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News Topical, Digital Desk : US President Donald Trump is planning to ban people from countries he describes as "third world" from entering the United States. He made this statement after an Afghan national allegedly shot two National Guard soldiers in Washington. Let's explore how the term "third world" emerged and which countries are included in it...
A concept from the Cold War
The concepts of the First, Second, and Third Worlds originate from the Cold War, when the world was divided between the US-backed Western Bloc and the communist Eastern Bloc. Neutral nations and the remaining countries were classified as the Third World. The term is often used to describe poor or underdeveloped countries. Historically, the First World referred to the democratic, industrialized nations allied with the United States. The Second World referred to communist-socialist states, and the Third World referred to most countries that did not belong to either bloc.
First, Second, and Third World Countries
The First World included North America, Western Europe, Japan, South Korea, and Australia. Several African territories were also included in this group, such as Western Sahara under Spanish rule, apartheid-era South Africa, South West Africa (Namibia), Angola, and Mozambique. Neutral countries such as Switzerland, Sweden, Austria, Ireland, and Finland were also considered First World. The Second World included the Soviet Union, Poland, East Germany, Czechoslovakia, China, Mongolia, North Korea, Vietnam, and Cambodia. The Third World included all other nations and the underdeveloped agricultural countries of Africa, Asia, and Latin America.
A nation of concern for the US
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) Director Joseph Edlow wrote on X that he has directed stricter scrutiny of green cards for every foreign national arriving from a country of concern. When asked about the meaning of Edlow's statement, a USCIS spokesperson said, "The list is defined in Trump's June executive order, which designated 19 countries as countries of concern. This order barred entry to citizens of Afghanistan, Myanmar, Chad, Congo-Brazzaville, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, and Yemen. A partial ban was also imposed on travelers from Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan, and Venezuela."
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