Cold War ideology promoting the interests of non-aligned countries
Third-worldism is a political concept and ideology that emerged in the late 1940s or early 1950s during the Cold War and tried to generate unity among the nations that did not want to take sides between the United States and the Soviet Union. The concept is closely related but not identical to the political theory of Maoism–Third Worldism.
Third-worldism was connected to new political movements following the decolonization and new forms of regionalism that emerged in the erstwhile colonies of Asia, Africa, and the Middle-East as well as in the older nation-states of Latin America, including pan-Arabism, pan-Africanism, pan-Americanism and pan-Asianism.[2]
The first period of the third-worldist movement, that of the "first Bandung Era", was led by the Egyptian, Indonesian and Indian heads of states such as Nasser, Sukarno and Nehru. 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 of Che 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
Third World solidarity is a key tenet of Third Worldism, emphasizing unity and cooperation among countries and peoples of the Global South in the struggle against imperialism, colonialism, and neocolonialism.[3] It embodies the principle of mutual support and shared interests among formerly colonized and oppressed nations, seeking to address common challenges such as poverty, underdevelopment, and marginalization. Third World solidarity encompasses various forms of collaboration, including diplomatic alliances, economic cooperation, cultural exchange, and mutual 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]
Leaders and theorists
Several leaders have been associated with the third-worldist movement, including:[2][failed verification]
^Prashad, Vijay (2007). The Darker Nations: A People's History of the Third World. New Press. ISBN978-1-59558-048-9. {{cite book}}: Check |isbn= value: checksum (help)
^Bridges, Brian, ed. (2016). Bandung 1955: Non-Alignment and Afro-Asian Solidarity. Routledge. ISBN978-1-138-94703-6. {{cite book}}: Check |isbn= value: checksum (help)
^Loescher, Gil; Letiche, John M. (1987). The Third World in Global Development. Longman. ISBN978-0-582-48247-5. {{cite book}}: Check |isbn= value: checksum (help)
^Macey, David (2012). Frantz Fanon: A Biography (Second ed.). Verso Books. p. 20.
Further reading
Bangura, Abdul Karim, "Toward a Pan-Third Worldism: A Challenge to the Association of Third World Studies (Journal of Third World Studies, Spring 2003)