POL 003 - Rethinking the Third World Politics

Recognising the main political and socioeconomic features of the Third World, and developing analytic skills to explore various factors that shape their political, economic and social structure. - Analysing and criticising the concept of Third World, developmental theory and dependency theory. - Understanding the common circumstances of the Third World countries; such as colonialism, post- colonialism, developing political systems, poverty, inequality, foreign aids, hegemony, military interventions, coups, nationalism and secession, revolution, political instability, democratisation, and human rights situation. - Understanding the main disparities between the Third World countries and how these disparities affect their transition to democracy, institutional and economic development. - Evaluating Third World countries progress in a meanings of independent, democracy, rule of law, human rights, and economic growth and development.

According to Clapham, politics everywhere, in its essentials, is much the same. People do not greatly differ. They want security and wealth, as well as the power through which to get them. In seeking their interests and ambitions, they may experience challenges, obstacles and conflicts. Studying the Third World politics would be a good chance to to understand several political science concepts, as Third World politics are familiar to politics in other parts of the globe. What makes the politics of the Third World in some measure distinctive is not the nature of the peoples and politicians who take part in it, but the nature of circumstances in which they find themselves. The similar circumstances, shared in some degree by a very large proportion of the peoples of the world, contribute in the emergence of categorising the nation-states and focusing on Third World countries as a considerable category in today’s world. This course would help in understanding the historical circumstances that contribute in the emergence of the Third World, and the influential impact of the post-World War II era in this matter. It also focuses on some Third World countries as case studies, in order to put the academic knowledge in a practical, dynamic and timely framework.

Smith, B.C. (2013) Understanding Third World Politics: Theories of political change and development, London: Palgrave Macmillan.