Dependency/ World-systems Theories and Structural Position of Latin American Countries

Abstract

One of the social sciences theories that has contributed significantly to the complex understanding of the modern capitalist/colonial world and the situation of Latin America in it has been the world-systems approach. However, world-systems theory cannot be separated from dependency theory since the latter provides theoretical bases for the former, especially regarding the distribution of countries into different special zones according to the functioning of the world economy. But how have these theorists positioned Latin American countries in the world system? How has their understanding of the region evolved? Through the review of the literature, systematised in three stages (pre-theoretical, synchronous, and diachronic), this article examines the historical peripheral and semiperipheral positioning of the Latin American countries and the basis for determining different degrees of peripheralisation and semiperipheralisation. The relative immobility of the countries in the region stands out, which over the decades has not improved their structural position, necessitating a review of the Latin American countries’ development strategies for the twenty-first century.