Global South

Versus
Third World

Agbay, Lindee P.
The Third
World  Originated in 1952, when the
French demographer Alfred
Sauvy wrote a newspaper
article using the expression
“the Third World” as a
conscious callback to “the
third estate”, as commoners
were dubbed during the
French Revolution.
 The term was officially used
in April 1955 after the
conference in Bandung,
Indonesia.
The Third World
 Consists of the AALA Countries (Africa, Asia, Latin
America)
 Developing or Underdeveloped Countries
 Dismissed after agued as insulting
 Vijay Prashad’s work "The Darker Nations", he
claims that ‘The Third World was not a place. It was
a project’ (2007: xv). Prashad puts forth the idea of
a Third World project to refer to the emergence of
a common ideology and a set of institutions that
encapsulated its values and goals.
Characteristics of Third World
 Highly dependent on distorted
economies
 Wide spread of poverty
 Absorption in to capitalist economy
 Poor infrastructure setup
 Unemployment
 Overpopulated
 Weak ruler
 Poor educational system
Cold War (Mar 12, 1947 – Dec 26,
1991) It was called the Cold War
because neither the
Soviet Union nor the
United States officially
declared war on each
other. However, both
sides clearly struggled to
prevent the other from
spreading its economic
and political systems
around the globe.
Cold War
 The Cold War rivalry had forced many Third
World countries into the precarious contest
for political allegiance to one of the blocs.
 Both socially and economically, the Cold
War had an impact on domestic policy. The
rigorous social brainwashing that the
American people underwent resulted in a
rollback of social reforms. Heavy
government expansion supported the
massive economic boom sparked by war-
related businesses.
Global South
 Made up of Africa,
Latin America and the
Caribbean, Pacific
Islands, and Asia,
excluding Israel, Japan,
and South Korea.
Global South
What are the characteristics of a Global South
country that makes it distinctly poor?

1.High Level of Unemployment

High level of Unemployment in such countries
is a key cause of poverty
2.High dependence on Agriculture
70% of the population depends on agriculture
and lacks scientific farming.
Global South
What are the characteristics of a Global South
country that makes it distinctly poor?
3.Income disparity between the rich and the poor
Rich people in Global South are becoming Richer and
poor becoming even poorer.
4.Low per capita Income
Due to the people's low per capita income, the
people are very poor.
 Distinction between Third
World and Global South

Third World: Third Estate

Global South: NIEO

Third World: less politically tinged

Global South: more politically tinged