Answer to Question #169379 in Geography for Junior Richy

Question

Using the ideas of Andre Gunder Franks’ Dependency theory and that of David Slater’s spatial theory of underdevelopment in Africa, explain how globalisation promotes or constraints the development process in sub-Saharan Africa.Discuss the theories thoroughly, link these ideas to globalisation showing the processes that facilitate or frustrate development.

Answer 1

According to Andre Gunder Franks, African countries are underdeveloped not because of internal barriers but because the Western nations are enriching themselves at their expense. Similarly, David Slater's spatial theory borrows from Karl Marx's capitalism ideology where the powerful exploited the poor in this case Africans to gain more wealth. Both theories point out that the West has constantly used developing countries to become richer leading to underdevelopment in the African continent. Consequently, globalization has intensified the oppression and suppression of developing countries by providing a platform for the West to impose its culture on African states. Western countries still exploit African resources by pretending to empower those nations but in the real sense are using them and hindering their growth. All components of globalization are invented in the west.