Global Majority: A Journal of Student Research

The Global Majority E-Journal (ISSN 2157-1252) is a biannual journal publishing on critical issues in the lives of the global majority: the more than 80 percent of the world's population living in developing countries. Topics discussed include poverty, population growth, access to safe water, climate change, and agricultural development. All articles are based on research papers written by AU undergraduate students (mostly freshmen) as one of the course requirements for AU's General Education Course: Econ-110, The Global Majority.
Current Issue Volume 11, Number 2, December 2020
Sip Every Drop: Inaccessible and Jeopardized Water Resources in Nigeria and Ukraine
By John Burzawa
This article examines some key facts related to water scarcity in Nigeria and Ukraine. While both countries have considerable water resources, due to economic, political, and environmental factors, access to safe water and sanitation remains a problem. In addition to examining some key facts, the article reviews the issue of water scarcity from an ethical perspective, applying several lenses, including differences in the access to water and sanitation by gender and localities. It also discusses some ethical origins, current ethical structures, and ethical frameworks of water scarcity in Nigeria and Ukraine.
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Sip Every Drop: Inaccessible and Jeopardized Water Resources in Nigeria and Ukraine
Child Poverty Crisis: A Childhood Living Below the Line in Nigeria and Uganda
By Cameron Fisher
This article looks at the crisis of excluded and invisible children in Nigeria and Uganda. It examines the evolution of some key indicators, including infant mortality, under-five mortality, birth registration rates, children out of school, and the percentage of employed children at primary school age. These indicators show that both countries have made some progress in reducing multidimensional child poverty, but much more remains to be done. The article also reviews government plans and programs in Nigeria and Uganda, and then discusses some recommendations and ethical concerns.
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Child Poverty Crisis:
A Childhood Living Below the Line in Nigeria and Uganda
Distant Neighbors: Why Neighboring Countries Mozambique and South Africa Differ So Greatly in Gender Inequality
By Patrick Ryan
This article examines gender inequality in Mozambique and South Africa. These two countries share a common border, yet they are very different in terms of economic development and gender inequality. After examining the different degrees of gender inequality with regards to literacy, tertiary school enrollment and salaried employment, the article examines some of the ethical origins and existing ethical structures, including these two countries’ level of child marriages, views on domestic violence, and access to modern contraceptives. All these examinations tend to support the hypothesis that gender equality improves not only the lives of women, but the lives of all people.
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Distant Neighbors: Why Neighboring Countries Mozambique and South Africa Differ So Greatly in Gender Inequality
Bruised but Never Broken: The Fight for Gender Equality in Egypt and Bangladesh
By Lily Sweeting
This article examines issues of gender inequality and women’s rights in Bangladesh and Egypt. Both countries have high levels of gender inequality that have resulted in widespread discrimination and violence towards women. Additionally, religious and cultural norms and a profound patriarchal view of women as being inferior to men have led to the extensive exclusion of women from the workforce and political participation. Failure to adequately enforce legal practices and protections has further encouraged discrimination and violence against women and will continue to do so without governmental action. Social, political, and economic empowerment is needed for the women of Bangladesh and Egypt, but such empowerment is not happening due to the current societal norms in these two countries.
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Bruised but Never Broken:
The Fight for Gender Equality in Egypt and Bangladesh
Democracy: An Ultimate Remedy towards the Flawed Urbanization in Bangladesh and China
By Ka Long Tung
This article examines recent decades of urbanization in Bangladesh and China. It comes to the conclusion that some of the basic needs of these countries’ urban people have been ignored. By applying ethical reasoning, it proposes the idea that strengthening democratic processes would remedy the flawed urbanization process Bangladesh and China have gone through. However, the authorities in both countries constitute the biggest barrier toward strengthening democratic processes.
Read the full article: Democracy: An Ultimate Remedy towards the Flawed Urbanization in Bangladesh and China

- June 2020
- December 2019
- June 2019
- All Issues (starting 2010) via AU Digital Research Archive
All Articles Indexed by Author
Global Majority Articles by Author, A-L
- Dirty and Thirsty: The Struggle for Clean Water and Sanitation in Brazil and Nigeria
Kyanna Alleyne - Rural Poverty in Honduras: Despite Progress, an Ongoing Challenge
Carlos Andréu - Sinking the Pearl of the Indian Ocean: Climate Change in Sri Lanka
Nazran Baba - The Children of Northern Uganda: The Effects of Civil War
Madeline Beard - The Impacts of Cote d'Ivoire's Urbanization on Its Economy and Populace
Michael Bible - Poverty and Gender Inequality in Post-War El Salvador
Olivia Bell -
How Children’s Well-Being Reflects Government Choices and National Circumstances in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda
Kayla Benjamin -
A Clean 5 Gallons a Day Keeps the Doctor Away: The Water Crisis in Kenya and Rwanda
Kianna Billman -
Climate Change and Natural Disasters in India and Brazil
Joseph Bisaccia -
El Salvador’s Drivers of Poverty: Low Levels of Education, Lack of Access to Water and Sanitation, and Violence and Crime
Isabelle Bissonnette -
Struggling to Survive: Water Scarcity and Poor Sanitation in Colombia and Kenya
By Morgan Bluma - Impact Investing as a Supplement to Nicaragua's Traditional Microfinance
Robert Book - Preparing for a Better Future: An Analysis of the Youth of Nigeria and Mexico
Haley Bowcutt - Giving Girls a Chance: Ending Child Marriage and Promoting Education in Georgia and Niger
Gabrielle Bremer - Boom or Bust: Urbanization in Brazil and Indonesia
Cole Burdell - Sip Every Drop: Inaccessible and Jeopardized Water Resources in Nigeria and Ukraine
By John Burzawa - Chinese Urbanization: Efforts to Manage the Rapid Growth of Cities
Janina Calabro - Women in Nepal and Yemen: Second-Class Citizens
Jillian Cameron - Poverty in Central Asia: Kazakhstan versus Tajikistan
Gregory Chapman - Deforestation in Madagascar: Consequences of Population Growth and Unsustainable Agricultural Processes
Megan Clark -
Fighting for Equality: Analyzing Inequality in Rwanda and South Africa
By Eleanor Dennehy - Malawi: A Development Puzzle?
Salman Dossan - Water Poverty in Rural Ethiopia: Effects on Women, Health and the Poverty Cycle
Bailey Edelstein - Agree to "Plan B": The Causes and Effects of Access to Contraception in Egypt and the Philippines
Rachel Falek - Growing Inequality in the People’s Republic of China: Dimensions and Solutions
John Feher III - Child Poverty Crisis: A Childhood Living Below the Line in Nigeria and Uganda
By Cameron Fisher - Hot Times Ahead:The Effects of Climate Change on Agriculture in India and Nigeria
Maude M. Fitzmaurice - A Reputation to Maintain: Myths and Truths about Women's Rights in Egypt and Morocco
Walter Francis - “War Within the War”: Overcoming a Legacy of Patriarchal Norms and Violence in the Central African Republic and the Democratic Republic of Congo
Abby Hoover - Maternal Schooling in Pakistan: The Girl Effect in Action
Lisa Gabrielson - The Water Crisis in Yemen: Causes, Consequences and Solutions
Nicole Glass - School Is Not Just for Boys: A Look at Girls’ Education in Egypt and Yemen
Isabella Grande - Income Inequality in the Prosperous Economies of Tunisia and Namibia
Thierry Gysler - Risky Business: Agricultural Development and Environmental Consequences in Indonesia and Ecuador
Dorothy P. Hastings - Water in Ethiopia: Drought, Disease and Death
Morgan Hendrix - Effects of Neoliberal Reforms on Small-Scale Agriculture in Brazil
Alexandra Huddell - Impact of Climate Changes on Coffee Production in Columbia and Ethiopia
Joel Iscaro - Disparities of Poverty in Eastern Africa: Ethiopa and Kenya
Lara Jakiel - Climate Change in Zambia: Impacts and Adaptation
Couroche Kalantary - Contraception Availability and Population Growth in Cameroon and Zimbabwe
Ivy Kaplan - Breaking the Cycle: The Causes and Effects of Uneducated Girls in Rwanda and Pakistan
AnLi Kelly-Durham - Crowded House: Analyzing Overpopulation and Poverty in Bangladesh and Indonesia
Sarina Kirpalani - Child Labor and Human Trafficking: How Children in Burkina Faso and Ghana Lose Their Childhood
Kaitie Kudlac - Women’s Rights Gone Missing: Gender Inequality and HIV Prevalence in Malawi
Dezimey Kum - The Urban Plan for India: A Foundation for Economic Growth
Will Lawther - Muslim Baby-Boom? Examining Fertility in Bangladesh and Lebanon
Kendell Lincoln - Gender Discrimination: A Problem Stunting Honduras's Entire Economy
Rachel Lomot - Leaving the Knot Untied: Education and Child Marriage in Bangladesh and Bolivia
Emily Lytle
Global Majority Articles by Author, M-Z
- The Water Crisis in Kenya: Causes, Effects, and Solutions
Samantha Marshall - Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo: Children at War
Toby N. G. McCarroll - Indonesia: A Vulnerable Country in the Face of Climate Change
Mariah Measey - Uganda's Gender Divide and Moves toward Equality
Kerry Milazzo - Poverty in Bolivia: Dimensions, Political Conflict, and Strategies
Eliza Morgan - Gender-based Education Inequality in China and India
Abigail Murphy - Tilling the Earth: Improved Seed Use in Ethiopia and Brazil
Michael O'Neill - Perpetuating a Vicious Cycle: The Causes and Effects of Poorly Educated Children in Sierra Leone
Rebecca O'Neill - Patriarchal Power and Gender-Based Violence in Guatemala and El Salvador
Ambar Pardilla - Forests and Fauna in Jeopardy: Deforestation and Resource Depletion in Brazil and Indonesia
Isabelle Paredes - The Girls of Our Future: Gender Inequality in Pakistan and China
Sophia Paynter - Biome Breakdown: The Effects of Climate Change on Agriculture in Nigeria and Thailand
Cassandra Pendino - How the Lack of Access to Safe Water and Sanitation Hampers Growth and Development: The Case of Peru
Emily Platt - Moving Day: Urbanization in India and China
Zachary Porter - The Caste System: Effects on Poverty in India, Nepal, and Sri Lanka
Jasmine Rao - Dimensions of Poverty: What Contributes to the Continuation of Poverty in Kenya and Vietnam?
Hannah Rapoport - Making the Rice Bowl Bigger: Agricultural Output and Rural Poverty in Thailand
Lila Rieber - Education is Power: Reducing Child Marriages in Egypt and Sudan
Amanda Robic - The Women of Thailand
Liza Romanow - Children in El Salvador: Getting Exploited and Missing Opportunities
Yeomin Ryu - Distant Neighbors: Why Neighboring Countries Mozambique and South Africa Differ So Greatly in Gender Inequality
By Patrick Ryan - The Effect of Education on Brazil's Economic Development
Lindsay Sandoval - The Water Crisis in Ethiopia and Kenya: Being Locked out of Water and Sanitation
Sofía Pérez Semanaz - Examining Poverty at the Border of West Africa: Guinea and Sierra Leone
Olivia So - Abortion in Cote d'Ivoire and El Salvador: A Consequence of High Fertility and a Cause of Maternal Mortality
Claire Starks - Access to Clean Water and Educational Opportunity in Nicaragua
Nathan Strauss - Bruised but Never Broken: The Fight for Gender Equality in Egypt and Bangladesh
By Lily Sweeting - Gender Inequality in Guatemala: Why Girls Receive Less Education Than Boys
Lizzy Tarallo - Children in Egypt and Colombia: Lack of Education, Child Labor and Malnutrition
Gregory Tenor - Land Reform and Agricultural Development: Zambia versus Zimbabwe
Amélie Thouvenot - Poverty and Fertility in India: Some Factors Contributing to a Positive Correlation
Brittany Traeger - Democracy: An Ultimate Remedy towards the Flawed Urbanization in Bangladesh and China
By Ka Long Tung - Poverty in Nigeria: Some Dimensions and Contributing Factors
Chimobi Ucha - No One Wants a Baby Girl: Analyzing Gendercide in China and India
Samantha Ufret - An Analysis of the Determinants of Poverty in India and South Africa
Karl Usuka - Effects of Climate Change on Agriculture in Guatemala and Honduras
Karissa Waddick - Living in Cities: The Relationship between Urbanization and Economic Growth in Thailand versus Indonesia
Abd Wafiee Abd Wahab - Differences in Poverty in the Dominican Republic and Haiti: Factors that Affect Growth
Kevin Werner - Impact of Climate Change on the Poor in Bolivia
Christian Winters - Closing the Gender Gap: Women’s Rights in Ethiopia and Mexico By Ain Wright
- Climate Change in China: Can China Be a Model of Sustainable Development?
Hiromi Yagi - Agriculture in Kenya and Uganda: Relevance, Behavior, and Performance
Giorgio Zenere