First World and third World after the Cold War

This exposition is about the United States and the Third World after the Cold War. However, this matter can only be understood in the light of the long history of the relations between the Western countries –the centre of the world system– and the periphery. This history began at the end of the 15th century, when the Europeans, after a thousand years of defending themselves against invaders from Asia and Africa, embarked on their own era of world conquest.