Fourth World

Key Takeaways

• The term "Fourth World" was used to describe marginalized regions with low income and limited resources.
• Fourth World nations were often self-sufficient but excluded from the global economy.
• The term highlights non-recognition and exclusion of indigenous and tribal groups.
• Originally used in Canada, the term became widespread after a 1974 publication.
• The 2007 UN Declaration promotes indigenous rights and dignity worldwide.

What Is the Fourth World?

The Fourth World is an obsolete term that was used to describe the most underdeveloped, poverty-stricken, and marginalized areas of the world. Originating during the Cold War, it characterized nations and regions with limited economic resources, indigenous populations, and without sovereign recognition. Fourth World areas did not participate in the global economy. The concept emphasized the exclusion of certain ethnic and religious groups from global systems.

Many inhabitants of such nations did not have any political ties and were often hunter-gatherers who lived in nomadic communities or were part of tribes. They could be fully functional and self-surviving, but during the Cold War, they were ascribed Fourth World status based on their economic performance.1

Exploring the Concept of the Fourth World

During the Cold War, each country was classed as belonging to a certain type of world, a position that has since evolved as these classifications have evolved. The First World was used to describe countries whose views aligned with NATO and capitalism, the Second World referred to countries that supported communism and the Soviet Union and the Third World referenced the nations that were not actively aligned with either side. These countries included impoverished former European colonies and all the nations of Africa, the Middle East, Latin America, and Asia.

The term Fourth World was born later as an extension of the developing Third World to describe places and populations characterized by extremely low income per capita and limited natural resources.1

Fourth World nations consisted of those excluded from mainstream society. For example, the Aboriginal tribes in South America or Australia are entirely self-sufficient but do not participate in the global economy. These tribes can function free from any assistance from others, but from a global standpoint, they were considered to be Fourth World nations. Fourth World nations do not contribute or consume anything on the global scale and are unaffected by any global events.

Political borders did not define Fourth World areas. In many cases, they were defined as nations without sovereign status, emphasizing instead the perceived non-recognition and exclusion of ethnically and religiously defined peoples from the politico-economic world system, such as the First Nations groups throughout North, Central, and South America.2

The Origins and Evolution of the "Fourth World" Term

The term "Fourth World" was believed to have been first used in Canada by Mbuto Milando, the first secretary of the Tanzanian High Commission, in a conversation with George Manuel, Chief of the National Indian Brotherhood (now the Assembly of First Nations). Milando stated that "When native peoples come into their own, on the basis of their own cultures and traditions, that will be the Fourth World."

The term became synonymous with stateless, poor, and marginal nations following the publication of Manuel's The Fourth World: An Indian Reality in 1974.3 Since 1979, think tanks, such as the Center for World Indigenous Studies, have used the term to define the relationships between ancient, tribal, and non-industrial nations and modern political nation-states.4

In 2007, the United Nations (UN) Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) was introduced to promote "minimum standards for the survival, dignity, and well-being of the indigenous peoples of the world.”5 Since then, communications and organizing among Fourth World peoples accelerated in the form of international treaties for trade, travel, and security.