Decolonization and the Rise of the Third World: 1945-Present

Posted on Dec 7, 2024 in History

Decolonization

Causes:

  • The weakening of European powers after the two World Wars.
  • The existence of indigenous elites: The metropolises had created colonial cultures and enriched a minority of future leaders that emerged from decolonization.
  • The role of the U.S. and the USSR was instrumental in supporting the decolonization process: Both states provided ideological, political, and military support. Decolonization weakened the European powers and helped consolidate the new order led by the two superpowers. The eventual support for the new nations was also a way to increase their spheres of influence.
  • The UN’s support for the process: After the First World War, the Society of Nations had encouraged decolonization, but the United Nations went further. In its charter, it stressed the need to give autonomy to the colonies. In 1960, the General Assembly established the Decolonization Committee.

Features:

  • The demographic revolution accelerated the growth of the population of these countries, increasing at a rate much higher than in Europe and the U.S.
  • Nationalism: Most African and Asian politicians had a strong nationalist and anti-colonial sentiment.
  • The development model: The governments of independent countries adopted Western models of growth, in either its more liberal or communist forms.
  • Decolonization consolidated strong differences in the societies of the new countries: A Westernized minority emerged, while the vast majority of people retained the customs of their own traditional culture.
  • There were different paths to emancipation: In some countries, decolonization was essentially peaceful. Most achieved independence after armed conflicts that led to internal wars. In all cases, the mother country retained its ability to influence the internal affairs of its former colonies.

Middle East

The Genesis of the Arab-Israeli Conflict

Until 1914, the territories of the Middle East had been dominated by the Ottoman Empire. After its defeat in the First World War, their possessions were given to the French and British under the mandate formula.

In 1896, a political movement known as Zionism was created. It came to fruition with the founding of the World Zionist Organization in 1897, which pursued these objectives: the creation of a Jewish state, the consolidation of a national consciousness of the Jewish people, and the protection of Jews. Zionism became an important instrument of international pressure.

The State of Israel

The huge international impact assumed the need to create a Jewish state as symbolic compensation. In 1947, the United Nations proposed a plan to partition Palestine into two states (Arab and Jewish). This was accepted by the Jews but not by the Arabs, creating a conflict between them. The British withdrew from Palestine due to the rise of military troops and armed resistance caused by the Haganah and the Irgun, Jewish terrorist groups.

The Arab-Israeli Conflict

The proclamation of the State of Israel provoked the rejection of the Arab world. Since then, the new Jewish state was seen as a common enemy, which resulted in successive conflicts:

  • In 1948, the founding of Israel unleashed the first Arab-Israeli War.
  • In 1956, during the conflict in the Suez Canal, Israel attacked Egypt along with France and the UK.
  • In 1964, the Palestinians formed the PLO, which gained recognition from the United Nations.
  • In 1967, the Six-Day War took place.
  • In 1973, the Yom Kippur War occurred.

The Movement of Non-Aligned Countries

The Beginnings of Cooperation

The origins of cooperation between the new states are in the 1940s when an Asian conference was held to promote solidarity between the colonies and denounce neo-imperialist policies.

The Bandung Conference

Twenty-nine countries in Africa and Asia met in 1955 with the intention of discussing their common problems. They decided to establish a third global block outside the logic imposed by the Cold War. The meeting was convened by India. The key objectives were to foster relations between the nations of Africa and Asia, strengthen the international position of independent peoples, discuss common problems at the global level, uphold the right of peoples to self-determination, censure the logic of the Cold War, support disarmament measures, and report the involvement of the metropolises.

Movements of Non-Aligned Countries

The Bandung Conference rejected the model of the Cold War imposed and defined by the presence of two superpowers whose aim was to expand their sphere of influence. In addition to a rejection of military policy, the states in attendance were inspired by a strong condemnation of colonialism. Non-alignment was defined by a set of principles: to preserve national independence, reject membership of military blocs, and fight for complete and general disarmament. The long-term integrity of the countries in one of the two blocs and the variability of the non-alliance were compromised by a number of factors: Increasing poverty mortgaged their independence, forcing them to accept financial aid; solidarity between states was hampered by internal conflicts; in international confrontations, there were different views on the analysis of problems.

Underdevelopment and the Third World

The Third World

The decolonization process culminated in access to political independence in Asia and Africa. The new countries were faced with problems that have hampered their development permanently. The difference in the level of economic development was enormous. Gradually, the separation between a rich North and an impoverished South consolidated. From this analysis, a French sociologist developed a sociological theory in which there was talk of a “Third World.” The analysis provided a comparison between countries at the Bandung Conference and the Third Estate of the French Revolution.

Uneven Development

The basis of this inequality was:

  • The industrialization of the 19th and 20th centuries created very unified international areas and economically developed areas, as well as areas far from the richness and with deep social inequalities.
  • European colonialism kept the peoples of the various colonies away from technical and social achievements, and the peoples of Africa and Asia were treated as minors.
  • In many countries, cities have continued to exploit resources through multinational corporations.
  • Many states failed to prevent the interference of the metropolis in internal affairs, with governments that have developed corrupt and totalitarian policies.
  • Infighting has led to bloody civil wars.
  • The logic of the market economy has only increased this situation.

Characteristics of Third World Societies

  • In economic terms, these are regions where the majority of the population is engaged in the primary sector, while the secondary sector is virtually nonexistent.
  • From a social perspective, they are states where access to basic services is very precarious.
  • From a population approach, they are societies with very low life expectancy and high birth rates, which determines a very young population.
  • Regarding the political situation, they are usually governed by authoritarian regimes or formal democracies, but fraudulent, with a strong military influence that usually causes much conflict.

Theories of Interpretation of Underdevelopment

As the phenomenon of underdevelopment emerged, theories have emerged to explain its origin and behavior.

  1. An optimistic stance is confident in the benefits of capitalism and the market economy as a mechanism to solve the problems of underdevelopment.
  2. A second group of performances would be grouped into structural theories that insist on interpreting underdevelopment as a global phenomenon.