Developing Countries and the Emerging World Order

Abstract

Abstract Reflects on the relevance and role of the Third World in the emerging world order; more specifically, it examines the extent to which the end of the cold war affected the insecurity and vulnerability of the Third World countries and the state of the North–South divide as it relates to the prospects for global cooperation and maintenance of order in the post‐cold war era. The discussion is in three parts. The first looks at the question of whether the end of the cold war will increase or dampen instability and conflict in the Third World. This is followed by an assessment of emerging areas of North–South tension over world order issues, especially those that are associated with the North's ill‐defined vision of a ’New World Order’. The third part examines the changing role of Third World platforms and institutions, both global and regional, in addressing the political, security, and economic concerns of the developing countries.