Answer to Question #169377 in Psychology for Junior Richy

Question

Using the ideas of Andre Gunder Franks’ Dependency theory and that of David Slater’s spatial theory of underdevelopment in Africa, explain how globalisation promotes or constraints the development process in sub-Saharan Africa. Discuss the theories thoroughly, link these ideas to globalisation showing the processes that facilitate or frustrate development.

Answer 1

Globalization is defined as the process through which exchanges and movements of goods, people, technologies, and services worldwide are sped up. The direct impact of globalization is that it influences and enhances interactions between countries and populations worldwide. In his book, 'the development of underdevelopment' Andre Gunder Frank presents key factors that have influenced underdevelopment in some regions of the world and sped up development in other areas such as America. He introduces the dependency theory, a concept based on globalization and how countries relate to each other in terms of dependency. He argues that underdevelopment is influenced by globalization, where more economically powerful countries take advantage of the less powerful which results in the unequal distribution of resources and power (Tausch, 2010). Consequently, some countries experience faster rates of development compared to others. Andre Gunder Frank argues that the formulation of globalization depends on the generalization of most countries' economic and social history. In the formulation of these policies, we tend to believe that their histories resemble the histories of more developed countries, which leads to misconceptions about modern development and underdevelopment. Andre uses Brazil as an example to explain his concept. He argues that Brazil will not easily break out of the cycle of underdevelopment due to its overreliance on globalization and more developed countries as a way to export its resources. Andre's theory is directly compared to David Slater's spatial theory of underdevelopment in Africa. His theory is significantly based on Marxism and how developed countries shape the economies of underdeveloped countries. David argues that developed nations take advantage of third-world countries through political domination and colonial exploitation. Third-world countries become inherently dependent on these developed nations, which influences a chain of events in which they are exploited of in terms of their resources (Slater, 1975). In essence, the developed nations end up benefiting while the third world countries struggle to stay afloat; his ideas resemble those of Karl Marx, especially Marxism and capitalism.

References

Slater, D. (1975). Underdevelopment and spatial inequality: approaches to the problems of regional planning in the Third World. Progress in Planning, 4, 97-167.

Tausch, A. (2010). Globalisation and development: the relevance of classical “dependency” theory for the world today. International Social Science Journal, 61(202), 467-488.