“Independence or death!”: the dependency theory in debate

Abstract

The dossier is the result of debates held at a colloquium in Paris in 2022, with researchers from various countries to discuss “dependency theory”. Dependency perspective gained international prominence in the 1970s, but lost relevance in the following decades, especially after the Cuban revolutionary cycle came to an end. However, some variants, such as those inspired by Marini, Santos and Bambirra, persisted. In addition, the influence of dependency theory inspired intellectuals such as Anibal Quijano, who developed the notion of “coloniality of power” and contributed to the modernidad/colonialidad project. Recently, a new generation of researchers has reclaimed the dependency perspective by integrating the decolonial and postcolonial critiques formulated at the beginning of the 21st century.