In the field of
international relations
International relations (IR), sometimes referred to as international studies and international affairs, is the scientific study of interactions between sovereign states. In a broader sense, it concerns all activities between states—such as ...
, the Three Worlds Theory ( zh, s=三个世界的理论, p=Sān gè Shìjiè de Lǐlùn) by
Mao Zedong
Mao Zedong pronounced ; also romanised traditionally as Mao Tse-tung. (26 December 1893 – 9 September 1976), also known as Chairman Mao, was a Chinese communist revolutionary who was the founder of the People's Republic of China (PRC) ...
proposed to the visiting
Algeria
)
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n President
Houari Boumédiène
Houari Boumédiène ( ar, ; ALA-LC: ''Hawwārī Būmadyan''; born Mohammed Ben Brahim Boukherouba; 23 August 1932 – 27 December 1978) was an Algerian politician and army colonel who served as Chairman of the Revolutionary Council of Alge ...
in February 1974 that the international system operated as three contradictory politico-economic worlds. On April 10, 1974, at the 6th Special Session United Nations General Assembly, Vice-Premier
Deng Xiaoping
Deng Xiaoping (22 August 1904 – 19 February 1997) was a Chinese revolutionary leader, military commander and statesman who served as the paramount leader of the People's Republic of China (PRC) from December 1978 to November 1989. After CC ...
applied the Three Worlds Theory during the
New International Economic Order
The New International Economic Order (NIEO) is a set of proposals advocated by developing countries to end economic colonialism and dependency through a new interdependent economy. The main NIEO document recognized that the current international e ...
presentations about the problems of raw materials and development, to explain the PRC's economic co-operation with non-communist countries.
The First World comprises the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
and the
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...
, the superpower countries respectively engaged in
imperialism
Imperialism is the state policy, practice, or advocacy of extending power and dominion, especially by direct territorial acquisition or by gaining political and economic control of other areas, often through employing hard power (economic and ...
and in
social imperialism
As a political term, social imperialism is the political ideology of people, parties, or nations that are, according to Soviet leader Vladimir Lenin, "socialist in words, imperialist in deeds". In academic use, it refers to governments that enga ...
. The Second World comprises
Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
,
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
,
Europe
Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...
and the other countries of the
global North
Global means of or referring to a globe and may also refer to:
Entertainment
* ''Global'' (Paul van Dyk album), 2003
* ''Global'' (Bunji Garlin album), 2007
* ''Global'' (Humanoid album), 1989
* ''Global'' (Todd Rundgren album), 2015
* Bruno ...
. The Third World comprises China, the countries of
Africa
Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...
,
Latin America
Latin America or
* french: Amérique Latine, link=no
* ht, Amerik Latin, link=no
* pt, América Latina, link=no, name=a, sometimes referred to as LatAm is a large cultural region in the Americas where Romance languages — languages derived f ...
, and
continental Asia.
As political science, the Three Worlds Theory is a
Maoist
Maoism, officially called Mao Zedong Thought by the Chinese Communist Party, is a variety of Marxism–Leninism that Mao Zedong developed to realise a socialist revolution in the agricultural, pre-industrial society of the Republic of Ch ...
interpretation and geopolitical reformulation of international relations, which is different from the
Three-World Model
The terms ''First World'', ''Second World'', and ''Third World'' were originally used to divide the world's nations into three categories. The complete overthrow of the post–World War II status quo, known as the Cold War, left two (originally ...
, created by the demographer
Alfred Sauvy
Alfred Sauvy (31 October 1898 – 30 October 1990) was a demographer, anthropologist and historian of the French economy. Sauvy coined the term Third World ("Tiers Monde") in reference to countries that were unaligned with either the Communis ...
in which the First World comprises the United States, the United Kingdom, and their allies; the Second World comprises the Soviet Union, the People's Republic of China, and their allies; and the Third World comprises the economically underdeveloped countries, including the 120 countries of the
Non-Aligned Movement
The Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) is a forum of 120 countries that are not formally aligned with or against any major power bloc. After the United Nations, it is the largest grouping of states worldwide.
The movement originated in the aftermath o ...
(NAM).
Criticism
In the 1970s, the
Party of Labour of Albania
The Party of Labour of Albania ( sq, Partia e Punës e Shqipërisë, PPSh), sometimes referred to as the Albanian Workers' Party (AWP), was the ruling and sole legal party of Albania during the communist period (1945–1991). It was founded o ...
led by
Enver Hoxha
Enver Halil Hoxha ( , ; 16 October 190811 April 1985) was an Albanian communist politician who was the authoritarian ruler of Albania from 1944 until his death in 1985. He was First Secretary of the Party of Labour of Albania from 1941 unt ...
began to openly criticize the Three Worlds Theory, describing it as anti-Leninist and a chauvinist theory. These criticisms were elaborated upon at length in works by Enver Hoxha, including The Theory and Practice of the Revolution and ', and were made also published in the newspaper of the Party of Labour of Albania, Zëri i Popullit. The publication of these works and the now active criticism of the Three Worlds Theory in Albanian media played a hand in the growing
ideological divide between Albania and China that would ultimately culminate in Albania denouncing the
People's Republic of China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
and
Maoism
Maoism, officially called Mao Zedong Thought by the Chinese Communist Party, is a variety of Marxism–Leninism that Mao Zedong developed to realise a socialist revolution in the agricultural, pre-industrial society of the Republic of Chi ...
as revisionist.
See also
*
Africa–China relations
Sino-African relations or Afro-Chinese relations are the historical, political, economic, military, social, and cultural connection between mainland China and the African continent.
Little is known about ancient relations between China and A ...
*
World-systems theory
World-systems theory (also known as world-systems analysis or the world-systems perspective)Immanuel Wallerstein, (2004), "World-systems Analysis." In ''World System History'', ed. George Modelski, in ''Encyclopedia of Life Support Systems'' (E ...
*
Third-Worldism
Third-Worldism is a political concept and ideology that emerged in the late 1940s or early 1950s during the Cold War and tried to generate unity among the nations that did not want to take sides between the United States and the Soviet Union. The ...
*
Third World socialism
*
Maoism–Third Worldism
Maoism–Third Worldism (MTW) is a broad tendency which is mainly concerned with the infusion and synthesis of Marxism—particularly of the Marxist–Leninist–Maoist persuasion—with concepts of non-Marxist Third Worldism, namely dependenc ...
*
First World
The concept of First World originated during the Cold War and comprised countries that were under the influence of the United States and the rest of NATO and opposed the Soviet Union and/or communism during the Cold War. Since the collapse of ...
*
Second World
The Second World is a term originating during the Cold War for the industrial socialist states that were under the influence of the Soviet Union. In the first two decades following World War II, 19 communist states emerged; all of these were at ...
*
Third World
The term "Third World" arose during the Cold War to define countries that remained non-aligned with either NATO or the Warsaw Pact. The United States, Canada, Japan, South Korea, Western European nations and their allies represented the " First ...
*
Fourth World
*
Developed country
A developed country (or industrialized country, high-income country, more economically developed country (MEDC), advanced country) is a sovereign state that has a high quality of life, developed economy and advanced technological infrastruct ...
*
Developing country
A developing country is a sovereign state with a lesser developed industrial base and a lower Human Development Index (HDI) relative to other countries. However, this definition is not universally agreed upon. There is also no clear agreem ...
*
Anti-revisionism
Anti-revisionism is a position within Marxism–Leninism which emerged in the 1950s in opposition to the Khrushchev Thaw, reforms of Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev. Where Khrushchev pursued an interpretation that differed from his predecessor ...
References
External links
On the Question of the Differentiation of the Three WorldsCommunist Party of China – The letter in 25 points*
ttp://www.marxists.org/reference/archive/hoxha/works/imp_rev/imp_ch4.htm Enver Hoxha: Imperialism and the Revolution – Part TwoCommunist Party of Peru on the three worldsCommunist Party of Turkey/Marxist-Leninist on the three worldsRed Army Fraction: statement made on November 1972{{Maoism
Ideology of the Chinese Communist Party
Maoism
Country classifications
Imperialism studies