ABSTRACT
The desire to further their own agenda meant that the activist states in Asia and Africa, such as India, Egypt and Algeria, did not pursue neutrality in isolation, but attempted to form groupings, such as the Non-Aligned Movement, that would allow them to speak with a stronger collective voice. Thus from the 1950s onwards a number of conferences and summits took place that called for the world’s attention to be redirected towards the plight of what came to be known as the ‘Third World’. Specifically, this meant a demand for greater concentration on the economic and social problems caused by underdevelopment. However, whether this attempt to construct a new paradigm could succeed in supplanting the Cold War or whether the competition between the superpowers would define the Third World’s future was to be a matter of much struggle and debate.
