After WWII the bipolar competition focused in the European and East Asian arenas in the form of strategic and military disputes. Once the USA and the USSR consolidated the defence of their nearest allies, they turned their attention to the on-going decolonization process. Washington and Moscow soon realized that the ultimate success of their universalist projects also depended heavily on the future orientation of the new independent states. The two superpowers and their allies offered several competing models of development, most of which were based on their own historical experience. The decline of colonial empires, the Bandung Conference in 1955 and the birth of the Non-Aligned Movement (NLM) helped set the framework for a global competition: here, the main issues at stake were political independence and economic development. Third World leaders were generally aware of the opportunities as well as of the risks: they could exploit such competition to secure the greatest possible material assistance, but their national priorities could well be undermined by the politics of the bipolar conflict.
M. Trentin (2012). The Pragmatic Politics of the Improvised Socialism”: The East German Advisors in Syria, 1965-1972. NEWCASTLE UPON TYNE : CAMBRIDGE SCHOLARS PUBLISHING.
The Pragmatic Politics of the Improvised Socialism”: The East German Advisors in Syria, 1965-1972
TRENTIN, MASSIMILIANO
2012
Abstract
After WWII the bipolar competition focused in the European and East Asian arenas in the form of strategic and military disputes. Once the USA and the USSR consolidated the defence of their nearest allies, they turned their attention to the on-going decolonization process. Washington and Moscow soon realized that the ultimate success of their universalist projects also depended heavily on the future orientation of the new independent states. The two superpowers and their allies offered several competing models of development, most of which were based on their own historical experience. The decline of colonial empires, the Bandung Conference in 1955 and the birth of the Non-Aligned Movement (NLM) helped set the framework for a global competition: here, the main issues at stake were political independence and economic development. Third World leaders were generally aware of the opportunities as well as of the risks: they could exploit such competition to secure the greatest possible material assistance, but their national priorities could well be undermined by the politics of the bipolar conflict.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
