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During the [[Cold War]], the '''Third World''' was the official rhetoric used by the [[United Nations]] and in Western [[mainstream media]] to refer to economically undeveloped countries, many of which were unaligned between the competing power blocs of the [[US]]/[[NATO]]/[[EU]] on one side, and the [[Union of Soviet Socialist Republics|Soviet Union]] and its [[Warsaw Pact]] and [[Comecon]] allies on the other.<ref>http://media.transparency.org/imaps/cpi2009/</ref>  It was usually applied to the mostly economically undeveloped nations of Africa, Latin America, and Asian countries.<ref>The New American Desk Encyclopedia, Penguin Group, 1989</ref>  

During the [[Cold War]], the '''Third World''' was the official rhetoric used by the [[United Nations]] and in Western [[mainstream media]] to refer to economically undeveloped countries, many of which were unaligned between the competing power blocs of the [[US]]/[[NATO]]/[[EU]] on one side, and the [[Union of Soviet Socialist Republics|Soviet Union]] and its [[Warsaw Pact]] and [[Comecon]] allies on the other.<ref>http://media.transparency.org/imaps/cpi2009/</ref>  It was usually applied to the mostly economically undeveloped nations of Africa, Latin America, and Asian countries.<ref>The New American Desk Encyclopedia, Penguin Group, 1989</ref>  

The term was considered offensive by many, and after the [[Cold War]] the rhetoric shifted to a two-fold division rather than threefold division - using the [[class envy]] [[Marxist]] idioms of the "rich" Northern countries and "poor" Southern countries, which became the [[Global North]] and [[Global South]]. However the [[Russian Federation]] in the so-called Global North didn't fit the stereotype of a "rich" Northern country, other than being resource rich and its ability to retain a powerful military establishment; its manufacturing sector was in dire need of modernization, and its domestic consumer market and service sectors were largely undeveloped. In the 21st century, the Russian Federation aligned with the Global South in the [[BRICS+]] organization. The [[Western alliance|Western]]-controlled [[G7]] remains of what's left of the Global North.

The term was considered offensive by many, and after the [[Cold War]] the rhetoric shifted to a two-fold division rather than threefold division - using the [[class envy]] [[Marxist]] idioms of the "rich" Northern countries and "poor" Southern countries, which became the [[Global North]] and [[Global South]]. However the [[Russian Federation]] in the so-called Global North didn't fit the stereotype of a "rich" Northern country, other than being resource rich and its ability to retain a powerful military establishment; its manufacturing sector was in dire need of modernization, and its domestic consumer market and service sectors remained largely undeveloped. In the 21st century, the Russian Federation aligned with the Global South in the [[BRICS+]] organization. The [[Western alliance|Western]]-controlled [[G7]] consists of what's left of the Global North.

== References ==

== References ==