizing a more inclusive global conversation.
South–South Cooperation has also taken on new dimensions. Historically anchored in movements like the Non-Aligned Movement or the G77, today it includes a wide range of partnerships—between China and African countries through FOCAC, between ASEAN and Latin American countries like Chile, and through the BRICS grouping, which has expanded its membership and influence.
But we should be clear: the Global South is not a monolith. It’s an incredibly diverse and dynamic field of actors. China is both a champion of Global South solidarity and a major global power with its own strategic interests. India positions itself as a bridge between North and South. Middle powers like Türkiye, Gulf states, Brazil, and South Africa are pursuing their own agendas. Smaller states are finding new spaces to assert themselves through coalitions and issue-based alliances.
This diversity is both a strength and a challenge. On the one hand, it allows for a plurality of voices, experiences, and strategies. On the other, it makes coordination more complicated and raises questions about whose interests are ultimately represented.
There are also debates about whether the rise of the Global South will lead to a more democratic and equitable global order. Some scholars see it as a potentially emancipatory moment—a chance to rewrite the rules in a fairer way. Others are more skeptical, pointing out that inequalities within the Global South are deepening, that authoritarian tendencies are present in some of its leading states, and that new forms of dependency can emerge even as old ones fade.
Nonetheless, the rise of the Global South is reshaping global governance in real ways. Countries once seen primarily as rule-takers are increasingly becoming rule-makers—whether through creating new institutions, influencing existing ones, or setting agendas in global negotiations.
This has major implications for global development. First, on trade and investment: as supply chains are reconfigured, many emerging markets are becoming new hubs of production and finance. But to seize these opportunities, they need patient capital and institutional support—something development finance institutions are increasingly trying to provide.
Second, on climate change: the energy transition is now hinged on what happens in the Global South. Many of the fastest-growing emitters are emerging economies reliant on coal. Renewable deployment is accelerating, but not fast enough to meet global targets. At the same time, these countries are among the most vulnerable to climate impacts, facing floods, droughts, and extreme weather events that threaten livelihoods and infrastructure.
Third, on technology: digital public infrastructure, fintech innovations, and AI are transforming development possibilities. India’s Aadhaar and UPI systems have inspired similar efforts across Africa, helping drive financial inclusion and public service delivery. But the digital divide remains a real risk, and ensuring that these technologies are inclusive is a major policy challenge.
And finally, on urbanization and demographics: Africa’s population is set to double by 2050. Cities across the Global South are growing at unprecedented rates. This presents huge challenges for infrastructure, jobs, and services—but also opportunities to rethink development models for a more sustainable, inclusive future.
Now, it’s important to acknowledge that these transformations are happening amid profound uncertainty. The global order is not yet settled. We’re in that interregnum—a transitional moment where the direction of change is still up for grabs.
And this is where I want to end today’s episode: with the politics of hope.
Too often, the narrative we hear—especially in mainstream media—is one of crisis. Pandemics, wars, climate disasters, democratic backsliding. And yes, these are real. But if we focus only on the bleak, we risk losing sight of the progress that has been made and the possibilities that exist.
Hope is not about ignoring problems. It’s about grounding optimism in evidence. As Hans Rosling and others have shown, global life expectancy has risen dramatically. Child mortality has fallen. Technological innovation continues to outpace dire predictions of scarcity. Renewable energy is expanding rapidly.
Crises, paradoxically, often drive innovation. The pandemic led to unprecedented scientific collaboration. Climate challenges are spurring investments in green technologies. Social movements around the world are pushing for justice and accountability in ways that are reshaping politics.
In the Global South, in particular, there’s an extraordinary amount of creativity and experimentation happening. New institutions are being built. Old ones are being challenged. Countries are asserting agency in ways that would have been unthinkable just a generation ago.
Of course, there are no guarantees. The rise of the Global South could lead to a more equitable and democratic order—but it could also reproduce hierarchies in new forms. That’s why it’s crucial to pay attention, to engage critically, and to amplify voices that push for justice, inclusion, and sustainability.
As we embark on this new season, my aim is to explore these dynamics in depth. Over the coming weeks, you’ll hear from a wide range of guests from all around the world—scholars, activists, and policymakers—offering diverse and interdisciplinary perspectives on the challenges and opportunities shaping global development today.
Yes, the world is turbulent. But it’s also full of possibility. And in this moment of flux, the choices made by actors in the Global South—and the ways in which the rest of the world engages with them—will shape the future of global development in profound ways.