Socialism, Internationalism, and Development in the Third World: Envisioning Modernity in the Era of Decolonization

As countries ravaged by colonial capitalism sought to make a post-imperial world, many turned to socialism to offer a new vision of modernity. While development is often understood as a process that emerges from the Global North to the Global South, this book examines the history of development from the perspective of Asia, Africa, and Latin America, centring socialism as a driver for post-colonial development projects. By beginning in the interwar era, the book rewrites the origins of development by examining inter-war dialogues about race, class, and uneven development between the North and South. The book focuses largely on the 1950s and 1960s, decades of aid competition, and cooperation and solidarity across the Third World, particularly among the Left. Post-colonial states consciously developed internationalist efforts to cooperate and connect with each other, developing shared regional and global frameworks for development and self-reliance. It attends to the diversity of socialisms in this era - often ignored in binary Cold War frameworks – from varied interpretations of European Fabianism and Marxism to African and Asian socialisms specifically suited to country and regional frameworks, as well as the conflicts between these competing models. Social development projects had their limitations and their hierarchies, and some left lasting legacies. Socialism, Internationalism, and Development brings fresh angles to the history of socialism, development, and internationalism by viewing them as intertwined narratives from the perspective of the Global South.