Analyzing The Third World

First Published in 2017. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an Informa company.

In 1968 the Third World Liberation Front at San Francisco State College demanded the creation of a Third World studies program to counter the existing curricula that ignored issues of power—notably, imperialism and oppression. The administration responded by institutionalizing an ethnic studies program; Third World studies was over before it began. Detailing the field's genesis and premature death, Gary Y. Okihiro presents an intellectual history of ethnic studies and Third World studies and shows where they converged and departed by identifying some of their core ideas, concepts, methods, and theories. In so doing, he establishes the contours of a unified field of study—Third World studies—that pursues a decolonial politics by examining the human condition broadly, especially in regard to oppression, and critically analyzing the locations and articulations of power as manifested in the social formation. Okihiro's framing of Third World studies moves away from ethnic studies' liberalism and its U.S.-centrism to emphasize the need for complex thinking and political action in the drive for self-determination.

Mao Zedong had developed the Three Worlds Theory; however, after the dissolution of Soviet Union, Third World has been used interchangeably with least developed countries and somehow conveys poverty. Nevertheless, the term Third World has also been used to describe some rich countries with very high Gross Domestic Product or even high Human Development Index; therefore, poverty is not always economical, and roots within society. The nature of society is rooted in culture, which is set of ideas, norms, and values; and structure, which is the fundamental organization of society into its institutions, groups, statuses, and roles. While evaluating the difference between “real culture” and “ideal culture”, lead us to understand that cultural values are not always consistent, even within the same society. Global poverty dates back to centuries of plunder and confiscation of land and riches from the indigenous people under the flag of colonialism and exploitation. Over years, exploitation has led the current economic system being funded by the poor through theft of land and natural resources, unfair debt settlement, and unjust taxes on labor and consumption. Social inequality – in sense of distribution of material possessions, money, power, prestige, relationship – whether within societies or among them is a topic at the heart of sociology. The theory of a “Culture of Poverty” describes the combination of factors that perpetuate patterns of inequality and poverty in society. This theory states that living in conditions of prevalent poverty leads to the development of a culture or subculture adapted to those conditions, and characterized by prevalent feelings of vulnerability, dependency, marginality, and feebleness. The myth of the Culture of Poverty, intensifying Cultural Poverty, Cycle of poverty or development trap, insufficiency of materialist information society, necessity of knowledge society, and other key factors in crafting the third world are discussed in this book. “The Third World; Country or People” takes a systematic approach to the analysis of human lives and interactions and evaluates various fields including anthropology, economics, political science, ethnic studies, area studies, gender studies, cultural studies.

Today the colonial empires of the world are shrinking, and the new nations which have emerged from the colonial past are rapidly developing into an important force in international affairs--the "third world." They are faced by a common problem, the urgent necessity to transform a peasant society into a modern industrial economy, and they are united by a common outlook, absolute opposition to all forms of colonialism and neocolonialism. In this work Peter Worsley analyzes the unique political forms that have evolved as a result of these two basic conditions. In his view the third world has rejected both of the great ideologies of today. Their new solutions are unique in world history, being based on populism, socialism, and, often, the one-party state, which, although anathema to the Western liberal, is a natural development in societies united by the common enemy of colonialism. "No one seriously concerned with the greatest problem of our time, the division of the world between the developed, industrialized, 'affluent' countries and les nations prolétaires, can afford to miss this book. . . . Professor Worsley has succeeded in giving us more solid information about underdeveloped parts of the world than can be found in any other book of comparable length."--The Times Literary Supplement "Peter Worsley . . . has written an excellent descriptive analysis of the evolution and present state of a third force in world politics. Africa, Asia, and the Middle East have . . . given society not only a new philosophy with new goals but charismatic philosophers who have the potential to make the philosophy of the third world a vital presence to be reckoned with. . . . a brilliant book."--Peter Schwab, Journal of Modern African Studies

Interventionism—the manipulation of the internal politics of one country by another—has long been a feature of international relations. The practice shows no signs of abating, despite the recent collapse of Communism and the decline of the Cold War. In The Political Economy of Third World Intervention, David Gibbs explores the factors that motivate intervention, especially the influence of business interests. He challenges conventional views of international relations, eschewing both the popular "realist" view that the state is influenced by diverse national interests and the "dependency" approach that stresses conflicts between industrialized countries and the Third World. Instead, Gibbs proposes a new theoretical model of "business conflict" which stresses divisions between different business interests and shows how such divisions can influence foreign policy and interventionism. Moreover, he focuses on the conflicts among the core countries, highlighting friction among private interests within these countries. Drawing on U.S. government documents—including a wealth of newly declassified materials—he applies his new model to a detailed case study of the Congo Crisis of the 1960s. Gibbs demonstrates that the Crisis is more accurately characterized by competition among Western interests for access to the Congo's mineral wealth, than by Cold War competition, as has been previously argued. Offering a fresh perspective for understanding the roots of any international conflict, this remarkably accessible volume will be of special interest to students of international political economy, comparative politics, and business-government relations. "This book is an extremely important contribution to the study of international relations theory; Gibbs' treatment of the Congo case is superb. He effectively takes the "statists" to task and presents a compelling new way of analyzing external interventions in the Third World."—Michael G. Schatzberg, University of Wisconsin "David Gibbs makes an original and important contribution to our understanding of the influence of business interests in the making of U.S. foreign policy. His business conflict model provides a synthetic theoretical framework for the analysis of business-government relations, one which yields fresh insights, overcomes inconsistencies in other approaches, and opens new ground for important research. . . . [Gibbs] provides a sophisticated analysis of the conflicts within the U.S. business community and identifies the complex ways in which they interacted with agencies within the government to form U.S. foreign policy toward the Congo. . . . This is a well-crafted analysis of a critical case of U.S. postwar intervention which should be of general interest to scholars and others concerned with the domestic bases of foreign policy."—Thomas J. Biersteker, Director, School of International Relations, University of Southern California

The authors introduce eight case studies of developing states - Mexico, Nigeria, Iran, China, Peru, Zimbabwe, Turkey & Indonesia - combining historical, political & economic analysis to present a broad picture of the political economy in each case.

Originally published: 1995. Paperback reissue, with a new preface by the author.