GLOBALISATION AND DEVELOPMENTCOMPARE AND CONTRAST THE MODERNISATION AND DEPENDENCY APPROACHES TO THE STUDY OF DEVELOPMENT

The various theories of development differ widely in their approach and evolved towards new forms in the 1950’s and 1960’s. This evolution itself reflects differing views seeking to contribute to, or work against the process of development. By comparing and critically analyzing two different approaches to development, modernisation and dependency, a more broad-based understanding of their strengths and weaknesses at the time they were put into practise can be created. Many difficulties have arisen whilst trying to explain underdevelopment and attempting to condense a number of theories in to one is sure to give rise to criticism. The 1950’s and 1960’s saw thinking and action on development dominated by the modernisation approach. Modernisation is defined by Hulme and Turner (1990 p34) as“… a total transformation of a traditional or pre-modern society into the types of technology and social organisation that characterize the advanced Western World.” It was only in the lat...