Category Archives: Theories of development

Dependency Theory – Revision Notes

Posted on October 3, 2017 by

Dependency Theory claims that Colonialism had a negative impact on the satellite territories in Africa, Asia and Latin America; that neocolonialism keeps the ex colonial master rich and the ex colonies poor, and that in order to develop the ex colonies need … Continue reading →

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Forging the American Empire

Posted on September 30, 2017 by

Is it possible to perceive the making of modern America as a sort of colonial project? One in which the new American capitalist class colonizes the so called American wilderness for the benefit of Capitalism? This is the argument Andrew … Continue reading →

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The Industrial-Capitalist Model of Development

Posted on September 28, 2017 by

In order to understand what Modernisation Theory is, it’s useful to have an understanding of what the ‘Industrial Capitalist’ model of development is. The United Kingdom and America, the two leading super powers in the world up throughout the last … Continue reading →

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Is China’s Involvement in Africa a new form of Colonialism (i.e. neocolonialism)?

Posted on September 26, 2017 by

China’s development over the last three decades has depended heavily on its investment in Africa: it relies on a number of natural resources extracted from Africa, and is also one of the major leasers of land in Africa (which it … Continue reading →

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The End of Poverty? A Documentary taking a ‘Dependency Theory’ View of Underdevelopment and Development

Posted on September 22, 2017 by

This 2008 Documentary seeks to answer the question of why there is still so much poverty in the world when there is sufficient wealth to eradicate it. In order to answer this question, the video goes back to 1492, which … Continue reading →

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Modernization Theory

Posted on September 19, 2017 by

By the end of the Second World War many of the countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America had failed to develop and remained poor, despite exposure to capitalism. There was concern amongst the leaders of the western developed countries, … Continue reading →

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Are developed nations in decline?

Posted on September 13, 2017 by

I found this fascinating Infographic in a recent report by the Resolution Foundation – which shows how people in rich countries tend to be pessimistic about their children’s futures, while people in poor countries tend to be optimistic. These are … Continue reading →

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Dependency Theory Applied to Gender and Development

Posted on April 8, 2017 by

Dependency theory and Marxist-Feminists would probably point out that many Transnational Corporations are not interested in helping developing countries. Rather, they simply exploit patriarchal values rather than promoting real equality. They do this through taking advantage of ‘women’s material subordination’ – … Continue reading →

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The New Rulers of the World – A Summary

Posted on February 12, 2017 by

The New Rulers of the World (2001) by John Pilger provides a good example of a Dependency Theory analysis of the consequences of neoliberal globalisation, focusing on Indonesia as a case study. The fact that this is a dependency view of … Continue reading →

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Post-Development Perspectives

Posted on February 6, 2017 by

The Post-Development Perspective became popular in the 1990s. Theorists from within this perspective are critical of Western models of development, arguing that development was always unjust, that it never worked, and that developing countries should find their own pathways to … Continue reading →

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