The developing world's 'different voices'

Third World: A phrase that does not seem to be in vogue any longer is "Third World".

In contrast to the early seventies when the New International Economic Order (NIEO) concept gained ground among the world's poor countries and proved a useful tool in the struggle of the developing countries against the economic hegemony of the global economic giants, the "Third World" today or the same developing countries, seem to be presenting a heterogeneous mix of countries and groups, from the point of view of economic strength and standing.

To all outward appearances, the developing countries do not seem to be presenting a unified front, as did, for instance, the G77 countries in the heyday of UNCTAD in the sixties and early seventies.

To be sure, the G'77 is a vastly expanded group today, encompassing a considerable part of what was considered the 'Third World', but the group seems to be all but imploding, with newer groups emerging within the larger fold of developing countries and seeking separate, distinct identities. A case in point is the G11 group of countries.

Counting Croatia, Ecuador, El Salvador, Georgia, Honduras, Indonesia, Jordan, Morocco, Pakistan, Paraguay and Sri Lanka, among its membership, the G11 seems to be basing its common identity on its "middle income" status. In other words, it wishes to project a distinct identity to that of the rest of the developing world by virtue of its somewhat higher per capita GNP.

This is a far cry from the sixties and seventies, when the developing countries projected a relatively united front, particularly on economic issues.

The G77, for instance, was united in its poverty and this unity enabled it to work more coherently towards exacting economic concessions for what was considered the Third World as a whole, from the "First World" or the world's richest countries, today roughly represented by the G8.

The G11 can by no means be described as a breakaway group from the larger group of developing countries, but it does not seem to be particularly keen on espousing the cause of the world's poor as a whole nor is it extra anxious to be grouped with the latter.

It is noteworthily that today the G11 is proposing a framework of cooperation with the G8 and speaking with one voice mainly on behalf of its membership. Besides, its urgings in this context smack of some of the demands made by the G77 in its more vocal days on behalf of the developing countries as a whole.

For example, the G11 says that it is seeking for the help of the G8 nations "in decreasing the debt burden through concessional lending terms, easier repayment arrangements, longer grace periods, lower interest rates on loans and support for debt swaps and debt buybacks."

This obvious lack of coherence of vision, purpose and unity in the fold of the poor countries, raises the question whether the developing countries could continue to work unitedly, single-mindedly and cooperatively towards its collective good.

Besides, we are reminded that the structures built by the developing countries, in cooperation with the UN in times past, for their collective good, are proving ineffective at present. They may even be non-existent. It is a story of the further decline and dismemberment of the "Wretched of the Earth."