During the Cold War, countries of the “Third World,” which belonged to neither the U.S. nor the Soviet bloc, united and established independent diplomatic policies. The Bandung Conference was a symbolic event in this movement.
The Bandung Conference and the Birth of the “Third World”
On April 18, 1955, representatives of 29 Asian and African countries gathered in Bandung, Indonesia, for the Asian–African Conference (Bandung Conference). It was hosted by Indonesia’s Sukarno, and its central participants included India’s Nehru (an advocate of nonalignment), Egypt’s Nasser, and China’s Zhou Enlai. The conference adopted the Ten Principles of Peace, declaring the elimination of colonialism, national self-determination, and peaceful coexistence. This conference demonstrated to the world the existence of a “third force” belonging to neither of the two superpowers, the United States and the Soviet Union.
1955: Bandung Conference (29 Asian and African countries; adoption of the Ten Principles of Peace)
1961: Conference of Heads of State or Government of Non-Aligned Countries (Belgrade, 25 countries)——led by Yugoslavia’s Tito, India’s Nehru, and Egypt’s Nasser
1964: Establishment of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD)——a forum for discussing the North–South problem
1973: Oil crisis——resource nationalism increased the Third World’s influence
The North–South Problem and Dependency
The “North–South problem” refers to the economic gap between developed industrial countries concentrated in the Northern Hemisphere (the wealthy “North”) and developing countries found mainly in the Southern Hemisphere (the poor “South”). The monoculture economy formed during the colonial period, which depended on particular primary products, continued after independence. As a result, national economies remained vulnerable to fluctuations in the prices of primary products such as coffee, cocoa, oil, and copper. UNCTAD (established in 1964, with Prebisch as its first secretary-general) called for preferential tariffs in developed countries and permanent sovereignty over natural resources. In the 1970s, the United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution calling for the establishment of a New International Economic Order (NIEO), but its realization was limited.
Practice
- Give the alternative name of the Asian–African Conference held in Indonesia in 1955. Also give the name of the principles adopted.
- What is the North–South problem? Explain it in no more than 30 characters.
- What is the abbreviation of the United Nations organization established in 1964 to discuss the North–South problem?