Milestones in the making of the third world: A historical exposition

Venatus V Kakwagh

doi:10.4314/gjss.v20i1.5

Abstract

Before the 18th century, the word was not categorized in any form but just the universe. This exposition has however shown that from the 18th century, certain events in Europe led to the categorization of the world into a two-world order as first and second (civilized vs. primitive) and later into a three-world order as 1st, 2nd and 3rd world. The exposition has identified the milestones that led to this categorization as colonialism, neo-colonialism, imperialism and ideological war (cold war). The exposition has noted that due to the collapse of the Soviet bloc, the world was pushed back to a dualistic status- North and South. However, as the North and South dialogue was gaining momentum, globalization came onto the scene and pushed the world back to a one-world order- the global village.

Highlights

The term ‘third world’ is a reference to countries of Africa, Asia and Latin America
It is important to first highlight the role played by colonialism, neo-colonialism and imperialism
The paper intends to explain the reasons behind the shift from a threeworld-structure to a dualistic status and to the present global village state

Summary

INTRODUCTION

The term ‘third world’ is a reference to countries of Africa, Asia and Latin America. While the first and second worlds were seen in terms of differences between them, the third world was a collection of countries with cultural, economic, political and social similarities. CIVIL SOCIETY After the third world countries had emerged as independent nations, they were dominated by influences of the state and the market. The civil society became a matter of serious concern when donor agencies began to deal with the issues of poverty in third world countries (Kastrati, 2016). Many agencies have realised these short comings between the state, market and civil society and are taking all the components on board to deal with the issues of development in the third world countries. Globalisation is a process which compels all countries to come together for interdependence and interrelation both in terms of economic, political, social and cultural spheres (Albrow & King, 1990). It is the 1950s and 1960s revisited under a new name

CONCLUSION

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