18 international system dominated by the now-developed nations .... [Its] underdevelopment is the outcome of a particular series of relationships to the international system" (Bodenheimer 1971, 157). As is well known, in the 198os the concept of postcolonial(ism) displaced that of the Third World. The term Third World was coined in 1952 by the French economist, historian, and anthropologist Alfred Sauvy, and it soon came to be used worldwide in reference to a cluster of nations that, due to the impact of colonialism, had not reached the standards of development that characterized North American and European societies. The term Third World, derived from the expression Tim Etat (used during the French Revolution in reference to politically marginalized sectors of society), gained popularity in reference to countries aligned neither with the U.S.S.R. nor with NATO during the Cold War. Since then, Third World has been used as a homogenizing and sometimes derogatory denomination applied to underdeveloped nations in Africa, Asia, and Latin America (a group also known as the Global South) regardless of their economic, social, and cultural differences.