Superpower Rivalry and 3rd World Radicalism

Originally published in 1985, this book examines the concepts underlying the notion of national liberation and compares these with Soviet and Western conceptions of political and social development in the non-European world, in order to determine the degree of ideological affinity between national revolutionary movements on the one hand and East or West on the other. The book argues that despite the significant differences between doctrines of national liberation, they display a number of basic similarities. These similarities distinguish developing world thinking about national liberation in significant ways from both Soviet and Western ideas on the same subject and reflect the concern of national elites involved in liberation struggles to preserve and strengthen independence and to avoid subordination to external actors. It is the author’s opinion that neither East nor West was in a position to draw substantial lasting benefit from ideological affinity with national liberation movements and the regimes which they form upon taking power.