3 ms·
From the position of the ost-block, Ireland, Austria, Sweden, Finland and Switzerland, were definitely considered first-world western countries :-) Yugoslavia
by a-saleh 7y ago
From the position of the ost-block, Ireland, Austria, Sweden, Finland and Switzerland, were definitely considered first-world western countries :-)
Yugoslavia is weird. But I would never dare insult somebody from former Yugoslavia by suggesting they are from a third-world country, it would be like asking for a black-eye :D (unless we are friends, and already drunk, then they might suggest it themselves?)
- throwawayb104b0 7y agoThey (Yugoslavia) literally founded the Third World with other like-minded countries as an international organization / forum - or lets say: an organization representing the Third World (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Non-Aligned_Movement https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Non-Aligned_Movement) in 1961 in Belgrade, Yugoslavia on the initiative of Indian prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru and the Yugoslav president Josip Broz Tito. Even before, the self-description as Third World meant non-alignment (see e.g. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bandung_Conference https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bandung_Conference -- though Yugoslavia was not yet part of it in 1955). Before that, the term was coined by Alfred Sauvy (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Third_World#Etymology https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Third_World#Etymology) for the non-aligned countries, which had not much to say in the world of the Cold War with its big power blocs, despite representing the majority of the world population. Having "Third World" mean "developing country" regardless of alignment with Eastern or Western Bloc came only after the end of the Cold War, as most were indeed developing countries. Regarding the former Yugoslavian countries today: developing/developed? Depends on the country.