Modernization, dependency, rural underdevelopment, african renaissance. Introduction dependency theory, as a theory that purports to explain the related conditions of economic development and the lack of, and evident need for it, in the countries of the periphery, or third worlda condition that some dependistas theorists of dependency refer to as underdevelopmenthas. Specifically, it will investigate the major causes of political and economic dependency in nigeria, cum the impacts or the roles of the nigerian elites in the course of nigerian dependency and underdevelopment. This model relates to the scholars like andre gunder frank, samir amin, immanuel wallerstein and h. Dependence theories concentrate on explanations of the genesis of underdevelopment and pay little attention to strategies for overcoming this situation. European studies essays frank underdevelopment dependency. Difference between modernization theory and dependency. Dependency theory has always been quite controversial. In other words, the relation between underdevelopment and dependency is explained in a circular manner. Theories of underdevelopment development economists study.
This has necessitated the evocation of dependency theory in explaining africas cum nigerias underdevelopment situation, hence africas underdevelopment has been linked to. A large argument opposing the dependency theory is the subjectivity in the theory and the terms that are often used. Additionally, the marxist theory of imperialism is selfliquidating, while the dependent relationship is selfperpetuating. The concept of development has been variously discussed in literature especially in the social sciences such that its definition has negated a single generally accepted definition. In other words, the relation between underdevelopment and dependency is explained.
Pdf dependency theory and africas underdevelopment. Dependency, theoretical assumptions, africa, underdevelopment and third world. Dependency theory itself believes that the only way out of underdevelopment is socialism, however a structuralist argument, closely linked with the ideologies of dependency theory believes that with the eastern worlds social collapse, this will not provide an alternative to underdevelopment, therefore reforming a capitalist system was believed to help development within countries once hindered. Latin underdevelopment is the outcome of a particular series of relationships to the international system. Sep 09, 2016 in the book the development of underdevelopment, andre gunder frank discusses the factors that have resulted in underdevelopment in certain areas of the world and rapid development in others. Why africa remains underdeveloped despite its potential. Jan 21, 2018 nonetheless, dependency theorys enduring contribution is a globallyoriented analytical framework that permits social scientists to understand how crossnational economic systems structure nationallevel development outcomes. Dependency theories have provided an alternative approach to looking at unilinear growth models. Dependency as we all know is a product of underdevelopment which is prevalent in africa in general and nigeria in particular. Introduction dependency theory holds that the condition of underdevelopment is precisely the result of the incorporation of the third world economies into the capitalist world system which is dominated by the west and north america.
There are a great number of explanations for underdevelopment and concepts of development. The roots of latin american underdevelopment, in fann and hodges, readings, op. It combines elements from a neomarxist theory and adopts a revolution of under developed nations model. Implicit development here means liberation, end of structural dependence, and independence.
Frank is of the view that the world capitalist system involves both development and underdevelopment as the two aspects of. Concepts of the underdevelopment and dependencies politics. They also say that the theory focuses too much on economic factors and does not take into consideration the countrys political, social, cultural and environmental factors that might be contributing to underdevelopment. Home accounting dictionary what is the dependency theory. Worlds such as developed and underdeveloped that construct the argument of dependency theory are subjective and different people will view these different terms in different lights. In the first instance, it is held by the critics that there is a lack of consensus among the dependency theorists about the exact nature of dependence and underdevelopment, the mechanism involved in dependency relations and the possible remedies. One of the predominant theories coming especially from the voices of the third world leaders themselves is the dependency theory. Dependency theory an overview sciencedirect topics. Latin american dependency theory global south studies, u. Some aspects of liberation theology and world systems theory are related to dependency theory. Dependency theorists sought to explain persistent levels of under development in latin america by situating national economies within their global economic.
More specifically, this theory holds that the richer nations increase in wealth at the expense of the poorer nations. The focus of this theory is the totality of society and social system periphery, which highlights the. This theory gained credibility in explaining ghanas development after 1981. The dependency theory, introduced by raul prebisch in the late 1950s, is an economic concept that identifies a financial dependence between the rich and the poor nations. This project report looks to the theories, concepts and studies of the wellknown german prolific and controversial development economist and sociologist of postwar era, andre gunder frank. At the beginning of the 1970s, new concepts of development theory began increasingly to be articulated in english by writers inspired by the work of radical latin american scholars. Critics of the dependency theory argue that this dependency is exaggerated. All resources have their own level of capacity to be used by mankind to grab all its potential for which it has been created. Underdevelopment, world systems theory, metropole periphery key work.
Dependency theory itself believes that the only way out of underdevelopment is socialism, however a structuralist argument, closely linked with the ideologies of dependency theory believes that with the eastern worlds social collapse, this will not provide an alternative to underdevelopment, therefore reforming a capitalist system was believed to help development. The concept of underdevelopment and dependency are associated with the studying of the third world countries and this theory is concerned with the position of the third world countries in the global arena as developing or underdeveloped countries and the reason why it is so. The politics of development and underdevelopment fall 2009 3 5. Paul baran, in his work the political economy of growth 1973, first published in 1957, pioneered the theory of underdevelopment. Dependency theory and modernization theory dependency theory is a mixture of various theories, including world systems theory, historical structure theory, and neomarxist theory. Dependency theory is a concept based on the global relation of economic domination and exploitation by the more. Dependency theory of underdevelopment social development. Rodney also elaborates on his broader theory of underdevelopment and the issues of using the term especially in reference to comparing economies, saying actually, if underdevelopment were related to anything other than comparing economies, then the most underdeveloped country in the world would be the u. Dependency theorists believe that the growth of todays rich countries has impoverished the third world and that the forces of international capitalism still block its progress. Concepts of the underdevelopment and dependencies politics essay. First proposed in the late 1950s by the argentine economist and statesman raul prebisch, dependency theory gained prominence in the 1960s and 70s.
Nov 23, 2016 finally, the paper traces how dependency theory can be a useful tool in todays globalized world in order to understand northsouth and regional integration processes and their relation to global inequality. The case of dependency theory volume 31 issue 2 tony smith skip to main content accessibility help we use cookies to distinguish you from other users and to provide you with a better experience on our websites. By underdevelopment and dependency theory i mean the following general theses. Doc dependency and underdevelopment in africa abhishek.
Dependency theory dependency theory has been presented as a theory of development that improves modernisation theory reyes, 2001a. Pdf the development of underdevelopment before and. The theories of underdevelopment are essentially dependency theories. Causes of underdevelopment and concepts for development.
What is study the poor as much as medical researchers have to study the a icted. It has brought about so many consequences, but of all, the economy is the most affected sector. Used primarily to distinguish states along benchmarks concerning human developmentsuch as macroeconomic growth, health, education, and standards of. The development of underdevelopment 1966 underdevelopment is in large part the historical product of past and continuing economic and other relations between the satellite underdeveloped and the now developed metropolitan countries. By underdevelopment the normal user understands an extremely low standard of living, that is, a minimal per capita income, low productivity, a low. The main weakness of dependency theory lies in explaining the origin of underdevelopment. Stated another way, marxist theories explain the reasons why imperialism occurs, while dependency theories explain the. A critique of modernization and dependency theories in africa.
In the book the development of underdevelopment, andre gunder frank discusses the factors that have resulted in underdevelopment in certain areas of the world and rapid development in others. The dependency theory holds that the condition of underdevelopment is precisely the result of the incorporation of the developing economies into the capitalist world system which is dominated by the west and north america. Dependency theory, an approach to understanding economic underdevelopment that emphasizes the putative constraints imposed by the global political and economic order. Development, underdevelopment, dependency, bad leadership and governance.
Introduction dependency as a concept is widely used by social scientists to explain the unequal. While the dependency theories have provided a welcome critique from the south about the north, they. Read this article to learn about the dependency theory of underdevelopment. Franks theory of underdevelopment your article library. For the dependency theorists, underdevelopment is a wholly negative condition which offers no possibility of sustained and autonomous economic activity in a dependent state. Introduction dependency theory, as a theory that purports to explain the related conditions of economic development and the lack of, and evident need for it, in the countries of the periphery, or third worlda condition that some dependistas theorists of dependency refer to as underdevelopment has. Dependency and worldsystems perspectives on development. Dependency theory is also associated with prominent marxist scholars, such. Which theory can help africa to develop open acc biostat bioinform. These concepts which have come to be known as dependency theories, have not only gained, in a short space of time, widespread acceptance by left wing intellectuals but have also permeated the. This paper returns to marxs general law of capitalist accumulation, arguing that it represents an insightful analytical tool for contributing to understanding underdevelopment within the international political economy. This theory emerged in the 1950s and is a critique of modernization. In short, dependency theory attempts to explain the present underdeveloped state of many nations. Underdevelopment, relating to international development, reflects a broad condition or phenomena defined and critiqued by theorists in fields such as economics, development studies, and postcolonial studies.
Additionally, he states that we tend to believe that their history tends to resemble the history of the more developed countries and that such assumptions lead to misconceptions about contemporary development andre gunder frank dependency theory underdevelopment. Frank is of the view that the world capitalist system involves both development and underdevelopment as the two aspects of the same system. This has necessitated the evocation of dependency theory in explaining africas cum nigerias underdevelopment situation, hence africas underdevelopment has been linked to two categories of. Dependency theory and the problem of ethnocentrism and generalization. These concepts which have come to be known as dependency theories, have not only gained, in a short space of time, widespread acceptance by left wing intellectuals but have also permeated the thinking of ldc spokemen who were instrumental in embodying within the 1974 u. At the beginning of the 1970s, new concepts of development theory began increasingly to be. Conversations on dependency theory institute for new economic.
They have critically evaluated the continued unequal relationships between countries, which have their history partly in colonialism and imperialism. This is a theory which presents a historical account of the relationship of dependency of the less developed countries on the rich european ones. Essay underdevelopment of africa 635 words bartleby. Dependency theory highlights that due to colonial and postcolonial endeavors the countries at the periphery or else the developing countries are constantly exploited by those at the core developed countries or else wealthy countries. This ignorance is partly the result of the scant exposure of dependency theories in orthodox literature and partly due to the fact that the theory has many versions, which in and among themselves are either contradictory or lack testable hypotheses. The latter term simply refers to a condition in which resources are not being used. Critics of dependency theory social science theories. While dependency theory as a conscious, explicit approach to. Random harvest theories of underdevelopment and the. The marxist theory of imperialism explains dominant state expansion while the dependency theory explains underdevelopment. How europe underdeveloped africa abahlali basemjondolo. Dependency theory is a school of thought in contemporary social science which seeks to contribute to an understanding of underdevelopment, an analysis of its causes, and to a lesser extent, paths toward overcoming it. They are one because wealth entails not only consumption but also waste, not only.
Students will be responsible for identifying a theoretical issue, thematic area, or debate that they would like to investigate, formulating the question to be. The discourse assesses the influence of modernization and dependency theories on africas development. There are a number of propositions, all of which are contestable, which form the core of dependency theory. Random harvest theories of underdevelopment and the development of development theory in the experimental era maitreesh ghatak. Concepts of development and underdevelopment objectives. Finally, the paper traces how dependency theory can be a useful tool in todays globalized world in order to understand northsouth and regional integration processes and their relation to global inequality. For this purpose, this paper examines the definitions of dependency, general perspectives, classifications, and the criticism of dependency theory. Article information, pdf download for dependency theory. Dec, 2008 theoretical considerations at this time of cold war explained the situation of underdevelopment and the path for development from the viewpoint of western or socialist metropoles. The conclusion is that both theories have failed to help develop africa.
Ahiakpor examines the theory, and points out its failure, not only in ghana, but elsewhere. What could be compare the poor with a the lesspoor or nonpoor individuals, countries, regions, at a given point in time andor. The discourse pins hope on the african renaissance theory of development. Definitions of modernization theory and dependency theory.
Historical research demonstrates that contemporary underdevelopment is in large part the historical product of past and continuing economic and other relations between the satellite underdeveloped and the now developed metropolitan countries. Underdevelopment is a condition fundamentally different from undevelopment. This essay focuses on two related radical theories of development, dependency and worldsystems theory, and shows how they emerged as a critique partly of modernization theory and of the development strategy of import substitution industrialization. Development and underdevelopment in the third world. Declaration of a new international economic order, the view that dependence was the central feature of the current international economic system. Underdevelopment of africa underdevelopment in africa is a problem that has been plaguing the countries all over the continent for a very long time. For the dependency theorists, underdevelopment is a wholly negative condition which offers no possibility of sustained and autonomous economic activity in a. Dependency theories and underdevelopment emerald insight. Only in more recent times has the viewpoint of developing countries gained momentum in development theory. Underdevelopment is not backwardness but intentional downward development. But, there are cases when it is being used only by few countries creating a difference of opinion among nations. Dependency and underdevelopment in africa is our main thrust which we try to relate the above to the nigerian context. Dependency theory developed in the 1960s to explain the problems of development in the third world. The causes of underdevelopment in the third world and.
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