11:The Triumph and Tragedy of the "Third world" Flashcards
origin of the term “Third World”
Alfred Sauvy- French economist
‘tiers monde’ in 1952 as a reference to the ‘third estate’ (the commoners of the French Revolution)
what is the “Third world”?
- geographical/developemental category
-defines countries by core socio-economic characteristics
what are the characteristics that define “Third world” countries
-poverty
-high birth rates
-low literacy levels
-economic dependence
the association of the Third World in the Cold War
first world: the west/developed capitalist states
Second World: Soviet Union/communist bloc
Third world: newly independent states where Cold War powers were competing for alliances/influence
What was the Bandung Conference and when?
-April 1955
-a conference of African and Asian nations in Bandung, Indonesia
key principles and objectives of the Bandung Conference
-To foster good relations between Asian and African
countries
-To address issues of concern to Afro-Asian peoples:
sovereignty, racism, colonialism
-To consider the position of the Afro-Asian countries
in the Cold War
-The emergence of a group of non-aligned states
determined to remain neutral in the Cold War
what was the Non-aligned Movement?
-a follow up to the Bandung conference
-countries were under pressure from the west to establish an anti-soviet position
Principles of the non-aligned movement
-Rejection of collective military alliances and foreign
bases as well as bilateral alliances with a great power
-Respect for fundamental human rights and the
Charter of the United Nations.
-Recognition of the equality of all races
-Respect for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of
all nations
-Support for national liberation movements against
colonialism
-Promotion of mutual interests and co-operation
examples of states that failed to stay out of the Cold War and suffered extensive damage as a result
Congo
Indonesia
Cambodia
south africa
Cuba
Angola
Mozambique
Afghanistan
Nicaragua
position of the Congo in 1960
it gained independence from Belgium in June
July: Congo in chaos with army mutinies and the secession of the mineral-rich province of Katanga under Moise Tshombe
Causes of the Congo crisis
-Belgian troops intervened to support Katanga against the Congolese government
-UN troops entered to restore order, also alienated the left wing Prime Minister, Patrice Lumumba
-August 1960: Soviets accused UN of “colonialist behaviour” and sent military aid to Lumumba
-Congo fragmented into 4 rival governments by 1961
Congo crisis
-Lumumba was killed by Katangese troops in 1961
-Katangan secession effectively ended in Jan 1963
-November 1965: Joseph Mobutu seized power in a US-backed coup
-Mobutu ruled Congo (renamed Zaire) as a one party state till he died in 1997
Cold War intervention in the Congo Crisis
-US Kennedy administration instigated a tougher UN line to reunify Congo after 1961
-Soviets had been kept out of a key area in Africa
-argued that the UN had taken sides
consequences of the Congo crisis
UN prestige takes a hit
100’000 died in 1960-65 period
Brezhnev Doctrine
-Soviet Foreign Policy that proclaimed that any threat to socialist rule in any state of the soviet bloc, it was a threat to all, so justified intervention
-subsequent support of socialist regimes in Cuba,Angola, Afghanistan
Reagan Doctrine
-initiated an aggressive new set of US Cold War policies in the 3rd world
-underpinned US intervention in Afghanistan, Central America and africa
South Africa and the Cold War
-SA as an anti-communist Cold War ally complicated the western response to apartheid
Who were the 3 groups competing for power in Angola after the war of independence 1961-75?
-Holden Roberto’s FNLA:original liberation movement
-Agostino Neto’s Marxist MPLA
-Jonas Savimbi’s UNITA
who backed the FNLA in Angola?
Congo/Zaire
Algeria
USA
who backed the MPLA in Angola?
Cuba
Soviet Union
who backed the UNITA in Angola
China
South Africa
USA
when/why did Angola become a focal point of Cold War tension?
the MPLA defeated FNLA forces to emerge as the UN-recognised government by April 1976
foreign troops in Angola
-October 1975: South African troops entered Angola
-November 1975 Operation Carlota: 35,000 Cuban
troops were in Angola by the end of 1976
Cold War intervention in Angola
-US incorrectly assumed that the Soviet Union was
behind the Cuban intervention
-By the mid-1980s, the Reagan administration had
become a major backer of UNITA
