The group studied the concept of Dependency Theory. They focused their research on how the Dependency Theory is relevant in explaining the Third World. They mentioned the works of Argentine economist Raúl Prebisch, German economist/historian Karl Marx, and German-American economic historian Andre Gunder Frank.
The group adopted Raúl Prebisch’s opinions to explain the economic relations between the global North and South. They also used Marxist-inspired hypotheses of Andre Gunder Frank to illustrate development on various scales. The group also contrasted these arguments by critiquing them.
The group based their research on books, journals, encyclopedias, and textbooks from various reputed authors such as Vandana Desai and Jorge Larrain. However, the sources were scarce.
The group provided a versatile general definition of the concept and historical information on its origins and also provided more opinionated perspectives, namely Marxism.
They however didn’t succeed in explaining how other theories could explain the interdependency between developed and underdeveloped countries.
The presenters put their Marxist arguments into perspective by explaining why these were contestable, but they didn’t explore any other major opposing perspectives. And due to their limited bibliography, the presentation seemed too focused on the pros and cons of the Marxist approach more than creating a complete picture of the concept and its interpretations.
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