Third-worldism is a political concept and ideology that emerged in the late 1940s or early 1950s during theCold War and tried to generate unity among the countries that did not want to take sides between theUnited States and theSoviet Union. The concept is closely related but not identical to the political theory ofMaoism–Third Worldism.
The political thinkers and leaders of third-worldism argued that the north–south divisions and conflicts were of primary political importance compared to theEast-West opposition of the Cold War period. In thethree-world model, the countries of theFirst World were the ones allied to theUnited States. These states had lesspolitical risk, better functioningdemocracy andeconomic stability, and continue to have a higherstandard of living. TheSecond World designation referred to the formerindustrialsocialist states under the influence of theSoviet Union. TheThird World hence defined countries that remained non-aligned with eitherNATO, or the Communist Bloc. TheThird World was normally seen to include many countries withcolonial pasts inAfrica,Latin America,Oceania andAsia. It was also sometimes taken as synonymous with countries in theNon-Aligned Movement, connected to the world economic division as"periphery" countries in the world system that is dominated by the"core" countries.[1]
Third-worldism was connected to new political movements following thedecolonization and new forms of regionalism that emerged in the erstwhile colonies of Asia, Africa, and the Middle East as well as in the older established states of Latin America, includingpan-Arabism,pan-Africanism,pan-Americanism andpan-Asianism.[2]
The first period of the third-worldist movement, that of the "firstBandung Era", was led by the Egyptian, Indonesian and Indian heads of states such asNasser,Sukarno andNehru. They were followed in the 1960s and 1970s by a second generation of third-worldist governments that emphasized on a more radical and revolutionary socialist vision, personified by the figure ofChe Guevara. At the end of the Cold War in the late 1980s, Third Worldism began to enter into a period of decline.[2]
Third World solidarity is a key tenet of Third Worldism, emphasizing unity and cooperation among countries and peoples of theGlobal South in the struggle againstimperialism,colonialism, andneocolonialism.[3] It embodies the principle of mutual support and shared interests among formerly colonized and oppressed peoples, seeking to address common challenges such as poverty, underdevelopment, and marginalization. Third World solidarity encompasses various forms of collaboration, includingdiplomatic alliances,economic cooperation,cultural exchange, andmutual aid. It emphasizes the agency and autonomy of the Global South in shaping its own destiny and advocating for a more just and equitable international order.[4][5][6][7]
Several leaders have been associated with the third-worldist movement, including:[2][failed verification]
Zulfikar Ali Bhutto
Houari Boumédiène
Amílcar andLuís Cabral
Fidel Castro andChe Guevara
Hugo Chávez
Muammar Gaddafi
Ho Chi Minh
Mao Zedong
Patrice Lumumba
Michael Manley
Evo Morales
Gamal Abdel Nasser
Jawaharlal Nehru
Kwame Nkrumah
Julius Nyerere
SukarnoMohammad Hatta
Thomas Sankara[8]
Josip Broz Tito
Modibo KeïtaTheorists include:
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