→ A third bloc is trying to form in the face of the developed countries
Political Domain:
– the UN serves as a forum
– bandung conference from April 18 to 24, 1955 (29 Asian and African countries)
– the principle of “non-alignment” (meeting in Belgrade in 1961 for the first time)
– regional organizations (Arab League in 1945, Organization of African Unity in 1963, Association of Southeast Asian Nations in 1967, “Group of 77” at the UN)
Economic field :
– agricultural and industrial strategies
– low economic growth
– creation of OPEC in 1960 (13 countries in 1973 which control 90% of world exports)
Commercial domain :
– poor countries ask for help from the North
– uN organizations such as the FAO, WHO or UNESCO
– UN conferences on trade and development in 1964, 1968 and 1976
→ The failures of the Third World
Economic development in a bad way :
– debts of Third World countries and difficulties in repayment
– competition from producers
– structural adjustment programs proposed by the IMF in exchange for loan rescheduling
– emerging market crisis in July 1997
– the problem of growing demography
– ecological dangers (deforestation, urbanization, pollution)
Divisions of the Third World countries:
– oil-producing countries are getting richer and widening the gap
– emergence of the 4 dragons: South Korea, Taiwan, Singapore, Hong Kong
– small Latin American countries and sub-Saharan Africa still lagging behind
– attempt to revive the non-aligned movement (Non-Aligned Summit in 1992 in Jakarta)
Fears of war in the Third World:
– armed conflicts of the East/West confrontation in Third World countries (Korean War, Vietnam, Southern Africa, Horn of Africa)
– interventions of the great powers
– rivalries between ethnic communities within countries
– rivalries between Third World countries (Somalia wants Ogaden, Libya wants northern Chad, Eritrea/Ethiopia, Demo. Rep. of Congo)
– affirmation of certain regional powers (Syria, Iran, Iraq, South Africa, Libya, Cuba, Brazil, Vietnam) which are in conflict with the other powers
– growth of armaments (10% of GNP in Third World countries is devoted to the military, compared to 5% in developed countries)
