The North-South Conflict
The North-South conflict derives its name from the simple fact that, almost without exception, the wealthy nations of the world are in the Northern Hemisphere and the poorer nations lie to their south. Generally speaking, the North consists of the United States, Canada, Europe excluding Albania, Israel, Russia and the other newly independent former Soviet republics (although this is a matter of debate), Japan, South Africa, Australia, and New Zealand. The remaining states of the world, numbering over 110, are the South.
The South has been and is described by many terms - the Third World, the Developing World, and the Less Developed Countries (LDCs), to name just a few. Again speaking in general terms the countries of the South share two attributes: they have had a colonial past, dominated by European powers and they are poor.
Despite obtaining formal independence, many Developing World states have discovered to their chagrin that they remain economically and politically dependent on their former colonial masters. Trade ties and investment patterns established during decades of colonial rule were rarely terminated by the attainment of political sovereignty. From the viewpoint of Developing World countries, this economic dependence carried with it unavoidable political subservience. Thus, even though a Developing World state may have sought to establish its own political-economic independence, it could not.
Such a relationship between former colonial metropolises and their former colonies is termed neocolonialism. Although interpretations of neocolonialism differ on a case-by-case and region-by- region basis, a unifying thrust of the South is to escape this neocolonial relationship, In part, the Developing World's desire to escape political-economic dependency explains its hostility toward both the West and Western institutions such as the World Bank and multinational corporations. Developing states often resent the World Bank's insistence that they provide full disclosure of financial data, and having had numerous occasions to witness the linkage between economic strength and political power, governments of the less developed states often were skeptical of the claim promulgated by Western state actors and non-state actors alike that no political concessions would be sought if investment opportunities were awarded.
The South, then, was on the homs of a dilemma as it sought to achieve political-economic independence. Full political and economic independence could be achieved only if Developing World states could strengthen their economic autonomy. In most cases, however, that required increased reliance on external sources of finance and expertise. To many Developing World countries, such external economic reliance implied continued political dependence.
Above all else, Developing World counties see their plight of poverty and dependence as the result of past colonial exploitation and current economic inequities in international trade, pricing, and exchange mechanisms. As a result, the South seeks both expanded aid from the North and a restructuring of the existing international economic order. In short, the South desires a New International Economic Order (NIEO).
答案
南北冲突
世界上的富裕国家几乎无一例外都在北半球，而贫穷国家都在富裕国家的南面，“南北冲突”一词由此得名。一般而言，北方国家主要包括美国、加拿大、除阿尔巴尼亚之外的欧洲各国、以色列、俄罗斯及从苏联独立出来的其它共和国(虽然对这一点仍存在争议)、日本、南非、澳大利亚和新西兰。剩下的110多个国家都属于南方国家。
对南方国家的称谓很多——“第三世界”、“发展中世界”、“欠发达国家”等只是其中几个。总体说来，南方国家有两个共同的特征：它们都曾经有过沦为欧洲列强殖民地的历史，而且都很贫穷。
尽管获得了独立，很多发展中国家失望地发现，它们在经济、政治上却仍然依附于原来的殖民者。在殖民统治时期建立起来的贸易关系和投资方式并没有因为政治主权的获得而终结。在发展中国家看来，这种经济上的依附将不可避免地导致它们在政治上的低声下气。因此，即使发展中国家尝试去建立自己的政治经济体系，却很难实现。
前殖民宗主国和殖民地之间的这种关系被称为新殖民主义。虽然对新殖民主义的理解随具体情况的变化和不同地区而有所不同，但所有南方国家的目标都是一致的，那就是脱离这种新殖民主义关系。
发展中国家这种摆脱政治·经济依附地位的愿望，在某种程度上也解释了它们对西方国家以及诸如世界银行、跨国公司一类的西方机构所怀有的敌意。世界银行坚持要各国向它提供所有的财政金融数据，发展中国家对此极为不满。由于一国经济实力的强弱常常与该国政治实力的强弱紧密相连，因此，尽管西方政府与非政府组织一再声称获得投资机会并不意味着该国必须在政治上让步，但是欠发达国家的政府通常对此表示怀疑。
于是，南方国家在寻求政治-经济独立时就陷入了两难的境地。一方面，要想获得政治和经济上的完全独立，发展中国家就必须增强自己的经济独立。然而另一方面，在大多数情况下，要想达到这个目的，发展中国家对外来资金和技术的依赖程度就会进一步增加，而这种依赖对很多发展中国家来说又意味着政治上的继续依附。
总而言之，发展中国家认为它们的贫穷处境和依附地位是由过去所受的殖民剥削以及现在在国际贸易、定价和交易机制方面的不平等所造成的。因此，南方国家既要寻求北方国家更多的援助，又要寻求对现有国际经济秩序的重组。一句话，南方国家希望能够建立新的国际经济秩序。
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