ABSTRACT
In this chapter I discuss the main ideas of the theories of modernization and dependency from the perspective of the Latin American region. Both theories have to be set against the background of the Cold War and the competing ideologies of capitalism and communism. Modernization theory emerged in the North during the 1950s and 1960s and was largely absorbed uncritically at the time by social scientists and policy makers in Latin America. From the late 1960s it was fiercely challenged by the dependentistas, as the dependency theorists and followers were often called. While modernization theorists aimed to develop and strengthen the capitalist system in the Third World, distinct strands within dependency theory aimed either to overthrow it and start a process of transition to socialism (a Marxist strand), or to reform the underdeveloped structures of the region and reforming the international economic system towards a more equitable relation between North and South (a structuralist position). I will first examine modernization theory (MT), proceed to the analysis of dependency theory (DT), and finish with some conclusions.
