Mark T. Berger – författare

The emergence of the ''Third World'' is generally traced to onset of the Cold War and decolonization in the 1940s and 1950s. In the 1960s and 1970s the "three worlds of development" were central to the wider dynamics of the changing international order. By the 1980s, Third Worldism had peaked entering a period of dramatic decline that paralleled the end of the Cold War. Into the 21st century, the idea of a Third World and even the pursuit of some form of Third Worldism has continued to be advocated and debated. For some it has passed into history, and may never have had as much substance as it was credited with, while others seek to retain or recuperate the Third World and give Third Worldism contemporary relevance. Beginning with a comprehensive introduction this edited volume brings together a wide range of important contributions. Collectively they offer a powerful overview from a variety of angles of the history and contemporary significance of Third Worldism in international affairs. The question remains; did the Third World exist, what was it, does it still have intellectual and political purchase or do we live in a global era that can be described as After the Third World?

This book was previously published as a special issue of Third world Quarterly.

The emergence of the ''Third World'' is generally traced to onset of the Cold War and decolonization in the 1940s and 1950s. In the 1960s and 1970s the "three worlds of development" were central to the wider dynamics of the changing international order. By the 1980s, Third Worldism had peaked entering a period of dramatic decline that paralleled the end of the Cold War. Into the 21st century, the idea of a Third World and even the pursuit of some form of Third Worldism has continued to be advocated and debated. For some it has passed into history, and may never have had as much substance as it was credited with, while others seek to retain or recuperate the Third World and give Third Worldism contemporary relevance. Beginning with a comprehensive introduction this edited volume brings together a wide range of important contributions. Collectively they offer a powerful overview from a variety of angles of the history and contemporary significance of Third Worldism in international affairs. The question remains; did the Third World exist, what was it, does it still have intellectual and political purchase or do we live in a global era that can be described as After the Third World?

This book was previously published as a special issue of Third world Quarterly.

The rise and fall of the Cold War coincided with the universalization and consolidation of the modern nation-state as the key unit of the wider international system. A key characteristic of the post-Cold War era, in which the US has emerged as the sole superpower, is the growing number of collapsing or collapsed states. A growing number of states are, or have become, mired in conflict or civil war, the antecedents of which are often to be found in the late-colonial and Cold War era. At the same time, US foreign policy (and the actions of other organizations such as the United Nations) may well be compounding state failure in the context of the post-9/11 Global War on Terror (GWOT) or what is also increasingly referred to as the ‘Long War’. The Long War is often represented as a ‘new’ era in warfare and geopolitics. This book acknowledges that the Long War is new in important respects, but it also emphasizes that the Long War bears many similarities to the Cold War. A key similarity is the way in which insurgency and counterinsurgency were and continue to be seen primarily in the context of inter-state rivalry in which the critical local or regional dynamics of revolution and counter-revolution are marginalized or neglected. In this context American policy-makers and their allies have again erroneously applied a ‘grand strategy’ that suits the imperatives of conventional military and geo-political thinking rather than engaging with what are a much more variegated array of problems facing the changing global order. This book provides a collection of well-integrated studies that shed light on the history and future of insurgency, counterinsurgency and collapsing states in the context of the Long War.

This book was previously published as a special issue of Third World Quarterly.

The rise and fall of the Cold War coincided with the universalization and consolidation of the modern nation-state as the key unit of the wider international system. A key characteristic of the post-Cold War era, in which the US has emerged as the sole superpower, is the growing number of collapsing or collapsed states. A growing number of states are, or have become, mired in conflict or civil war, the antecedents of which are often to be found in the late-colonial and Cold War era. At the same time, US foreign policy (and the actions of other organizations such as the United Nations) may well be compounding state failure in the context of the post-9/11 Global War on Terror (GWOT) or what is also increasingly referred to as the ‘Long War’. The Long War is often represented as a ‘new’ era in warfare and geopolitics. This book acknowledges that the Long War is new in important respects, but it also emphasizes that the Long War bears many similarities to the Cold War. A key similarity is the way in which insurgency and counterinsurgency were and continue to be seen primarily in the context of inter-state rivalry in which the critical local or regional dynamics of revolution and counter-revolution are marginalized or neglected. In this context American policy-makers and their allies have again erroneously applied a ‘grand strategy’ that suits the imperatives of conventional military and geo-political thinking rather than engaging with what are a much more variegated array of problems facing the changing global order. This book provides a collection of well-integrated studies that shed light on the history and future of insurgency, counterinsurgency and collapsing states in the context of the Long War.

This book was previously published as a special issue of Third World Quarterly.

This is an innovative and insightful approach to the global politics of development. The authors challenge conventional perspectives of, and approaches to, development and offer alternative accounts of the politics of development from the perspective of non-state centred and non-state centric approaches. The authors offer critical reinterpretations of historical experiences of development processes and together with insightful analysis of contemporary development strategies this is a genuinely new perspective on the global politics of development. Moreover, in moving beyond more ‘economistic’ approaches to development this book seeks to uncover the complexity of development in ways that account for social relations of power and identity. The authors successfully demonstrate the transdisciplinary nature of the politics of development in their respective engagement with political theory, anthropological and sociological perspectives in ways that provide an overall integrated approach to the politics of recognition and redistribution in development. In contrast to globalisation calling into question the idea and practices of international development, this study situates the question of the politics of the ‘international’ within a broader historical context of global social relations of power and dispossession, and their impact on states, regions and cultures. In framing the project as whole through the concepts of recognition and redistribution, this is a genuine effort to ‘rethink development’. It is timely in an era of global politics and globalisation wherein both issues of identity and struggles over development challenge us to re-rethink disciplinary boundaries.

This is an innovative and insightful approach to the global politics of development. The authors challenge conventional perspectives of, and approaches to, development and offer alternative accounts of the politics of development from the perspective of non-state centred and non-state centric approaches. The authors offer critical reinterpretations of historical experiences of development processes and together with insightful analysis of contemporary development strategies this is a genuinely new perspective on the global politics of development. Moreover, in moving beyond more ‘economistic’ approaches to development this book seeks to uncover the complexity of development in ways that account for social relations of power and identity. The authors successfully demonstrate the transdisciplinary nature of the politics of development in their respective engagement with political theory, anthropological and sociological perspectives in ways that provide an overall integrated approach to the politics of recognition and redistribution in development. In contrast to globalisation calling into question the idea and practices of international development, this study situates the question of the politics of the ‘international’ within a broader historical context of global social relations of power and dispossession, and their impact on states, regions and cultures. In framing the project as whole through the concepts of recognition and redistribution, this is a genuine effort to ‘rethink development’. It is timely in an era of global politics and globalisation wherein both issues of identity and struggles over development challenge us to re-rethink disciplinary boundaries.

This book examines the history of nation-building during the era of decolonization and the Cold War, and on the more recent post-Cold War and post-9/11 pursuit of nation-building in what have become known as ‘collapsed’ or ‘failed’ states.

In the post-Cold War and post-9/11 era nation-building, or what is increasingly termed state-building, has taken on renewed salience, making it more important than ever to set the idea and practice of nation-building in historical perspective. Focusing on both historical and contemporary examples, the contributors explore a number of important themes that relate to ‘successful’ and ‘unsuccessful’ nation-building efforts from South Vietnam in the 1950s and 1960s to East Timor, Afghanistan and Iraq in the twenty-first century.

From Nation-Building to State-Building was previously published as a special issue of Third World Quarterly and will be of interest to students and scholars of comparative politics and peace studies.

This book examines the history of nation-building during the era of decolonization and the Cold War, and on the more recent post-Cold War and post-9/11 pursuit of nation-building in what have become known as ‘collapsed’ or ‘failed’ states.

In the post-Cold War and post-9/11 era nation-building, or what is increasingly termed state-building, has taken on renewed salience, making it more important than ever to set the idea and practice of nation-building in historical perspective. Focusing on both historical and contemporary examples, the contributors explore a number of important themes that relate to ‘successful’ and ‘unsuccessful’ nation-building efforts from South Vietnam in the 1950s and 1960s to East Timor, Afghanistan and Iraq in the twenty-first century.

From Nation-Building to State-Building was previously published as a special issue of Third World Quarterly and will be of interest to students and scholars of comparative politics and peace studies.