Developing Countries

Old versus New Terms:

  • The old terms

    • Third world: Cold War-era classification

    • Global South: Latin America, Southeast Asia, and Africa

  • Current terminology

    • Developing countries: lower-and middle-income countries

Income Categories of Development:

  • Middle-income countries: historically less-developed countries that have experienced significant economic growth and democratization

    • Also known as newly industrialized countries (NICs)

    • Per capita GDP (PPP) between $4000 and $13000

    • Some are very comparable to developed democracies

  • Lower-income countries: countries that lack significant economic development, political

Comparing Freedom and Equality in Developing Countries

  • Many differences

    • Economics: Some are growing and breaking out of the poverty trap, while others are being left behind

    • Regime type: Some are democracies, others nondemocracies

    • Various cultures, state capacities, ethnic, national, or religious institutions

A Common Legacy

  • Empires: a single political authority that has under its sovereignty a large number of external regions or territories and different people

  • Imperialism: a system in which a state extends its power to directly control territory, resources, and people beyond its borders

    • Dominated by European powers (1500s to 1900s)

    • Driven by economic, strategic, and cultural/religious motives

  • Imperialism often led to colonialism

    • Colonialism: an imperialist system of physically occupying a foreign territory using military force, business interests, or settlers

Dependent Development:

  • Importing cash-based economies

  • Little free trade tended toward mercantilism

    • Colonies produced primary commodities only

      • Finished goods sold by Imperial Center

      • Little development of the local and regional industry

    • Limits on trade with rival empires

    • Business monopolies controlled economies

      • United East India Company (Dutch); British East India Company

  • Urbanization and infrastructure expansion

Post-Imperialism Challenges