The need to centre imperialism in studies of uneven development

Ingrid Harvold Kvangraven

Chapter 7 in A Modern Guide to Uneven Economic Development, 2023, pp 171-185 from Edward Elgar Publishing

Abstract: The key argument of this chapter is that to grasp the global and uneven character of capitalist development, it is crucial to place imperialism at the core of our analysis. This is of particular importance at a time when the study of development has been increasingly characterised by methodological individualism. Centring imperialism, in contrast, allows us to see capitalism as a global system of exploitation, which is essential to shed light on the drivers and manifestations of contemporary global phenomena such as financialisation. To what extent imperialism plays a role in shaping uneven development today is a subject of much disagreement. There has been a wave of scholars arguing that imperialism is no longer relevant, or at least not for all developing countries. Given the plethora of theories of and approaches to imperialism that exist, this is a highly controversial topic even among radical scholars. This chapter discusses what it means to centre imperialism, drawing on some key scholarly contributions. It does not rehash the many rich debates about specific theories of imperialism, but draws in some key contributions from the past two centuries. The chapter then goes on to discuss what centring imperialism does for analyses of finance in uneven development, before demonstrating how centring imperialism is helpful for understanding the evolution of the financial systems of Ghana and Senegal in particular.

Keywords: Development Studies; Economics and Finance (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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