Altruism but not Quite: the genesis of the least developed country () category

Djalita Fialho

Third World Quarterly, 2012, vol. 33, issue 5, 751-768

Abstract: This article provides a historical account of the creation of the ldc category in 1971, analyses the motives of the main actors and examines the motivation of the UN to establish the category. A literature review, official document analysis and expert interviews indicate that, from the perspective of both developed and more advanced developing countries, the initial ldc identification process aimed to generate a reduced list of mostly small and economically and politically less significant countries. Contrary to the official narrative, this served the interests of both developed countries (by undermining the UN's implicit effort to normalise/depoliticise international assistance) and more advanced developing countries (disturbed by the discrimination created within the developing countries' group, favouring the most disadvantaged among them).

Date: 2012
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DOI: 10.1080/01436597.2012.674700

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