Dependency Theory After Fifty Years

"This book received the Libertador Prize for Critical Thought (2018), demonstrating a renewal of interest in Dependency Theory. That conception initially included distinct forms of Marxism, liberalism, and developmentalism that should be differentiated, despite sharing the same name. The later retreat of that approach contrasts with the growing present-day relevance of its postulates; Latin America bears the effects of dependency even more acutely than in the past, making it imperative to understand the logic of its peripheral subordination. Dependency Theory in its original form is insufficient for explaining contemporary reality; it must be updated to interpret the current modalities of dependent capitalism. This book offers analytical clues to that reinvention"--

This book offers an assessment of Dependency Theory and discusses its relevance and renewal in light of the current political reality of Latin America.

This title was first published in 2001. An important critical study of the theories of dependency both past and present. Since the theories of dependency are based on the Marxian notion of exploitation and backwardness, the book starts with the elaboration of the Marxian theory of development and underdevelopment. The book analyses various concepts and precepts of dependency as well as critically discussing the individual theories of Baran, Frank, Amin, Emmanuel, Prebisch and Singer. The contributions of more recent writers including Furtado, Kay, Wallerstein and Marini are also considered. The main focus of the book lies in the thorough analysis of all the important traditional as well as modern theories of dependency. The main message of the present book is that the phenomenology of dependency is still relevant as a methodology of study of development and underdevelopment. The book incorporates some pressing contemporary issues to give fresh flavour to the old dependency debate. A special feature of the book lies in the critical appraisal for each of the theories studied. The book is designed to serve as a valuable compendium for students of economic development and political economy and for those interested in the study of the economic backwardness of the Third World countries.

Seminar paper from the year 2013 in the subject Politics - International Politics - General and Theories, grade: 93, , language: English, abstract: Dependency theory is the study of world perception. Scientists’ efforts to try to understand the current world system, division of states, and interstate relations have resulted in the emergence of dependency theory. Dependency theory mainly studies the relationships between states, assuming the nature of these relations to be the driving force behind the division of states into dominant/dependent, core/periphery, and metropole/satellite groups.

In the first comprehensive scholarly treatment of dependency theory, Robert Packenham describes its origins, substantive claims, and methods. He analyzes the movement comparatively and sociologically as a significant episode in inter-American and North-South cultural relations. In his account, the positive intellectual contributions of dependency ideas, as well as their role in the costly politicization of U.S. scholarship, become evident and comprehensible.

Sub-Imperialism Revisited is a theoretically rigorous study by the brilliant Mexican analyst Adrián Sotelo Valencia. Sotelo systematically explores the "sub-imperialism" thesis as advanced in the pioneering work of Ruy Mauro Marini. Readers will appreciate why radical dependency theory remains more relevant today than ever.