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The Three Worlds Theory (simplified Chinese: 三个世界的理论; traditional Chinese: 三個世界的理論; pinyin: Sān gè Shìjiè de Lǐlùn), in the field of international relations, posits that the international system during the Cold War operated as three contradictory politico-economic worlds. It was first formulated by Mao Zedong in a conversation with Zambian President Kenneth Kaunda in February 1974.[citation needed] On April 10, 1974, at the 6th Special Session United Nations General Assembly, Vice-Premier Deng Xiaoping applied the Three Worlds Theory during the New International Economic Order presentations about the problems of raw materials and development, to explain the PRC's economic co-operation with non-communist countries.[1]
The First World comprises the Soviet Union and the United States, the two superpowers. The Second World comprises Canada, Japan, the countries of Europe, and the other countries of Global North. The Third World comprises China, India, the countries of Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean, and the other countries of Asia.[2]
As political science, the Three Worlds Theory is a Maoist interpretation and geopolitical reformulation of international relations, which is different from the three-world model, created by French demographer Alfred Sauvy in which the First World comprises the United Kingdom, the United States, and their allies; the Second World comprises the People's Republic of China, the Soviet Union, and their allies; and the Third World comprises the economically underdeveloped countries, including the 120 countries of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM).[3] The Three Worlds Theory was one of the inspirations for Muammar Gaddafi's Third International Theory.[4]
- ^ "Excerpts From Chinese Address to U.N. Session on Raw Materials". The New York Times. 1974-04-12. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on 2016-03-05. Retrieved 2023-06-30.
- ^ Gillespie, Sandra (2004). "Diplomacy on a South-South Dimension". In Slavik, Hannah (ed.). Intercultural Communication and Diplomacy. Diplo Foundation. p. 123. Archived from the original on 2023-06-30. Retrieved 2023-06-30.
- ^ Evans, Graham; Newnham, Jeffrey (1998). The Penguin Dictionary of International Relations. Penguin Books. pp. 314–315. ISBN 978-0-14-051397-4.
- ^ Harris 1986, p. 58.