The North–South Conveyor Belt Model: mapping the trajectory of international relations on the Great Ocean Conveyor Belt

Abstract

AbstractThis study primarily aimed to trace the linkages between the Great Ocean Conveyor Belt [originating from the North Atlantic] and the “Great” Colonialism [originating from Portugal]. Consequently, the study adopted the qualitative documentary method to observe, scrutinize, and interpret the linkages between the Ocean Conveyor Belt and Colonialism. The findings show that India lies along the North Indian Ocean in South Asia [i.e. right above the point where the conveyor’s lower limb (its subsidiary) first U-turns to loot heat] where the Portuguese first initiated the process after their arrival in 1498, while China lies along the coast of the North Pacific Ocean in East Asia [i.e. the second point where the conveyor’s lower limb later U-turns to loot heat] where the colonizers later extended their expansion to and, then, U-turned to annex lands, loaded ships with goods, and cruised back to Europe. However, the conveyor’s lower and upper limbs deliver, inter alia, processed materials and wars to the South and raw materials and race struggles to the North, respectively. The North–South Conveyor Belt Model, thus, maintains that the conveyor’s upper and lower limbs superimpose positive and negative effects on the Global North and South, respectively.

Keywords

• Conveyor Belt
• conveyor activation
• conveyor shutdown
• conveyor reactivation
• lower limb
• upper limb