Towards a non-hegemonic world order – emancipation and the political agency of the Global South in a changing world order

Abstract This introduction presents an overview of this collection. It aims to clarify the making of the modern world order through the dialectic between the will to dominate and the will to resist. As conventional theories of international relations have been largely focused on the dominating powers, we attempt to highlight the constructive power of the countries from the Global South. By analysing the state-making within, and cooperation among, the Global South countries, we argue that the pursuit of human emancipation and national liberation makes countries in the Global South active agents in the creation of the world order and in human history in general. This paper also presents a short historical contextualisation of the terms ‘Third World’ and ‘Global South’.