FOREIGN POLICY OF DEVELOPING COUNTRIES 19 mid-eighteenth century)r '^and Spain until Great Britain.France and,toward tlie end of the nineteenth century, the United States of America penetrated the area. The extent of penetration of each was largely determined by their power-relationships or balance of power. The "'"scramble for Africa" in search of precious metals and slaves is a mater of recent history.13 Asia was colonized and exploited chiefly by Great Britain,Francc and Holland. What Frankel calls the western ^traditional pattern of foreign policy" is a consequence of the power relations, rivalries and fighting over the spoils of colonialism. The established pattern of colonialism, its origins and assumptions therefore must be critically re-examined by., above all, the American political scientists in order to liberate it from the excesses associated therewith. This article takes the view that ^The Debate" over the methodology (classical u. scientific), which occupies a central position in Anglo-American tradition, has diverted attention from the real issue in international relations arising from the economic and social domination of 80 per cent of the world population by countries inhabited by the remaining 20 per cent.14 Colonies to Independence Until recently, the colonies before attaining independence were treated as objects of intcr-European politics. The international system which is economically, socially and politically stratified to serve the needs and interests of the dominant western powers have been developed over the past three centuries to maintain the hegemony of the western imperialist states through the dichotomy of the system. Maintenance of political control over and trade relations with the colonies meant safeguarding the sea lanes and land routes from the opponent imperialist powers as exemplified in Britain's fear of Tzarist Russia. Traditionally, the security interests of the colonial powers extended far beyond their own political boundaries. This imperialist practice is even today very much in evidence in the established western pattern of foreign policy. A vast amount of documented material, both Marxist and non-Marxist, is available now pertaining to social, political and economic consequences of the colonial exploitation of Latin America, Africa and Asia. The existing stratified international system (which the developing countries seem to have accepted with certain reservations) and the global economic structure (governed initialy by ^comparative advantage" theory of international trade, but used mainly to promote Britain's manufacturing industry, chiefly textiles, which helps to perpetuate and re-strengthen the traditional exploitative relationships15) should be understood, explained and analyzed by reference to these consequences. It is only then that we can understand the present state of social and economic conditions in the developing countries which underlie the so called ^deviation5 in their external behaviour. Those who have tried to understand the foreign policy (ies) of the developing countries, some of