Third Worldism Redux

In: Ethics & international affairs, Band 16, Heft 1, S. 135-142

Abstract

A review essay on books by (1) Ludo De Witte, The Assassination of Lumumba (Ann Wright & Renee Fenby [Trs], New York: Verso, 2001); & (2) David Macey, Frantz Fanon (New York: Picador, 2001). The reviewer of these two books bases her commentary on the notion of Third Worldism as an ideology & failed political practice. Macey's superb biography makes a compelling case for Fanon's humanism & his debt to Sartrean "commitment." De Witte's book, despite its title, is more an examination of neocolonialism & decolonization in Africa than a political biography. Lumumba's murder is viewed through a prism of Congolese political upheaval & Belgian complicity, both of which are painstakingly documented. De Witte's endorsement of Third Worldism as embodied by Lumumba reveals a somewhat dated radicalism; the reviewer prefers the more compelling & complex views on neocolonialism & decolonization articulated in other recent works. She speculates on the legacy of Third Worldism, especially its impact on antiglobalization & Islamic terrorist movements. Reexamination of Fanon & Lumumba is a valuable point of departure for understanding the postcolonial experience in Africa. K. Coddon