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Chittaranjan College: (University of Calcutta)

Dependency theory holds that underdevelopment in third world countries is caused by their incorporation into the capitalist world system dominated by wealthy Western nations. It views the global economic system as consisting of dominant core nations that exploit dependent periphery nations. While dependency theory helped explain poverty and inequality, it failed to account for the rise of newly industrialized Asian countries and overgeneralized traits across developing nations.

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26 views4 pages

Chittaranjan College: (University of Calcutta)

Dependency theory holds that underdevelopment in third world countries is caused by their incorporation into the capitalist world system dominated by wealthy Western nations. It views the global economic system as consisting of dominant core nations that exploit dependent periphery nations. While dependency theory helped explain poverty and inequality, it failed to account for the rise of newly industrialized Asian countries and overgeneralized traits across developing nations.

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CHITTARANJAN COLLEGE

(UNIVERSITY OF CALCUTTA)
B.A SEMESTER 4 EXAMINATION 2020

NAME – NITISH KUMAR YADAV


CU ROLL NO - 182121-21-0012
CU REGISTRATION NO- 121-1111-0147-
18
Subject- Political Science
Topic- Dependency theory of
International Relation
Email ID – yadavnitish443@gmail.com
Mobile NO. – 9007043983
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”, hence in development studies, dependency implies a situation
in which a particular country or region relies on another for support, “survival” and growth.
The third world countries are the economically underdeveloped countries of Asia, Africa,
Oceania, and Latin America, considered as an entity with common characteristics, such as
poverty, high birth-rates, and economic dependence on the advanced countries. The term
therefore implies that the third world is exploited, and hat its destiny is a revolutionary one.
Distinctively, the underdevelopment of the third world is marked by a number of common traits;
distorted and highly dependent economies devoted to producing primary products for the
developed world and to provide markets for their finished goods; traditional, rural social
structures; high population growth; and widespread poverty. Despite the widespread poverty of
the countryside and the urban shantytowns, the ruling elites of most third world countries are
outrageously wealthy.

Characteristics
Dependency theory is the result of an extensive search to find a theoretical framework to
sufficiently analyse and explain both development and underdevelopment within the
international system. It does so by allowing scholars and practitioners to look to external matters,
such as politics, economics, and culture, and attempt to come to an understanding of how these
issues influence development policies.

Three main characteristics of dependency theory are salient. First, the international system is
seen as the sum of two sets of states: dominant and dependent. Second, dependency theory
holds that external forces are critical in terms of economic activity of dependent states. Third,
relationships, based on strongly historical patterns and dynamics (i.e., internationalization of
capitalism), between dominant and dependent states are a vibrant process, with exchanges
taking place between the states playing a considerable role in the reinforcement of patterns of
inequality.

Competing Perspectives
A great deal of debate within the literature on dependency theory leads to numerous and often
competing perspectives and discourse. Dependency theory is, on one hand, about the
relationship between developed and underdeveloped countries. On the other hand, the
relationship is about countries that have emerged and those that are emerging. Alternatively,
dependency theory describes the world in terms of a capitalist or imperialist core (also known as
the wealthy states) and an exploited (also exploitative) periphery. The subjective nature of
debates found within dependency theory means there are many different and often productive
ways of examining the world. These different points of views can lead to intensive but informative
debates.

Countries at the core of the international system are referred to as the “haves,” whereas those
found within the periphery are called the “have-nots.” Industries, government, social elites,
financial power, and systems of education are key characteristics of the core countries. By
contrast, periphery countries possess mining, forestry, agriculture, less power, poor systems of
education, and low wages that are incapable of sustaining affluent lifestyles. These factors are
central components composing the relationship between the core and the periphery.
Dependency theorists also describe the interaction of more than just the core and periphery.
They argue that states perform different functions within the world economy, which are divided
into four groups instead of two: center of the center (CC), periphery of the center (PC), center of
the periphery (CP), and periphery of the periphery (PP). For example, the CC consists of the
United States, the United Kingdom, and France. The PC includes advanced and industrialised
countries, such as Canada, Japan, Italy, and Spain. Countries within this group have less global
power and wealth than the CC countries. There are also CP countries, such as South Africa, India,
Brazil, and Saudi Arabia. These countries have a reasonable amount of wealth despite the fact
that they are still undergoing processes of development. PP countries are the poorest countries
of the world and are the least advanced; they include the Democratic Republic of Congo, Liberia,
Zimbabwe, and Burundi, among many others. The CC and the PC countries are the haves,
whereas CP and PP countries are the have-nots.

Limitations
The propositions of dependency theory are not without limitations. Although the theory has
served various disciplines in the analysis and explanation of the persistent poverty of
underdeveloped countries, the theory significantly failed to explain the rise of the newly
industrialised countries of East Asia (Hong Kong, South Korea, Taiwan, and Singapore), as well as
those of Southeast Asia (Indonesia, Malaysia, and Thailand). The theory also presumes that all
developing countries share the same traits. In addition, dependency theory is limited in its
analytical ability when applied to sectors beyond manufacturing. Moreover, changes in India’s
economy after that country shifted to an open market system presented further challenges to
dependency theorists.ThereThere are fewer supporters of dependency theory today than there
were decades ago. Some believe dependency theory to be a less relevant conceptualization of
the arrangement of wealth, whereas others claim that dependency theory is still applicable to
the study of state impoverishment and the world system in the 21st century.
Bibliography
• Gilpin, Robert, and Jean M. Gilpin. Global Political Economy: Understanding the
International Economic Order. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2001.

• Jackson, Robert, and Georg Sørensen. Introduction to International Relations: Theories


and Approaches. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press, 2013.
• Ravinhill, John. Global Political Economy. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press, 2014.
• Theotonio Dos Santos, (1970), “The Structure of Dependence,” in K.T. Fann and Donald C.
Hodges, eds., Readings in U.S. Imperialism. Boston: Porter Sergeant.
• Todaro, M. (1992) Economic for a Developing World: An Introduction to Principles,
problems and Policies for Development”. London, Longman Group Limited.

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