The Third World in International Politics

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The Third World in International Politics
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Definitions of Third World

• Alfred Sauvy 1952 analogy between
  pre-industrial nations with the poor of
  pre-Revolutionary France the third
  estate/commoners
• 1955 Bandung
• Has nothing but wants something
• Developing or underdeveloped, the South?
• Non-aligned?
• 1st industrialised/western
• 2nd communist

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• Dependence on export of primary products
• rural traditional high population growth
  poverty
• Term often criticised
• Arendt not a reality but an ideology
• third world - great differences
• Human Development Index

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The HDI measures the average achievements in a
country in three basic dimensions of human
development

• A long and healthy life, as measured by life
  expectancy at birth. Knowledge, as measured by
  the adult literacy rate (with two-thirds weight)
  and the combined primary, secondary and tertiary
  gross enrollment ratio (with one-third weight).
  A decent standard of living, as measured by GDP
  per capita in purchasing power parity (PPP) terms
  in US dollars.

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HDI 1/3 (life expectancy index) 1/3
(education index) 1/3 (GDP index)
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HDI Ranking

• TOP 5 Bottom 5
• Norway 0.965 Guinea-Bissau 0.349
• Iceland 0.960 Burkina-Faso 0.342
• Australia 0.957 Mali 0.338
• Ireland 0.956 Sierra Leone 0.335
• Sweden 0.951 Niger 0.311
• US 0.948
• UK 0.940

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• Cold War proxy wars
• Vietnam/Afghanistan/Africa
  /
• Central America
• - Nonaligned Movement
• Post Cold War - Issues

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Africa 1975 Onwards

• 1974 coup in Lisbon ends Portuguese Empire in
  Africa
• Soviet Union and Cuba becoming involved in
• Angola 1975
• Ethiopia 1977
• Cuba seen as Soviet proxy

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Latin America

• 1979 victory of Sandanistas in Nicaragua
• Agreements with Moscow Havana
• US funds Contras
• Iran-Contra scandal
• 1983 US invades Grenada Bluefields airport

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The Non-Aligned Movement

• September 1961 1st meeting in Belgrade 25
  countries
• Concerned accelerating arms race and could lead
  to war
• Strategic political neutrality towards major
  powers

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The Non-Aligned Movement

• Criteria
• Independent policy based on coexistence of states
  with different political/social systems
• Support for Movements of National Independence
• Not member of multilateral military alliance
  concluded in contest of Great Power conflicts
• If a country has a bilateral military alliance
  with a Great power, or is a member of a regional
  defence pact, the agreement or pact should not be
  one deliberately concluded in the context of
  Great power Conflicts
• If it has conceded military bases to a Foreign
  Power the concession should not have been made in
  the context of Great Power Conflicts

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The Non-Aligned Movement

• 2nd Conference in Cairo 1964 47 countries
• Independent path in world politics not result
  in Member States becoming pawns in struggles
  between major powers
• Does this movement have real power?

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• Third World
• Developing World
• South

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Colonialisms Legacy

• Political independence but what about economic?
• Where does economic power lie?
• Who are the former colonies dependent on?
  Dependency theory
• Neo-colonialism

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Colonialisms Legacy

• Development Issues
• Poverty
• Urbanization
• Health
• Mono-economies

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• Globalisation
• language
• religion

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Colonialisms Legacy

• Migration
• In todays world should everyone have the right
  to move freely?
• Could the US economy cope without Mexican
  immigrants?

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Colonialisms Legacy

• Third World Poverty/Debt
• Debt crisis for over 20 years
• Knock-on effects for health/education/development
• 1998 level of debt - 1000b
• Should the West be doing more? - G8

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Colonialisms Legacy

• Borders

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Colonialisms Legacy

• Is it possible to move from Developing World to
  Developed World?
• 1 January 1994 North American Free Trade
  Agreement (NAFTA)

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Conclusions

• Third World vital during Cold War
• proxy wars
• Vietnam
• Afghanistan
• Africa
• Latin America

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Conclusions

• Nonaligned Movement
• Huge legacy from colonialism
• Borders
• Language
• religion

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Conclusions

• Neo-colonialism
• Development issues