● an ordered set of ideas, assumptions & concepts used to explain especially of reality ○ IPE theories help explain global phenomena, or aspects of global realities ○ Highlighting links between factors & actual events/observations ○ Highlight the links between causes and effects in the international system ■ EG : why do rich states give foreign aid? ■ “To promote their own self interest in the recipient state Yeet opening markets for their own goals” ■ “Donor states are motivated by a desire to alleviate poverty & reduce the suffering in recipients states“
Why Theories?
1. Scholarly purposes : ○ Theories to generate coherent explanations (coherent essays) : helping to frame debates and arguments (structural essays) 2. Policy uses : ○ systematic descriptions of phenomena / problems help to prescribe logical interventions - policies 3. NB ○ There are always more than one possible theory to explain a particular set of observations ○ But good theories are these that can be tested by facts & pass the test
Pos world war & development challenge
● emergence of former colonies; two unequal economic worlds ● Wealthy former colonisers & port former colonies ○ The challenge amongst scholars was how to advance socio economic development of the former colonies ○ Western world was to assist pull poor countries out of misery by sharing technology & expertise ○ Emphasis was put on technological progress, replication of economic growth to bolster consumption
Theory of modernisation (1950s/60s)
● the leading scholar was Walt W. Rostow,3 main historical conditions
1. USA emerges as a superpower rebuilding the war torn Western Europe 2. Spread of world communist movement; Eastern Europe, China and Korea 3. There was disintegration European colonial empires, giving rise to many new states, Third World ● Conceived at a time when the challenge facing scholars was to explain how the new poor third world countries were to develop
Modernisation theory & development
● the world consisted of 2 components: traditional and modern
○ That differ on economic structures, values and family organisations ● Transition is equated to the process of modernisation - to be driven by the national elite - eg. Policy makers ● Rostow identifies self-sustaining economic growth, as a unique feature “advanced” western societies ● Achieving of self sustaining growth, was what modernism was all about ● The poor counties must embrace modernisation + or development process ○ Rostow devised five distinct stages towards self-sustaining growth or development Assumptions of Modernisation Theory
1. Modernisation is a phased process; 5 stages
2. Modernisation is a homogenising process - advances convergence in among societies 3. Modernisation is a Europeanisation / Americanisation process; nations with unmatched economic prosperity & democratic stability 4. Modernisation is an unstoppable process that once started, cannot be stopped ○ Once the third world countries, are contact with the west; they will not be able to resist modernisation
Modernisation theory: the 5 stages of economic growth
1. Traditional Society ○ driven by neo-productive religions, face technological constraints & limit economic growth 2. The preconditions for take off ○ rational scientific ideas, replace traditional believes & new infrastructure , orientation to business becomes important , savings grow 3. The take off stage ○ share of net investment & national savings rise significantly (6-10%) 4. The drive to maturity ○ investment rates rise, significantly to resume driving the national economy (10-20% of the national income) ○ Modern technology diffuses throughout the economy 5. The age of High mass consumption ○ mature self sustaining growth is achieved, generated wealth can be used to support the welfare state , higher domestic consumption levels, or pursued of external power - exploration etc…
Modernisation Theorists Argue that
● the necessary changes are not endogenous to society, it is external intrusions that shock traditional society into change ● Failure to develop is put squarely on affected countries themselves ○ Their leaders’ bad policy choices ○ Outmoded production techniques ○ “Useless” cultural practices - non frugal tendencies etc. ■ The north & south divide, generally depicted these differences between productive frugal attitudes vs. Outdated uneconomic behaviours ● Criticisms: ○ Theory is ahistorical, ignores power relations, existence of structural inequities, market imperfections and exploitative relations
Summary
● modernisation is a global & irreversible process started with the Industrial Revolution in Europe ● It is about transforming traditional societies - from the old, outmoded “ascribed” personal attitudes that are barriers to economic & political development ● Modern societies, there’s predominance of, secular individualistic, scientific values ● Modernisation is endogenously driven process, societal change within societies will take place in a linear way
Dependency Theory - 1950-60s
● from - economic structuralism
○ Rejects the 5 stages of the modernisation theory; societies do not have to follow the delineated stages ● ECLAC; main proponent Raul Prebisch ○ Origins in the 1950s Latin American, post colonial experiences; Africa yet to acquire independence ○ Emergence at the time when neither modernisation school nor classical Marxism could explain third world development situation
Dependence Theory and development
● dependency hypothesises the following:
1. Development of third world necessities subordinate to the core nations 2. Periphery nations experience greater development when their ties with the core are weakest (Great Depression & WW2) 3. When the core recovers, links with periphery nations, industrialism is stifled 4. Regions highly underdeveloped & still under traditional federal systems are those with the closest ties to the core
Andre Gunder Frank: The Dependency Critique
● the North-South relations: resemble a case of “development underdevelopment”
○ Developing countries were never underdeveloped/ not backward ○ Many had civilisations of their own - empires, indigenous technologies, self-sufficient, etc The great Zimbabwe, Timbuktu etc ○ “Underdevelopment” result of colonialism / exploitation by developed countries ○ Contemporary poverty & underdevelopment are a result of the past & present skewed relations between metropolis / north & satellite states /south ● Global exploitation means: no way can a poor nation move to join a rich core nations ● Development school : focuses on global economic processes, and their negative development effects of the third world
Conditions for the third world
● prebisch argued that; to create the right conditions for development ○ Control the monetary exchange rate ○ Promote direct governance role in national development ○ Crate a platform for investments, preferential role to national capital ○ Allow the entrance of external capital inline with priorities outlined in national development plans ○ Promote effective demand as a base to support domestic industrialisation ○ Generate larger internal demand by increasing the wages, raise aggregate demand for in internal markets ○ Embrace national strategies, import substitution, to protect national production through quotas & tariff on imports ● both modernisation theory and dependency theory based on their assumptions and results on the national-state ● The theory of WST & Ryan on the other hand, focus on ○ International connection among countries ■ Trade ■ Financial ■ World technology ■ Military cooperation
The modern world systems theory (MWS)
● A strand of economic structuralism, focuses on the development of the global economic
system as a unit ● The capitalism world economic system, determines the political & social relations within & among international actors - who gets what when and how ● The world economy; is a system, a single unit of analysis ● Various of this system are functionally & structurally related ● MWS theory studies the origins, the structure & functioning of the global economic system
Key features of the world systems theory : Emmanuel Wallerstein 1970s
● a single division of labour, involving states that are mutually dependent on econ change ● Divides the global economics system into three functional units/regions
● the core ○ Western Europe - post Industrial Revolution ○ Dominates the periphery states & secures inequitable exchange relations ○ Surplus money from exchanges goes to the CORE ○ Therefore, past, & present international trade arrangements are skewed in favour of the DCs
● semi periphery ○ Dual role - exploited but they also exploit the periphery ○ Diffusing opposition for, the periphery to the core ○ Enjoy access to international banking & finance ○ Manufactures goods for export
● the periphery ○ Ownership of industrial output owned by core investment ○ “Soft governments” repatriation of profits and raw materials to core, inexpensive labour for extracting & agriculture
The arguments : Emmanuel wallerstein
● the core states dominate the periphery through unequal exchange - buying cheap (raw materials cheap labour) & selling expensive (finished products) ● Core - are “hard states” vs periphery states “soft states” ● Generally; politics is constraint by the economic structure ○ What can be done politically is constrained by the global economic structures ● A village is the source of wealth, enjoyed in the core states “development and underdevelopment” are the 2 sides of the same coin
