Rise and Decline of Latin American Dependency Theories

In: Itinerario: international journal on the history of European expansion and global interaction, Volume 22, Issue 4, p. 25-43

Abstract

In order to understand the value of any theory, one has to know its origins and background. This is especially true of the various dependency theories, which have always been more than just 'theories of theorists for theorists'. Dependency theories can only be understood against the background of Latin American politics in the 1960s. Taking this into account, there was an obvious connection between the Cuban Revolution on the one hand, and the unfulfilled expectations of development caused by the failure of modernisation efforts, on the other. The basic idea behind dependency theories is the explanation of the historically unequal relations between Latin America and the North Atlantic economies (Europe and the United States). Dependency theories are essentially attempts to justify government policies to acquire control of national development.