Socialism and nationalism in the third world in the age of third worldism

Abstract

This article investigates the relationship between socialism and nationalism with a special emphasis on its Third Worldist variant. The Third Worldist orthodoxy of the post-colonial age blurred the boundaries between nationalism and socialism, with Third Worldist nationalism being an expression of resentment directed against imperialism and the uneven development produced by capitalism. Socialism was understood within this Third Worldist moment in terms of a nation’s political and economic liberation from foreign imperialist powers and their internal collaborators. Socialism was seen as something which would make nations politically and economically independent and developed.

Keywords: Third Worldism; socialism; national liberation; developmentalism