PhD Thesis
Title: North-South, Unfinished Business: Postcolonial Worldmaking in Climate and Sustainable Development Multilateralism
PhD Supervisor: Cédric Dupont
Expected completion date: 2025
Despite frequent criticism, the North-South dichotomy in global affairs persists with great consistency in multilateral governance, as seen in UN voting patterns and negotiating coalitions across issue areas; and this despite the fact that economic differentiation among developing countries has grown significantly in recent decades. This thesis explores the ideational-discursive component of this division, focusing on the sustainable development and climate negotiations of the first half of the 2010s, framing them in the context of the broader history of what was once known as the North-South Dialogue. Establishing these talks as specifically revelatory in this regard, the ensuing critical discourse analysis of official statements from negotiating blocs and individual delegations reinforces the distinct ideological character of the North-South division across those issues; specifically, one centered around the problem of postcolonial self-determination. As other scholars have argued, what was once known as the Third World coalesced around a worldmaking vision to manage the contradictions and vulnerabilities of state sovereignty resulting from decolonization, through a system based on the (state-centric) democratization of global decision-making, and redistribution of resources from rich to poor countries, with both elements mutually reinforcing each other. This thesis argues that the political formations identifiable as Global South and North during these early 2010s negotiations were expressions of and innovations upon this platform (with the former cohering in defense of it, and the latter in rejection of it).
Profile
Lucas is a doctoral researcher fascinated by the ongoing evolution of multilateralism, specifically multilateral diplomacy. This is an outgrowth of a Master's dissertation (also at the Graduate Institute), about Brazil’s norm-shaping efforts concerning SDG16, to understand the methods and tools employed by non-traditional norm entrepreneurs. His main area of interest in this regard is sustainable development, specifically the institutional architecture of Agenda 2030, as well as the global governance of climate change. He previously got a Bachelor in Politics, Human Rights and Development from NYU.
Research Interests
- Global governance
- Multilateral diplomacy
- Emerging powers
- BRICS
- Sustainable development
AREAS OF EXPERTISE
North-South multilateral relations
The global governance of sustainable development and climate change
The Group of 77 and China (G77)
Postcolonial IR
Foreign policies of Global South countries and emerging powers
Relevant Publications and Works
MA thesis: “SDG16, Brazil and the Securitization of Development: how can a transformative multilateralism enable non-traditional norm shapers?””