With Trump’s America pulling back from its decades-old role as global political superpower, what might be the role of the Global South and the impacts of this on our region?

Distinguished Professor of Global Enquiry Amitav Acharya says the Global South – encompassing the less-developed countries of the world, mainly in Africa, Latin America and Asia – will become “ever more consequential, with greater economic and diplomatic clout”.

He will discuss the impacts for our region of the Global South’s role in the new multipolar, post-American world at our Catalyst Kōrero on Tuesday, March 18.

One of the world’s leading scholars of international politics, Prof Acharya is the sixth Kippenberger Chair from Victoria University’s Centre for Strategic Studies that Catalyst Trust has been honoured to host.

He is UNESCO Chair in Transnational Challenges and Governance, American University School of International Service Distinguished Professor, and in 2014 was the first non-Western scholar to be elected president of the International Studies Association, the largest and most influential global network in international studies.

Prof Acharya says the Global South, formerly named the Third World, was rooted in protest against Western colonial dominance. But its global impact has grown through its involvement in bodies from the UN to BRICs and the G20, and its intellectual leadership on issues from development to climate change management and security.

Tuesday, March 18, 6 to 7:30 pm, at The Rees Hotel Queenstown. Registration required to ensure your seat. Please donate online or bring cash for your koha, which will be given to Lakes Multicultural Collective (formerly Kiwikit Community Trust) for their work supporting migrants in our community.

Distinguished Professor of Global Enquiry Amitav Acharya

Prof Acharya has also authored numerous scholarly books and written op-eds for the Financial Times, International Herald Tribune, Washington Post, Times of India, Australian Financial Review and other newspapers around the world. He has appeared on news media such as CNN International, BBC TV and BBC World Service Radio. His forthcoming book “The Once and Future Global Order: Why Global Civilization Will Survive the Decline of the West” has been described by the journal Foreign Policy as one of its “most anticipated books of 2025”.