Different Ways of Looking
at the World
Grouping Countries
• There is no clear agreement on what
constitutes a country. Being a member of the
UN is one way.
• In 2008 there were 192 members of the UN.
– Not including Taiwan, Palestinian Territories or
Kosovo.
• Another grouping is by the degree that a
country actively participates in a globalized
world. This is assessed in 3 ways…
1. Economic development – per-capita GDP, ratio
of cars to people, etc…
2. Social Development – level of education,
healthcare, life expectancy, infant mortality, etc…
3. Political Maturity – democratic or not, low level
of corruption, electoral system, rule of law, etc…
Core and Periphery
• More globalized core, or
Core for short –
contribute to, and benefit
from , globalization.
– Relatively wealthy,
comfortable lifestyles,
advanced economies,
secure environment, good
healthcare, high degree of
freedom, governments are
generally corruption free.
• Less globalized
periphery, or Periphery
for short – have not
significantly benefited
from globalization.
– Much poorer, people have
less security, limited
political freedom and civil
liberty, and corruption is
almost always a serious
problem.
Old Core and New Core
• The Core can be divided into two subgroups;
the Old Core and the New Core.
• The Old Core being the established nations
(Canada, Germany)
• The New Core countries are not as wealthy
and often have governments that are not as
democratic as the Old Core, but have the
potential to join the Old Core over time.
(Poland, Malaysia)
Near-Core and Far Periphery
• The Near-Core has
potential to join the
core in a few decades
with continued
economic, social , and
political growth. (Iran,
Philippines)
• The Far Periphery lacks
the level of economic,
social and political
development to
become fully
functioning members of
a globalized world.
(Bangladesh, Zambia)
Other Ways to Group Countries
Using Two Groups
Using Three Groups
• Developed/Underdeveloped • First/Second/Third World:
Worlds: Static and
Based on political
unchanging.
alignments.
• Developed/Developing
• Developed/Newly
Worlds: Countries can move
Industrialized/Developing:
up or down the scale.
Entirely economically based.
• North-South: Most developed
nations are farther north.
Five Worlds Model
• The First and Second Worlds were basically
the same as the First and Second worlds in the
Three Worlds Model.
• Third World countries had levels of social and
economic development that were moving
toward first world levels.
Mexico
Brazil
Malaysia
• Fourth World countries had economic and
social developments that were in early stages
of transition toward the First World level of
development.
Ecuador
Egypt
Indonesia
• Fifth World countries showed little evidence
of starting the transition toward the social and
economic development of the First World.
Bangladesh
Haiti
Ethiopia
Why was it inevitable for the Five
Worlds Model to evolve into the
Four Worlds Model?
As the Second World (communist) nations
began to be replaced by various democratic
and autocratic governments, the countries
were grouped based more on their level of
economic and social development, more than
on the kind of government they had.