The Third World Handbook

This work analyzes what allows countries as diverse as Brazil, India, Kuwait, Grenada, Nigeria and Fiji each to claim membership of the huge group known as the Third World. It examines the emergence of the Third World in the postwar period; its membership and regional collaboration; and the common problems faced by its member countries. Much of the handbook is devoted to a region-by-region analysis of Third World organizations and groupings. The book also explores the end of the European-ruled empires, the role of the UN, the Non-Aligned Movement, the development of aid agencies, the advent of OPEC and the growth of oil power, and population; and resources and exploitation. A detailed gazetteer provides statistics on each developing country. This updated edition takes into account the end of the Cold War and the collapse of the Soviet Union. A number of successor states to the former USSR have been included in terms of their stages of development as Third World countries. It includes a biographical index, and is generously illustrated with maps and charts.