third world quarterly - 1983-2013
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an analysis of the Third World Quarterly over thirty yearsTRANSCRIPT
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CARLO CHICCO ULB doctoral school 2012-‐2013 Political Science Third World Quarterly: 30 years
The Third World Quarterly (TWQ) is a UK review founded in 1979. According to the editorial opening its first number, its stated objective is to conduct “an open-‐minded and sympathetic search for establishing an international order based on justice”. Its main concern is “the Third World: we will speak for it, indeed, speak with its voice. We will focus on specific problems and suggest specific solutions with interdisciplinary scope, and not concern ourselves with abstract and theoretical issues” (1). The objective of the present study will be to examine a series of questions:
-‐ to which extent has the TWQ effectively pursued the establishment of an “international order based on justice” ? which was its main impact ?
-‐ has the TWQ managed to “speak for the Third World” ? did “Third Worldism” emerge as a coherent political ideology, and how did it evolve over the years in question ?
-‐ how has the TWQ negotiated the political events which have marked the period of time under examination, and in particular the collapse of the Soviet bloc, and the rise to prominence of debate on “new” issues, such as globalisation, environment, gender, religion ? On the basis of a qualitative research about these questions, we will arrive to a series of conclusions. These will be then, albeit very tentatively, subjected to an empirical examination, based on quantitative methods, aimed at verifying, if possible, at least some of our conclusions. In the “qualitative” phase, we will analyse a series of articles and try to delineate the main ideological trends active in the publication. We will, therefore, at first, concentrate on “ideological articles” dealing with the evolution of the “Third World” concept, and then move on to examine how the TWQ has dealt with the progressive emergence of new issues and new actors in the international arena. For reasons which will be explained in the course of the study, a particular attention will also be dedicated to the historical and financial background to the publication of the review. Our approach does not, in any way, avoid “selection bias” -‐ selection on the dependent variable, as defined e.g. by G. King, R. Keohane, S. Verba (2) and by B. Geddes (3)-‐ since it is ultimately founded on a subjective selection of “significant” articles (among the 1473 contained in our database), and it would be perfectly possible to conduct a research on the basis of completely different criteria (e.g. by focusing on “area studies” and their geographical distribution) or selecting different
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articles. However, in the quantitative phase, we will conduct a series of lexicographic analyses, based on recurrence of certain terms and keywords, and attempt to substantiate some of our conclusions. 1. The “Third World” and “Third Worldism” The first part of the research was conducted by examining the use of the terms “Third World” and “Third Worldism” in TWQ articles. “Third Worldism”, as an ideology, could be defined as a moral imperative: the need for the “First World” to proceed to “frank recognition of the demands of the Third World”, aiming at “the establishment of an international order based on justice” (1). While this moral imperative is ever-‐present in the discourse developed by TWQ, its emergence should be replaced in a historical context: the establishment of UNCTAD, the development of the Non-‐aligned movement, then the discussion about a New International Economic Order, the Brandt Report. As editor Altaf Gauhar asked in the opening editorial of the first number of TWQ, “will the crumbs of economic concessions gratify the Third World into abandoning the pursuit of a New International Economic Order ? will the advocates of the present system yield to the necessity of its fundamental restructuring?” (1). The discussion about the concept of “Third World” is in itself a leit-‐motif in the history of TWQ: starting from the assertiveness of 1979 in “Why Third World”, by L. Wolf-‐Philips(4), to the “revisionism” of 1993 in “Re-‐Articulating the Third World Coalition” by M. Williams (5), to the doubts of 1994 in “The End of the Third World?” by M. T. Berger (6) ; to the development of new approaches and to the radical questioning of 2004 , in “Rise of Neo-‐Third Worldism” by V.R. Hadiz (7) and “After the Third World ? History, Destiny and Fate of Third Worldism” by M.. T. Berger (8) or to the construction of alternative approaches to the concept of “Third World”, as in the 2004 articles “Spectres of the Third World – Global Modernity and the End of the Three Worlds” by A. Dirlik (9) or in “Using and abusing the Concept of the Third World” by V. Randall (10) and, finally to the 2012 reappraisal by M.W. Solarz in “Third World : the 60th anniversary of a concept which changed history”(11). These analyses evidence the gradual realisation that the end of the Cold War and the economic success of the Newly Industrialising Countries has called into question the “Three Worlds classification scheme”, as the “Third World” increasingly became a residual category, and therefore Third World countries did not enjoy (in Dirlik’s words) “an autonomous existence of their own, and are placed temporarily in one or another available transition from a backward to an advanced status” (9) At the same time, questions arose about the nature and effectiveness of the “neo-‐liberal global hegemonic order” dominated by the US and its allies, and about the need to retain in any case the concept of the “Third World” as a reference point for development in global politics, given that the term transcends an association with territoriality, and expresses new types of social stratification resulting in the “global
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reproduction of Third World problems” (12). These new directions of “Third Worldism” will be discussed more in depth in section 4. 2. The first period (1979-‐1990) It is striking, in examining the first years of the TWQ issues, to notice the number of articles by and interviews with top political figures, such as Presidents, Prime Ministers, Directors/Secretary Generals of international organisations. At the same time, as indicated, the review seems to espouse a “Third Worldism” which relies heavily on official initiatives, such as UNCTAD, the NIEO, the Brandt report, and on a “top down” approach to development issues. In this period, the review seems dominated and inspired by the personality of its editor, Altaf Gauhar (16 articles between 1979 and 1988, plus 28 joint articles/interviews with personalities such as Raul Alfonsin, Yassir Arafat, Willy Brandt, Belisario Betancur, Gamani Corea, Perez de Cuellar, Ralf Dahrendorf, Arthur Dunkel, John Kenneth Galbraith, Farouk Kaddoumi, Neil Kinnock, Mahtar M’Bow, Sean MacBride, Mahathir Muhammad, Julius Nyerere. Olof Palme, David Owen, Alan Garcia Perez, Raul Prebish, Kurt Waldheim, Lee Kuan Yew and several other). The discovery of such a politically high-‐profile network of contributors prompted a more detailed research on the historical and financial background of the review. From its start and until 1990, the TWQ was edited by Altaf Gauhar (1923-‐2000), a Pakistani journalist. According to his obituary on “Journalism in Pakistan” (13), in the 1950s Gauhar acted as Information Secretary to Pakistani President Ayub Khan, before being imprisoned under the Ali Bhutto Presidency. Upon his release, he migrated to London, where “he joined the Bank of Credit and Commerce International” (BCCI), launched “the academic journal Third World Quarterly” and also “managed to start the Third World Foundation”. In the last part of his life, Gauhar turned increasingly towards Islam : after the collapse of the BCCI (1990), he returned to Pakistan, where he was editor-‐in-‐chief of “The Muslim” magazine and wrote several books of religious argument. From 1979 to 1990 (issues: Vol. 1, 1 to Vol. 12, 2), the “Third World Quarterly” was published by the “Third World Foundation”, a Charity registered in the UK. For its financing, a “Trust Deed” was concluded between the Bank of Credit and Commerce International (BCCI) in Luxemburg and the Trustees : the deed specified that “the Foundation will not accept, directly or otherwise, any aid, grant or assistance from any Government or official agency”, while the TWQ was referred to as the “Foundation’s Journal”, to be sent, free of cost, to the Foundation’s Members (14). The BCCI. As mentioned, it would appear that the main source of financing for the TWQ publisher, the “Third World Foundation” (TWF), was the Bank of Credit and Commerce International (BCCI). The close links between the two organizations are
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not only confirmed by the “Trust Deed” mentioned above, but are also stressed, e.g., in the report to the US Senate Foreign Affairs Committee by Senators Kerry and Brown (15). According to the report, when the BCCI collapsed, in 1990, the billion-‐dollar crack did not only affect over one million small depositors, but also central banks, governmental organizations, government officials “involving most countries in the world”. In particular, several “Third World” Embassies ended up in “deep trouble” while e.g. Peru and Argentina were forced to suspend temporarily diplomatic and consular activities in several countries because of “lack of funds”. According to the US Senate report, “the BCCI had developed relationships which ranged from the questionable to the improper, to the fully corrupt with officials from all countries of the world”: its objective was to “buy influence” in order to conduct its affairs. To this purpose, “the BCCI would make payments to high ranking officials through one of its foundations, which would create an annual “prize”, and bestow it upon a person either whom BCCI wished to influence, or whose receipt would provide BCCI with needed legitimacy (…) from 1980 to 1988, a BCCI foundation called the Third World Foundation bestowed an annual Third World Prize of 100,000 US dollars”. The activities of the “Third World Foundation” were faithfully recorded in the relevant numbers of TWQ, which acted in this period as its official bulletin; it usually reported on the awards, and also published interviews by Gauhar to the prize winners (or joint articles by both Gauhar and them) on issues connected to world development. These numerous reports and interviews include : -‐ 1980 Raul Prebisch (TWQ 3,1 1981), presented by Sir Shridath Ramphal, Commonwealth Secretary General; guest of honour Dr. Kurt Waldheim, UN SG -‐1981 Julius Nyerere (TWQ 4,1 1982), presented by PM of India, Indira Gandhi -‐1982 International Rice Research Institute, Manila, presented by Zhu Ziyang, PM of China -‐1983 Arvid Pardo, Maltese diplomat, presented by Belisario Betancur, PM of Colombia (TWQ 6,3 1984) -‐ 1984 Willy Brandt, presented by Sir Shridath Ramphal, Commonwealth SG; guest of honour Javier Peréz de Cuellar, UN SG (TWQ 8,3 1986) -‐1985 Nelson and Winnie Mandela (TWQ 8,2 1986) -‐1986 Bob Geldof (TWQ 9,2 1987) -‐1987 International Planned Parenthood Association of India, presented by Jose Sarney, President of Brazil (TWQ 10,2 1988) -‐1988 Gro Harlem Brundtland, PM of Norway. Presented by Robert Mugabe, PM of Zimbabwe (TWQ 11,1 1989) The US Senate Report points out several occasions on which the attribution of the Prize corresponded to an initiative by BCCI in expanding to the countries involved (16). Italo Pardo, in his study “ Between Morality and Law : Corruption, Anthropology and Comparative Society” remarks that “one of the most interesting transnational
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connections between intertwined public and private corruption in the North and South was the rise and fall of the BCCI” in fact, “leading violators of the law often display more than a casual interest in edifying moral discourse ”. He also mentions “the Third World Foundation, publisher both of the Third World Quarterly, a review modeled on the prestigious American publication Foreign Affairs, and the magazine South, notable for its crusading approach to questions of world development “ (17). We can observe an interesting example of how the TWQ’s editorial activities interfaced with to the BCCI’s financial initiatives. In 1984, Gauhar conducted an interview with Clark Clifford, who was Secretary of Defense between 1968 and 1969 and played a major role in determining American policy in Vietnam during the Johnson Administration. In the interview, Clifford remarks that “there is a need for an entire re-‐evaluation of the existing situation of the world, particularly with reference to the relationship between the developing countries and the developed countries”; Clifford therefore considers that “the US should take a more active part in the international banking sector today” since “we must accept the presence of Third World problems and accept a prominent part of the responsibility to solve these problems” (18). It should be noted that, according to the US Senate report on BCCI, “For twelve years, (…) former Secretary of Defense Clark Clifford and his law partner, Robert Altman, were the central figures in BCCI's acquisitions and management of U.S. banks” (19). According to the same US Senate report, the BCCI was run as a huge Ponzi scheme. The BCCI deposits, in fact, “could only receive a good return on investment through taking the funds from new deposits, requiring BCCI to grow at a frenzied pace in order to avoid collapse” (20). At the same time, the report quotes evidence for a widespread network of corruption, bribery, money laundering, intermediation of secret operations (such as the Iran-‐Contra affair), drug trafficking, and prostitution. According to noted commentator on Asian affairs, Tariq Ali, writing on the London Review of Books (21) “one of the banks through which the heroin mafia laundered money was the BCCI – whose main PR abroad was a retired civil servant called Altaf Gauhar”. Enquiries by the Bank of England (the so-‐called “Sandstorm report”, which is still not available in its entirety), led to the Bank’s closure in July 1991. Consequences for the “Third World Quarterly” As a consequence of the BCCI collapse, the TWQ interrupted its regular quarterly publications in 1990, after volume 12, number 2. After changes in ownership and direction, it published one issue in 1991 (labeled as volume 12, number 3-‐4) and resumed regular publication in early 1992, with volume 13, number 1. The new economic and editorial setup of the TWQ includes the move to a “traditional” academic publisher (Carfax Publishing Company – itself part of the Taylor & Francis Ltd. Group, a leading international academic publisher which includes about 800
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journals, and is itself part of the Routledge group). Editor Altaf Gauhar left his position and was succeeded by Shahid Qadir, former Editorial Research Assistant at TWQ, while the journal found an “academic home” in the Centre for Developing Areas Research at the Department of Geography of Royal Holloway (one of the colleges of the University of London). These important changes are not explained however in the issues of the “new” TWQ. In the editorial of the first 1992 issue, the editor mentions “the recent transition towards the independent relaunching” of the TWQ, but no further details are supplied. The editorial rather connects the “hiatus in the Third World Quarterly’s publication schedule” with “a time of unprecedented change”, including the collapse of the USSR “with the Second World crumbling within months” (22). To our knowledge, in the entire collection of TWQ (1979-‐2013), there is one reference only to the BCCI affair: in a 1997 article by Richard Falk “False Universalism and the Geopolitics of Exclusion: the case of Islam”. In this article, the author considers that Islamic countries have been widely excluded from the post-‐WW II international order, in particular in the framework of the UN. Furthermore, “The same pattern of exclusion pertains, as well, to the Bretton Woods institutions that are administered by top officials normally drawn from the West. A further source of suspicion is the drastic, terminal manner of dealing with the disclosures of fraud on the part of the Bank of Credit and Commerce International (BCCI), leading to the immediate dissolution of the only international bank with primary Islamic funding and direction” (23). Conclusions
On the basis of the preceding considerations, it can therefore be argued that, while in the period under examination the TWQ focused on making a forceful case, from a moral standpoint, for a more “just” relationship between developed and developing nations, on the basis of the common perceived interests of the Third World (“Third Worldism”), it did however also act, to an important extent, as the instrument for establishing a public relations network finalized to the business interests of one particular actor, the Bank of Credit and Commerce International. This can hardly be reconciled with the general interests just mentioned. It can also be considered that the academic prestige and credit built up by the TWQ was used to the same purpose.
This point assumes even more relevance if we consider that no discussion whatsoever on these issues seems to have taken place on the TWQ itself.
3. The “new” Third World Quarterly (1991-‐2001)
The new, relaunched TWQ can be considered , to all practical effects (including our study) as a completely different journal.
The TWQ did however retain some elements of continuity with its previous version (including some of the editorial staff and collaborators). In particular, the discussion
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on the nature and prospects of the “Third World” was continued and deepened. The collapse of the “Second World” (the Soviet bloc) stimulated a lively debate on the new monopolar/multipolar World Order, on the role of the hegemonic power (the US), on its relationship with other international actors, including a “Third World” whose very existence was now being put into question.
At the same time, the concept of “globalisation” gained prominence, while issues such as environment, gender, religion moved center stage.
In this context, the main questions at the center of debates on the TWQ can be summarized as follows:
-‐did the collapse of the Soviet block give rise to a global hegemony” by the US and its allies? how can this hegemony be characterized ? is the concept of a “neo-‐liberal” world order a useful instrument of analysis ?
-‐ which new issues and actors have emerged on the world stage ? is the development of a “counter-‐hegemonic alliance” necessary in view of achieving a “more just” world order ? what is, in particular, the role of Islam in this process ?
-‐ again, should the concept of the “Third World” still be retained as a useful working instrument for analysis ?
We will therefore examine how the TWQ attempts to answers to these questions.
Does the Third World still exist after the collapse of “real socialism” ?
Starting from the collapse of the Soviet system, this question becomes more and more prominent. In 1992, a special issue is in fact dedicated to the problem of “rethinking socialism” (24), with a special attention to “the collapse of socialism” and “the crisis in the socialist-‐orientated emerging world”. As new editor Shahid Qadir stated in his first editorial, hopefully, “the Third World Quarterly will provide the new thinking as the world is catapulted into the 21st century (25).
In its June 1994 issue, the TWQ published an extensive analysis (The end of the ‘Third World’ ?), by one of the journal’s most frequent contributors (Mark T. Berger). This article (26) signalizes, to a certain extent, the end of an era (“Thirdworldism”) and the shift towards a different discourse, characterized by a different language.
Berger stresses that “the end of the Cold War has contributed to the dramatic globalization of market economics and electoral democracy” while we are witnessing “to the demise of socialist development models generally and ‘state socialism” in the “Third World” more particularly”. Joined with the economic rise of East Asia, a new era of “global capitalism” has started, in which “the continued use of the term ‘Third World’ “ has to be put in question. Ultimately, “the solution to the problems generated by the concept of the ‘Third World’ is not to find a new label, but to dispense with the term”.
Increasingly, the TWQ seems therefore to be in search of new actors and new issues which could act as focus for the forces opposing “global capitalism”. These, in Berger’s
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language, include “subaltern studies”, in order to delineate “structures and techniques of domination, strategies of resistance and the historical particularity and role of culture and religion” (26).
Religious issues in fact seem to progressively gain more attention on the TWQ (with the debate on Islam and its role becoming more and more prominent), while gender and environment are also areas where fault lines in the dominance of “global capitalism” can be detected and discussed.
With regard to the environment, Mark Williams, in “Re-‐articulating the Third World coalition: the role of the environmental agenda” (27) explores the possibilities for the constitution of a “Third World coalition” challenging the “North’s” agenda on environment issues. He considers that “possible linkages (…) can be (and have been) made between negotiations on global environmental change and questions of justice and equity in North-‐South relations”; furthermore, “it is also likely that the exclusive state focus of the Third World coalition will be challenged by Third World NGOS. The Third World coalition has historically been articulated by the representatives of governments. The movement toward political pluralism in much of the Third World and the important role played by NGOS in the environmental debate suggests that a re-‐vitalised Third World coalition will reflect a set of priorities which has not been set exclusively by the political elites.”
The development of “environment resistance politics” as a means to counteract globalisation are explored. E.g. in the 1998 article by J.H. Mittelman on “Globalisation and environmental resistance politics”, “attention is given to submerged forms of resistance within civil society insofar as they are emerging into networks.” “The voices of the subjects of globalisation engaged in environmental resistance politics” should be heard, so that “counter-‐globalisation strategies are identified, and the impact of countervailing forces is assessed”. This should lead to “a putting together of modest resistance activities based on the forging of overlapping alliances and networks within and between regions”(28).
Gender politics are also indicated as one major approach towards more local-‐oriented, anti-‐globalizing efforts. As G. Koczberski states (“Women in development: a critical analysis”) “in the current integration efforts of large donors there is little emphasis on harnessing indigenous knowledge and expertise, and opportunities for women to design and manage their own projects remain limited”, “Although major aid organisations have increased funding of projects designed and implemented by local women's groups over the past 10 years, it is still only a small part of their aid programme” (29). M.H. Marchand, on the other hand, asks herself , “how will women who do not find themselves at the centre of globalisation experience the profound restructuring of the global political economy?” and stresses that “gender politics are also an important issue when evaluating the impact of cultural and religious factors on the opposition to globalization” (30).
Islam emerges of course as the major religious factor which (potentially) could counteract the “New World Order” of neo-‐liberal globalized capitalism : already in 1988, TWQ had dedicated a special issue to “Islam and politics” (31); at that stage, however, it had focused on relations between nationalist parties and Islamic parties
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(both in their “moderate” and “radical” versions) within nation States, in particular Muslim-‐majority countries, rather than on the conflict between the “West” and Islam.
However, the global character of religious fundamentalism is forcefully stressed e.g. by David Lehmann (1998) who delineates in Fundamentalism and Globalism “an interpretation of contemporary religious transformations in a common framework of analysis, especially when account is taken of their global character”. He therefore “develops such an interpretation by focusing on two aspects of the globalism of fundamentalist movements-‐their transnational reach and the role played by globalism in their imaginary projections across time and space” (32).
It appears therefore that “political Islam” is a major global opponent of the West’s “triumphalism”, after the end of the cold war : as Michael Salla (1997) states, in Political Islam and the West: A New Cold War or Convergence?, “the debate needs to be extended so as to accommodate the view that political Islam offers a challenge to liberal democratic norms at the 'ideational' or 'discursive' levels, rather than solely at the 'contingency' levels”. Conversely, “not to extend the debate in this way, (…) is to make the path clear for the triumphalist underpinning of Western policy making to exercise decisive influence in determining policy responses to political Islam.” In other words, “the appropriate response to political Islam lies in a genuine attempt to recognise how Islamist critiques of the West's liberal democratic norms represent a legitimate reopening of questions concerning the appropriate political framework for (post)modern societies” (33).
However, the antagonistic potential of Islam is hampered by its stance on issues such as democracy and women’s rights. According to Fadia Faqir (1997) in Engendering Democracy and Islam in the Arab World, two central issues should be addressed: the position of women and Islamic revivalism.'” These two key issues are interconnected and any reform will require politicising the women's issue, putting it at the centre of struggle, and tackling Islamic revivalism.” Political analysis should take account that “the call for a feminist writing of history restores the rights of the powerless to their own versions of history. Emancipation for women brings with it emancipation for minority groups and other less represented political parties”(34).
These limitations are challenged in articles such as False Universalism and the Geopolitics of Exclusion: The Case of Islam by Richard Falk (1997). Falk denounces the “false universalism” of global democratic and civil rights, which has worked for excluding Islamic countries from the upper echelons of decision-‐making in the international arena. He argues for the establishment of “a civilisational level of protection for human rights at this stage of history”, and advocates an alternative, in the form of “an inter-‐civilisational world order that combines the ecological and biological conditions of unity with the civilisational conditions of difference and self-‐definition.“ Falk does pose however one caveat: while the universalist human rights framework “is vulnerable to the civilisational level of criticisms set forth, it is still valuable, even indispensable, in relation to struggles being enacted at the level of the sovereign State (…) this tension is essentially a creative one, invoking human rights norms as relevant, but fixing the framework to overcome the neglect of non-‐Western civilisations” (35).
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4. The last decade (2002-‐2013)
The last decade of the TWQ has witnessed important changes, not only at theoretical, but also at practical level. Most importantly, the publication’s frequency has considerably increased (up to 10 issues per year), delivering therefore an amount of articles far superior to the preceding periods.
At theoretical level, the analysis has decidedly shifted from the essentialist question of the existence of a “Third World” to a more precise individuation of the antagonistic forces, which could put the “neo-‐liberal global hegemony” into question. These “counter-‐hegemonic” forces are increasingly found in a framework which does not focus on the nation States as its structuring elements. We can therefore speak of a de-‐spatialisation, or de-‐territorialisation of the “counter-‐hegemonic” struggle.
The TWQ 2004 special number dedicated to the subject “After the Third World” (36) constitutes a very comprehensive overview of theories both on the history of the “Third World” and on the political concepts and forces which could succeed it as mobilizing factors.
The article by Mark T. Berger (2004) After the Third World : history, destiny and fate of Third Worldism reads in a way as an epitaph. The key elements of Third Worldism, in Berger’s definition, are “the assumptions that: 1) the ‘popular masses’ in the Third World had 'revolutionary aspirations';2) the fulfillment of these aspirations was an inevitable working out of history that linked pre-‐colonial forms of egalitarianism to the realisation of a future utopia; 3) the vehicle for the achievement of this transformation was a strong and centralised nation-‐state; and 4) in foreign policy terms these nation-‐states should form an alliance that would act collectively under the umbrella of various regional and international forms of political and economic co-‐operation, such as the non-‐alignment movement and the United Nations.” However, in an era when “the US-‐led globalization project is at the centre of the reshaping of the nation-‐state system and the global political-‐economic order”, Berger considers that the notion of a Third World, even in a limited or reinvented form, is intellectually and conceptually bankrupt, while politically Third Worldism has already lost any relevance or legitimacy it once had”. Therefore, “challenging neoliberal globalisation and post-‐cold war capitalism means moving beyond the territorial politics of nation-‐ states-‐a politics to which Third Worldism is inextricably connected” (37).
The demise of the nation-‐state as the main framework for the development of alternatives to the neo-‐liberal hegemony leaves room for the theorization of “new” actors : an effort to indicate new directions of analysis is contained in the article by Arturo Escobar (2004) Beyond the Third World: Imperial Globality, Global Coloniality, and Anti-‐Globalization Social Movements. Escobar considers that “the rise of a new US-‐based form of imperial globality, an economic-‐military-‐ideological order that subordinates regions, peoples and economies world wide” has produced as a result “global coloniality, meaning by this the heightened marginalization and suppression of the knowledge and culture of subaltern groups”. This has led to “the emergence of self-‐ organizing social movement networks which operate under a new logic,
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fostering forms of counter-‐hegemonic globalization(…) through place-‐based yet transnationalized political strategies, these movements represent the best hope for re-‐working imperial globality and global coloniality in ways that make imagining after the Third World, and beyond modernity, a viable project” (38).
As to the “politics of place”, these constitute “a discourse of desire and possibility that builds on subaltern practices of difference for the re/construction of alternative socio-‐natural worlds. Politics of Place is an apt imaginary for thinking about the “problem-‐space” defined by imperial globality and global coloniality. Politics of place may also articulate with those social movement meshworks and networks that confront NLG” (38). The social movements mentioned by Escobar range from the Zapatistas to the black communities of the Colombian Pacific coast, to the numerous social movements which emerged at the World Social Forum meetings.
In Arif Derlik’s words (2004), the conditions of life for certain communities “have worsened in some cases, to the point of marginalizing those living them, and also spilling over the geographical boundaries dividing the Three Worlds of an earlier period, re-‐ configuring those boundaries.” This leads to “the appearance of 'first worlds' in the capitals of the formerly Second and Third Worlds, and of 'third worlds' in the capitals of the First.” The concept of Third World “becomes even more abstract than earlier in its de-‐territorialisation from fixed and stable geographical locations, but also acquires a concreteness in its direct association with a condition of life”
It is therefore necessary to look for a “genuinely global modernity”, and “there is much to be gained in clarity from viewing 'global modernity' as a period concept, to contrast it with a preceding period, which for all its complexities was indeed marked by Euro/American domination and hegemony”. This “global modernity” would contrast sharply with “notions of conflict that see the world fracturing along 'cultural' divides impervious to all common political and economic activity, as well as to the pervasiveness of class, gender, and various spatial divisions that cut across 'cultural' boundaries.” (39) (i.e., one would presume, it would contrast sharply with the “conflict of civilization” theories).
I will conclude this quick overview of the TWQ’s activity by analysing how, in particular, “horizontal fault lines”, such as gender and religion have been treated in recent years.
Gender and religion
The complex relationship between religion, politics and gender issues is at the center of the special number published by the TWQ in 2010 (The Unhappy Marriage of Religion and Politics: problems and pitfalls for gender equality) (40).
In their introductory article, Shahra Razavi and Anne Jenichen (2010) remark how “religion as a political force shapes and deflects the struggle for gender equality”, in a context where the newly-‐found assertiveness of religion coincides with the “introduction and rise to hegemony of a highly contested economic model (‘neoliberalism’)”. The authors remark how “‘private issues, related to the family, sexuality and reproduction, have become sites of intense public contestation between
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conservative religious actors wishing to regulate them based on some transcendent moral principle, and feminist and other human rights advocates basing their claims on pluralist and time-‐ and context-‐specific solutions.“ Not only are “claims of ‘divine truth’ justifying discriminatory practices against women hard to challenge, but the struggle for gender equality is further complicated by the manner in which it is closely tied up with, and inseparable from, struggles for social and economic justice, ethnic/racial recognition, and national self-‐determination vis-‐à-‐vis imperial/global domination” (41).
It appears in fact that gender has emerged, in TWQ articles, as one of the most important approaches of opposition to “neo-‐liberal/imperial/global” hegemony. As Nicola Pratt (2012) states “resistance femininities’ represent strategically essentialised identities that function to bridge differences and mobilise women against the war on terror”. She quotes a series of conferences held in Cairo, between 2002 and 2008, “uniting opposition to imperialism, Zionism, neoliberalism and dictatorship”. Speakers at those conferences “erased patriarchy as a source of subordination and valorised sex–gender difference as a source of agency in resisting the ‘war on terror’. Femininities were constructed against the dominant narratives and practices of the war on terror through the representation of national/religious or class differences” (42).
Global hegemony and militant Islam
While the difficult relationship between gender issues and religious fundamentalism constitutes an obvious obstacle in attempting to forge a “counter-‐hegemonic” alliance between the opposition to “neo-‐liberal domination” and e.g. Islamic fundamentalism, there are also important points of convergence between these two political forces. This is reflected e.g. in the article by Tariq Amin-‐Khan (2009) on “The Rise of Militant Islam and the Security State in the Era of the ‘Long War’”. Amin-‐Khan considers that the “steep rise of militant Islam” (as opposed to “political Islam”) is not only caused by “the current actions of empire”, but also by “the dialectic of collaboration and resistance”, since “the collaboration between political Islam and US imperialism began during the Cold War”. Prominent among post-‐cold war developments, is however “the demonisation of Muslims and Islam” leading to a “Long War, a permanent war modelled after the Cold War”
However, “underlying this strategy is a larger economic objective: an attempt to entrench capitalist globalism, to expand the military–industrial complex and the security–industrial complex, while developing an intense synergy between big oil, the military, and Western economies.” This has led to “the shelving of multiculturalism as a social policy of integration, especially in much of western Europe”, as well as a “rising tide of racism in Europe and North America. This change has led to a push for the assimilation of Muslims and people who look like Muslims, whereas the conditions of the historically racialised peoples, the Aboriginal and Black communities, among others, continue along racist lines” (43).
On a less militant tone, however, the relationship between the West and Islam is examined e.g. by Mohammad Samiei (2010) in “Neo-‐Orientalism? The relationship between the West and Islam in our globalised world”. The article focuses on opposing
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“theories like Fukuyama’s ‘end of history’, which posits Western liberal democracy as the ultimate solution for all”. In his view, “such theories are just heirs of the Orientalists’ dogma that modernisation is nothing but absolute Westernisation”. Therefore, “if liberals want to convince Muslims that their values are correct, they need to give transculturally compelling reasons” and yet “no evidence supports the view that liberalism is universally the best, the most rational, or the only valid form of a good society.” Samiei stresses that “as globalisation unfolds, we need more mutual understanding and more democratic patterns for global politics.” Those responsible for developing this understanding are a new “de-‐territorialised intelligentsia—co-‐operating closely with each other regardless of race, religion or nationality”, in order to “eradicate Orientalism and Occidentalism forever” (28).
5. Conclusions
The Third World Quarterly provides for an excellent (albeit politically partisan) insight into evolution of development studies over the last 35 years.
In the ‘80s, the review widely reflected the political and cultural priorities of its editor, Altaf Gauhar, and of a top-‐down approach, closely tied to the activities of national governments, inter-‐governmental organisations and political elites, via the constitution of a network of international contacts at high level. This approach is connected to initiatives such as the Non-‐Aligned Movement, the UNCTAD Conferences, the New International Economic Order, the Brandt Report, as well as forms of Third-‐world socialism and a pervasive “Thirdworldist” ideology.
However, the dependence of the review (via the Third World Foundation) from the Bank of Credit and Commerce International, and the linkage with the Bank’s international agenda, cast a dark shadow on the sincerity of its strongly affirmed moral commitment, and on its actual purpose and impact.
After the 1990 crisis, caused by the BCCI affair, the “new” TWQ restarted its activities as an almost entirely new publication, under a new ownership and with a more traditionally academic configuration.
In this phase, the collapse of the Soviet block signals a period of soul-‐searching in the review, and the relevance of the concept itself of “Third World” is put into question. While opposition to “globalisation” seems to emerge as the most relevant stream of thinking, to a wide extent, the TWQ gives the impression of assembling “rebels in search of a cause”, as the basic feeling of “injustice” in the World order does not immediately translate into a coherent political programme, and issues such as the environment, gender, religion gain more prominence in the review’s agenda.
After 2001 (and 9/11), increasing tensions in the international arena and the “war on terror” launched by the US and its allies, seem to provide a more precise focus for the review’s articles. Increasingly, the moral “enemy” is identified as the neo-‐liberal/imperialist/hegemonic power, while possible actors are explored in view of their inclusion in a “counter-‐hegemonic” coalition. Key element in this effort is the realisation that the concept of “Third World”, in order to retain its relevance, has to be “de-‐territorialized” and “re-‐spatialised”. In other words, the borders between the
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different “Worlds” do not run now between nation States, but within States themselves –and depend from considerations of social class, gender, religion, marginalisation.
In this context, the issue of religious fundamentalism, and of Islam in particular, presents a difficult problem : while fundamentalist Islam has emerged as the most visible opposition force against the “neo-‐liberal/imperialist/hegemonic” ideology, its acceptability as part of the “counter-‐hegemonic” alliance is mostly negated, in particular due to its position on gender issues and democratic principles.
One last observation could be made: the TWQ has witnessed, to an impressive extent, the development of a highly abstract, specialized jargon which gives the impression of authors writing exclusively for a closed circuit of likely-‐minded academics.
A full lexicographic analysis (impossible in this context) would, in my opinion, provide for interesting results on the development of this jargon.
6. Quantitative annex
For the purpose of examining some quantitative aspects, a comprehensive data-‐base of the TWQ articles was established by means of the “Scopus” website and software, comprising a total of 1436 articles for the 1979-‐2013 period. Articles can therefore easily be searched via Scopus, with regard to author, affiliation, title, keywords, abstracts (but not full text).
It is difficult however to conduct comparative analyses over different time periods, since the number of yearly issues, the number of keywords, the availability and level of detail of abstracts widely varies over time. A certain number of interesting searches could however be conducted.
Abstracts
A search was conducted in TWQ abstracts for a series of “topical” words, which were compared over three distinct periods of publication, comprising a more or less equivalent number of articles. It should be noted, however, that abstracts for the first period (1979-‐1991) are much more succinct, and sometimes even absent.
1979-‐1991 (86 articles) 1997-‐1998 (83 articles) 2010 (82 articles)
Capitalis* 4 17 22
Colonialis* 1 10 12
Socialis* 1 6 8
Neo(-‐)liberal/ism 0 10 27
Nationalis* 9 12 10
15
Democracy/Democratic 6/5 41/20 37/21
Development 25 63 69
North 6 29 20
South 8 39 30
West 5 25 19
East 7 34 22
Asia* 4 33 30
Eurasia 0 0 1
Africa* 4 40 38
Latin 8 26 15
Global/ism 1 44 57/4
Globali*ation 0 17 38
Gender 0 12 30
Women 0 15 27
Feminis* 0 7 19
Environment/al 1/2 21/13 26/12
Sustainable 2 13 13
Religion 2 6 19
Islam/Islamis* 0 13/4 14/10
Christian/ity 1/0 3/3 6/5
Fundamentalis* 0 6 5
Terroris* 0 1 12
Orientalis* 0 4 6
Hegemony/ic 1 9/4 13/5
Empire 1 5 12
Imperialis* 1 7 18
Moderni*ation 2 12 2
Post(-‐)modern 0 8 3
Dependency 0 9 6
Periphery 2 2 2
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Ethnicity 9 8 5
Migration/Emigration 7/6 4/1 8
Revolution/ary 2/2 23/8 10 +1
Corruption 1 4 6
Justice 0 7 21
It is apparent from the table that a certain number of “classical” words, such as Development, North, South, have remained constant over time (taking into account that the abstracts for the first period are much more sketchy and less numerous than those for the two later periods). The same can be said for other “classical” concepts, such as Capitalism, Colonialism, Socialism.
On the contrary, it appears that words such as Global/Globalisation make a triumphal entry in the 97-‐98 group, and increase their presence in 2010.
At the same time, the “new issues” identified (Gender, Feminism, Environment, Religion) have a similar development, and concepts such as Neoliberalism, Imperialism, Empire and Hegemony also increase their presence in an impressive manner.
On the other hand, more “traditional” concepts, such as “nationalism”, or even “migration” or “ethnicity” do not show any increase and in fact (considering the more detailed nature of later abstracts) actually decrease in frequency, just like words such as “periphery” or “dependency” (characteristic of 1980s theories) and “modernisation”or “postmodern”, which seem to be also in decline.
With regard to areas covered, there is an obvious shift towards Asia/Africa, while Latin America seems to be, comparatively, quite neglected.
Interestingly, “revolution/ary” seems to have peaked in the 1998-‐1999 period, and to be at present in decline, indicating perhaps a crisis in the classical “revolutionary” model, with new actors and more “de-‐spatialised” movements taking center stage.
Keywords :
1979-2013 (1436 articles)
Asia(193) Eurasia(188) Africa(138) Developing world(132) Globalization(106) Democracy(101) Political economy(101) Neoliberalism(93) Governance approach(86) Human rights(83) Middle East(80) Sub-Saharan Africa(70) United States(69) Political conflict(68) International relations(65)Geopolitics(60) North America(60) Economic development(59) India(58) South Asia(56) Politics(55) Islamism(52) South Africa(52) Terrorism(51) Theoretical study(51) Article(49) Civil society(47) Violence(47) Capitalism(46) Latin America(46) Democratization(45) Development strategy(45) China(44) Political change(44) Political power(43) South America(43) Southeast Asia(43) Southern Africa(43) Iraq(42) Political system(41)
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1979-1991 (86 articles)
Ethnicity(8) Article(7) Demographic Factors(7) Demography(7) Migration(7) Population(7) Population Dynamics(7) Population dynamics(7) Developing country(6) Emigration and Immigration(6) Politics(6) Developing Countries(5) International
Migration(5) Brazil(4) Democracy(4) Nationalism(4) Pakistan(4) Asia(3) Debt(3) Ideology(3) Iran(3) Iraq(3) Malaysia(3)Afghanistan(2) Africa(2)Africa, Northern(2)Argentina(2) Asia, Western(2) Communism(2) Developed Countries(2) Developed country(2) Environmental degradation(2) Ethiopia(2) Fertility(2) Geographic Factors(2) Geography(2) Glasnost(2) Gulf war(2) Inequality(2)
1997-1998 (83 articles)
Democratisation(9) Geopolitics(9) Political change(9) Africa(5) Developing country(5) Developing region(4) India(4) International cooperation(4) International relations(4) Middle East(4) National politics(4) Arab world(3) Central America(3) Civil society(3) Comparative study(3) Cultural tradition(3) Developing world(3) Foreign policy(3) Human rights(3) Leadership(3) North America(3) Political system(3) State building(3) Africa, (North)(2) Americas(2) Article(2) Asia(2) Authoritarianism(2) Botswana(2) Conceptual framework(2) Democracy(2) Demography(2) Developed Countries(2) Developed country(2) Development strategy(2) Environmental policy(2) Environmentalism(2) Geopolitical study(2) Globalization(2) Israel(2)
2010 (82 articles)
(Article(21) Economics(21) Ethnology(21)History(21Education(20)Governance approach(20)History, 20th Century(20)History, 21st Century(20) Legal aspect(20)Psychological aspect(18)Politics(15)Religion(14)European Union(11)Political economy(11) Gender Identity(10) Neoliberalism(10) Social Change(10) Developing world(9) Gender disparity(9) Human rights(9) Islamism(9) Women's Rights(9)Women’s status(9)Cultural Characteristics(8) Cultural factor(8) Gender issue(8) Social Conditions(8) Social status(8) Theoretical study(8) Globalization(7) Sexuality(7) United States(7)Women's Health(7)Cultural landscape(6)Democracy(6) Economic development(6) Economic policy(6) Gender relations(6) Islam(6) Terrorism(6) Violence(6)
It is very difficult to draw any conclusions from such different sets of keywords (other than the preferences of the authors of the keywording exercise). A greater interest for Nations, Ethnicity, Migrations, Demography is however obvious in the first period considered (1979-‐1990) as compared to the later ones.
Impact
In its entry on JSTOR , TWQ presents itself in the following manner :
“Third World Quarterly (TWQ) is the leading journal of scholarship and policy in the field of international studies. For two and a half decades, it has set the agenda on development discourses of the global debate. As the most influential academic journal covering the emerging worlds, TWQ is at the forefront of analysis and commentary on fundamental issues of global concern” (http://www.jstor.org/action/showPublication?journalCode=thirworlquar)
According to SCImago impact ranking, in 2011 TWQ ranked 20th worldwide in the category of Development studies http://www.scimagojr.com/journalrank.php?category=3303
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(1) A. Gauhar (1979) Editor’s Note, Third World Quarterly, Vol. 1, No1 1979, pp.v-‐vi
(2) G. King, R. Keohane, S. Verba (1994), Designing Social Enquiry: Scientific Inference in Qualitative Research, pp129-‐138
(3) B. Geddes (1990), How the Cases You Choose Affect the Answers You Get: Selection Bias in Comparative Politics, Political Analysis (1990) 2 (1) pp. 131-‐150
(4) L. Wolf-‐Phillips (1979), Why Third World?, Third World Quarterly, Vol. 1, No. 1 1979, pp. 105-‐115
(5) M. Williams (1993), Re-‐Articulating the Third World Coalition: The Role of the Environmental Agenda, Third World Quarterly, Vol. 14, No. 1 1993, pp. 7-‐29
(6) M. T. Berger (1994), The end of the ‘Third World’ ?, Third World Quarterly, Vol, 15, No 2 1994, pp. 257-‐275
(7) R. Hadiz (2004), The Rise of Neo-‐Third Worldism? The Indonesian Trajectory and the Consolidation of Illiberal Democracy , Third World Quarterly, Vol. 25, No. 1 2004, pp. 55-‐71
(8) M. T. Berger (2004), After the Third World? History, Destiny and the Fate of Third Worldism, Third World Quarterly, Vol. 25, No. 1 2004, pp. 9-‐39
(9) A. Dirlik (2004), Spectres of the Third World – Global Modernity and the End of the Three Worlds, Third World Quarterly, Vol. 25, No. 1 2004, pp. 131-‐148
(10) V. Randall (2004), Using and Abusing the Concept of the Third World: Geopolitics and the Comparative Political Study of Development and Underdevelopment , Third World Quarterly, Vol. 25, No. 1 2004, pp. 41-‐53
(11) M.W. Solarz (2012), 'Third world': The 60th anniversary of a concept that changed history, Third World Quarterly, Vol. 33, No. 9 2012, pp. 1561-‐1573
(12) The concept of “global reproduction of Third World problems” is formulated in the article by N. Smit “The Continued Relevance of the ‘Third World’ Concept”, available online at http://www.e-‐ir.info/2013/03/26/the-‐continued-‐relevance-‐of-‐the-‐third-‐world-‐concept/ (accessed on 14 August 2013) ; the article constitutes an excellent overview of the evolution of the Third World concept, and is heavily based on TWQ articles.
(13) Anonymous (2000), Altaf Gauhar (1923-‐2000) http://www.journalismpakistan.com/hall-‐detail.php?hallid=21&pageid=famed , accessed on 14 August 2013.
(14) Anonymous (1979),Volume Information, Third World Quarterly, Vol. 1, No. 1 1979, pp. 1-‐23
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(15) J. Kerry, H. Brown (1992), "The Origin and Early Years of BCCI" in The BCCI Affair: A Report to the Committee on Foreign Relations, United States Senate. 102d Congress 2d Session Senate Print, Chapter 3. http://www.fas.org/irp/congress/1992_rpt/bcci/ Accessed on 29 June 2013
(16) Ibidem, Chapter 13 (17) I. Pardo (2004), Between Morality and the Law: Corruption, Anthropology and Comparative Society, p. 160 (18) C.Clifford and A. Gauhar (1984) Interview, Third World Quarterly, Vol. 6, No. 1 1984, pp. 1-‐12 (19) J Kerry, H. Brown (1992), "The Origin and Early Years of BCCI" in The BCCI Affair: A Report to the Committee on Foreign Relations, United States Senate. 102d Congress 2d Session Senate Print, Chapter 13. Accessed online on 29 June 2013 at http://www.fas.org/irp/congress/1992_rpt/bcci/ BCCI (20) Ibidem, Chapter 20 (21) Tariq Ali (2007), “The General in his Labyrinth”, in London Review of Books .Vol. 29 No. 1 2007, pp. 21-‐24 http://www.lrb.co.uk/v29/n01/tariq-‐ali/the-‐general-‐in-‐his-‐labyrinth accessed on 14 August 2013 (22) S. Qadir (1992), From the Editor’s desk, Third World Quarterly, Vol, 13, No 1 1992, p. 7 (23) R. Falk (1997), False Universalism and the Geopolitics of Exclusion: the case of Islam, Third World Quarterly, Vol, 18, No 1 1997, pp. 7-‐23 (24) Third World Quarterly, Vol. 13, No 1 Special Issue: Rethinking Socialism (25) S. Qadir (1992) From the Editor’s desk, Third World Quarterly, Vol, 13, No 1 1992, p. 7 (26) M. T. Berger (1994),The end of the ‘Third World’ ? Third World Quarterly, Vol, 15, No 2 1994, pp. 257-‐275 (27) M. Williams (1993), Re-‐Articulating the Third World Coalition: The Role of the Environmental Agenda, Third World Quarterly, Vol. 14, No. 1 1993, pp. 7-‐29 (28) H. Mittelman(1998), Globalisation and environmental resistance politics, Third World Quarterly, Vol. 19, No 5 1998, pp. 847-‐872 (29) G. Koczberski (1998), Women in Development: A Critical Analysis, Third World Quarterly, Vol. 19, No. 3 1998, pp. 395-‐409
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(30) M.H. Marchand (1994), Gender and New Regionalism in Latin America: Inclusion/Exclusion, Third World Quarterly, Vol. 15, No1 1994 Special issue :The South in the New World (Dis)Order, pp. 63-‐76 (31) Third World Quarterly, Vol. 10, No. 2 1988 Special Issue : Islam and Politics (32) D. Lehman (1998), Fundamentalism and Globalism, Third World Quarterly, Vol. 19, No. 4 1998, pp.607-‐634 (33) M. Salla (1997), Political Islam and the West: A New Cold War or Convergence? Third World Quarterly, Vol. 18, No. 4 1997, pp. 729-‐742 (34) F. Faqir (1997), Engendering Democracy and Islam in the Arab World Third World Quarterly, Vol. 18, No. 1 1997, pp. 165-‐174 (35) R. Falk (1997), False Universalism and the Geopolitics of Exclusion: the case of Islam, Third World Quarterly, Vol, 18, No 1 1997, pp. 7-‐23 (36) Third World Quarterly, Vol. 25, No. 1, 2004 Special Issue : After the Third World? (37) M. T. Berger , After the Third World? History, Destiny and the Fate of Third Worldism, Third World Quarterly, Vol. 25, No. 1 2004, pp. 9-‐39 (38) A. Escobar, Beyond the Third World: Imperial Globality, Global Coloniality, and Anti-‐Globalization Social Movements, Third World Quarterly, Vol. 25, No. 1, After the Third World? (2004), pp. 207-‐230 (39) A. Dirlik (2004), Spectres of the Third World – Global Modernity and the End of the Three Worlds, Third World Quarterly, Vol. 25, No. 1 2004, pp. 131-‐148
(40) Third World Quarterly, Vol. 31, No. 6 2010 Special Issue: The Unhappy Marriage of Religion and Politics: problems and pitfalls for gender equality
(41) S. Razavi and A. Jenichen (2010), The Unhappy Marriage of Religion and Politics: problems and pitfalls for gender equality, Third World Quarterly, Vol. 31, No 6 2010 pp. 833-‐850,
(42) N. Pratt (2012), The Gender Logics of Resistance to the ‘War on Terror’: constructing sex–gender difference through the erasure of patriarchy in the Middle East, Third World Quarterly, Vol. 33, No. 10 2012, pp. 1821–1836
(43) T. Amin-‐Khan (2009) The Rise of Militant Islam and the Security State in the Era of the ‘Long War’, Third World Quarterly, Vol 30, No 4 2009, pp. 813-‐828
(44) M. Samiei (2010) Neo-‐Orientalism? The relationship between the West and Islam in our globalised world, Third World Quarterly, Vol 31, No 7 2010, pp. 1145-‐1160