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Paper short abstract

The zero-sum fallacy—that a developed South costs the North—constrains global resilience. Decolonization requires lateral cooperation, not aid dependency. Using health sovereignty in Grenada as evidence, this paper shows how South-South coalitions adapt institutional strategies to reclaim agency.

Paper long abstract

The zero-sum fallacy—quietly entrenched in Northern development philosophy—misleadingly suggests that economic gains for the South come at the North's expense. This notion inverts reality: a developed South represents realized potential for addressing global existential threats, innovating futures, and bolstering collective resilience. Colonialism's wealth extraction and cultural domination deepened global divides, calcifying into neocolonialism—an insidious trap that continues to constrain Southern potential. Yet the North's dominance stems not from resource abundance (which the South possesses) but from institutional strength. As argued in Why Nations Fail, weak institutions remain the key constraint on Southern development.

In Grenada, institutional stagnation is stark: our Westminster constitution remains largely unchanged since British independence in 1974. Health systems reveal similar colonial persistence—we adopted Northern curative models unsuited to our resource realities. As Roberts et al. argue in Getting Health Reform Right, reform succeeds only when meeting population needs. Grenada's current system fails this metric. Suffocating colonial artifacts threaten health sovereignty. Sustainable reform requires transition from reactive curative care to proactive, community-based prevention aligned with Caribbean social structures.

Decolonization requires lateral cooperation, not aid dependency. The South need not reinvent institutional solutions—we must adapt proven strategies to our realities. Cuban primary care models, for instance, can be recalibrated for Caribbean contexts through regional coalitions that share knowledge and aggregate capacity. Practical mechanisms—think tanks, policy exchanges, institutional modernization—transform sovereignty from aspiration to achievement. An empowered South becomes strategic partner, not perpetual beneficiary, ensuring a multipolar, positive-sum global future.