World-Class Study Notes on Third World Politics: Theories of Change and Development

The Concept of a 'Third World'

  • Terminology and Ideology: The term "Third World" is often criticized but remains defensible against alternatives like "developing countries," "modernizing," or "the South."

    • Developing: Risks ethnocentric evolutionism by assuming a linear path toward Western-style progress.
    • Modernizing: Often synonymous with Westernization, carrying heavy value-laden biases.
    • The South: Geographically inaccurate and implies a non-existent internal solidarity.
    • Underdeveloped: A transitive term from dependency theory, suggesting that the development of the North was made possible by the active exploitation of the South.

  • Historical Evolution of Solidarity:

    • Origins: Coined by Alfred Sauvy in the 1950s to denote a "Third Force" outside the Cold War power blocs. Represented heavily by the 1955 Bandung Conference.
    • Economic Solidarity: The Group of 77 (now 130 members) sought a New International Economic Order (NIEO) to secure national control of resources and stabilize raw material prices.
    • Cultural Resistance: Cooperation through UNESCO against "cultural imperialism" and inappropriate technology transfers.

  • Changing Heterogeneity:

    • Economic Disparities: There is a divide between "rich poor" (like the BRIC economies) and the "Fourth World" (least developed countries).
    • The 'End of History' Fallacy: Francis Fukuyama’s idea that all countries are converging on liberal democracy is challenged by the lack of political consensus in much of the Third World.
    • Rise of China: China’s role as a major donor and trade partner (US$115 billion bilateral trade with Africa in 2010) offers a non-Western developmental influence.

The Developing Political System and Functionalism

  • Structural-Functionalist Perspective: Attempted to create a comparative framework for new states by focusing on functions rather than Western institutions.

    • The Organic Metaphor: Political systems are viewed as biological organisms characterized by interdependence and equilibrium.
    • Universal Functions:
      • Interest Articulation: How demands are brought to the political arena.
      • Interest Aggregation: Combining demands into policy alternatives (e.g., political parties).
      • Rule-making, Rule Application, and Rule Adjudication: Analogous to legislation, bureaucracy, and judiciary.
      • Political Communication and Socialization: Transmitting values across generations.

  • Modernization and Secularization:

    • Pattern Variables (Parsons): Modernization is seen as a shift from particularism to universalism, and ascription to achievement.
    • Secularization: The process by which people realize their environment is changeable by human intervention rather than divine fate.
    • The Problem of Tradition: Tradition is often wrongly seen purely as an obstacle. Modernity and tradition frequently survive side-by-side (e.g., India's democracy being strengthened by vernacularizing norms within castes).

Neo-Colonialism and Dependency

  • Constitutional vs. Economic Independence: Sovereignty did not guarantee freedom from external constraints. The term "neo-colonialism" (Nkrumah) labels a facade of autonomy fronting metropolitan financial control.

  • Dependency Theory:

    • Centre-Periphery Hierarchy: Surplus value is extracted from satellites to metropolises across multiple levels.
    • Underdevelopment as an Active Process: Suggests that periphery countries are not "behind," but are being actively held back by the global capitalist structure.
    • Comprador Elites: Indigenous elites whose interests align with foreign capital rather than their own masses.

  • Critiques of Dependency:

    • Bill Warren's Perspective: Argues that formal independence gave states "institutional control" (central banks, fiscal powers) that actually facilitated indigenous capitalism.
    • Economic Performance: The success of Newly Industrializing Countries (NICs) in East Asia challenges the idea that dependency prevents growth.

The State in Third World Politics

  • The Pluralist Model: Views the state as a neutral umpire managing group competition. Often fails in the Third World due to the lack of an equal distribution of influence.
  • The Post-Colonial State (Marxist Interpretations):
    • Parasitic/Predatory State: Officials use power for personal accumulation.
    • Bonapartism/Relative Autonomy: Developed by Hamza Alavi regarding Pakistan; the military-bureaucratic oligarchy mediates between a national bourgeoisie, landed classes, and metropolitan capital.
  • Overdeveloped State: The colonial legacy left highly developed coercive and administrative structures (military/bureaucracy) without corresponding representative institutions.
  • Globalization and the State: While global capital imposes discipline, states remain the key facilitator of globalization, providing the necessary legal and physical infrastructure.

Political Parties and Party Systems

  • Functions: Legitimacy, recruitment, and interest aggregation. In many regions, parties serve as machines for clientelism rather than programmatic policy.
  • Single-Party Systems: Historically justified by the need for national unity and the claim of a "classless" society (e.g., Tanzania’s African Socialism). Often degenerated into autocracy.
  • Institutionalization: Stable democracy depends on parties being rooted in society rather than personalistic leadership. "Inchoate" systems lead to volatility and low legitimacy.
  • Factionalism and Clientelism: Many Third World parties are built on vertical linkages (patron-client exchanges) rather than horizontal class solidarities.

Military Intervention in Politics

  • Types of Coups:
    • Guardian/Governmental: The military acts as a temporary steward during crisis.
    • Veto Coup: Military intervention to block a radical social movement from gaining power.
    • Reforming Coup: The military seeks to fundamentally change the social order.
  • Explanations for Intervention:
    • Social Mobilization: Huntington argues that violence results when mobilization exceeds institutional capability.
    • Professionalism: Paradoxically, higher professionalism can lead the military to believe it alone can safeguard the "national interest" against corrupt politicians.
    • Contagion: The pattern of successful coups in neighboring countries.

Institutionalization and Revolution

  • Political Instability: Often results from the "Revolution of Rising Expectations," where a period of development is followed by a sudden reversal (J-Curve theory).
  • Ethnic and Sectarian Conflict: Horizontal inequalities (material and social differences between groups) are a more potent trigger for violence than total poverty levels.
  • Revolutionary Conditions:
    • Requires a "revolutionary state of mind" and an intelligent leadership-in-arms.
    • Social exchange is necessary; the revolutionary organization must provide services (health, education, land) that the state fails to deliver (e.g., FARC in Colombia).

Conclusion: The Fragile Path of Democracy

  • Democratic Consolidation: Requires moving beyond "low intensity" or procedural democracy to deep participation and the rule of law.
  • Developmental States: Models like Singapore show that state intervention and a meritocratic bureaucracy can produce rapid growth, though often at the cost of civil liberties.
  • Democratic Deficit: Many Third Wave democracies remain illiberal, with concentrations of executive power, electoral fraud, and weakened judiciaries. True citizenship requires the alleviation of poverty to allow for equal political exercise.