In the question
of “how has the third world been affected upon the end of the Cold War”, there
are three main areas to examine; all of which are interlinked and address a
broad range of issues and consequences faced by the third world. These three main areas are: democratisation,
globalisation and the economy.
Just before the
end of the Cold War, there was a sharp rise in third world countries that had
democratised. Yet, with the crumbling of
the
With the
Many third world
countries democratised on their own accord with the death of socialist ideals
upon the death of the
According to a
“Foreign Affairs” article, poor democracies and poor dictatorships spend
roughly the same on health care, yet democracies fare better with better
management and equal distribution of opportunities. However, that is not to say that autocracies
have not flourished on their own terms. Some
democracies such as
On the whole, it
could be said that democratisation has been the most positive affect of the
post Cold War era, on third world countries.
Globalisation has
taken shape on many levels throughout the third world. Just because many countries have democratised
with the demise of the
Globalisation has
affected the third world both politically and culturally. In the name of Marketisation,
blurred borders between countries and trans national corporations (TNC’s), the role of the state has been undermined,
especially with so many non state actors on the political stage.
According to
Caroline Thomas, there is increasing concern that TNC’s
and privatisation is playing more and more of a part in public affairs. With increased freedom of movement and access
to information, such as the internet, trans-global transactions have speeded upand there is an increasing awareness of corruption, both
at government level within democratic and non democratic regimes. However, there is also a distinct lack of
representation of third world countries in cases such as the G8 summit and
other key conferences which have taken place in the last several years.
Unfortunately,
the cultural gap between the west and east is ever widening. The so-called “war on terror” spear headed by
the
Perhaps the most
negative and devastating affect on the third world with the end of the Cold
War, has been poverty and a sharp downward spiral of developing economies. As the Cold War ended in 1989, countries in
both
As pointed out by
Caroline Thomas, in Latin American countries for example, by the mid ‘90s there
was a drive towards the Washington consensus, as well as continued corruption
and regime change in the region; thus leaving it the region with the most
unequal distribution of wealth in the world.
Increased market subsidies replaced production in many countries in the
third world, affecting the livelihood of both farmers and manufacturers. Several countries across the third world were
forced to cut into shoestring education and healthcare budgets, just to repay the
debt owed to the international financial institutions (IFI’s).
Sadly, more and more third world
countries have been forced to rely on aid agencies for basic things such as
food, medicine and clean water. With
third world economies being so badly affected by the widening gap between the
rich developed north and the poor south, there is little or no funding left to
improve infrastructures.
There has been
far too little to show for far too few reconstructive programs sponsored by
rich western countries, to improve the economies and overall well being of
third world countries.
The west has
dominated overwhelmingly in the rest of the world with the end of the Cold War. Enforced democratisation, globalisation and
devastating economic consequences have gripped the third world. As a proposed solution to many problems faced
by the third world in the wake of the twenty-first century, an alternative path
forward must be considered.
The alternative
way forward, would involve the three main areas mentioned above. For example, especially within democracies, grassroots
development projects (GDP’s) have already been in existence for some time. However, more credibility must be given to
these organisations in south/south co-operation. In terms of globalisation, far too much power
has been given to TNC’s and taken away from the
state, in the name of marketisation and the private
sector.
There must be a
respect for cultural diversity in all societies, rather than a one size fits
all approach, present in the current orthodoxy of international politics. The long term goal of shifting away from a globalised market economy, to perhaps a more
regional/localised economy, must be addressed.
In short, the “top down” approach simply does not work for the world’s
poor in developing countries. If leaders
and policy makers would consider the benefits of a “bottom up” approach, thus
giving impoverished people the chance for investment, increased productivity
and better representation, then the third world might thrive on the ticket of
opportunity. However, these changes and
long term objectives, musts happen outside the framework of western ideology in
order to cultivate a more holistic and peaceful political environment both in
the developed and developing world
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