The Question of Jerusalem in the Cold-War Era

Year 1982, Issue: 21, 153 - 164, 01.05.1982

Türkkaya Ataöv

https://doi.org/10.1501/Intrel_0000000164

Abstract

The Question of Jerusalem in the Cold-War Era

Abstract

The old global bipolarity has come to an end. The former Eastern
Bloc joined the West, together forming the "Global North", asserting
preponderance över the "Global South", othenvise knovvn as the Third World
during the Cold War era.1
The demişe of the Eastern Bloc has made the
North-South contradiction even sharper. The future of world politics may
well be determined by the North-South paradigm. Three-quarters of humanity
live in the developing nations of the South. The latter may differ in the
degree of achievement, size or structure or some may even fail in the gray
area in the North-South division, but they have common traits such as facing
much more powerful centers in the vvorld arena. The Global North, vvhich
may have some pockets of vveakness and poverty as vvell, is generally
indifferent as to the rights, vievvs, aspirations and interests of the Global
South. While the old East-West Cold War axis is being replaced by the
dichotomy betvveen the North and the South, the freedom of movement of the
latter is now restricted. The countervailing vveight of the Eastern Bloc no
longer existing, the United States, the strongest among the Northern
countries, is novv engaged, much more than ever, in setting the agenda of
intemational politics both vvithin and outside of the United Nations. That
vvorld organization novv has a nevv role mostly in the service of the North.
The present imbalanced distribution of povver is a long vvay from vvhat the
global situation vvas only a fevv years ago.  

Keywords

The Question, Jerusalem, Cold-War Era