The Third World Affairs was introduced in 1985 as an annual feature of the Third World Foundation to bring a sharper focus for the more fundamental and persistent problems in the Third World and the measures adopted for their resolution.
The publication was intended to mirror the success and failures of the people in their struggles for the elimination of all forms of oppression and exploitation. The Third World Affairs supplemented the Third World Quarterly that started publication in January 1979 to identify, analyse and discuss Third World problems.
The Third World Affairs was a forum for free reasoned discussion and debate.