Andre Gunder Frank: from dependency theory to the theory of world system

Abstract

The article deals with the evolution of Andre Gunder Frank’s views through the prism of his biography.His life had an elective affinity with his academic and ideological interests in his capacities of a scholar and an activist.The article identifies the challenges once faces when attempting to reconstruct and evaluate his research program. Evaluation of Frank’s ideas has been oscillating between mutually exclusive extremes – cult like following versus bashing of his ideas. Rejection of his ideas has been mostly based on accusing Frank in being an ideologue.It is noted that Frank was one of the pioneers of dependency theory. Frank viewed dependency theory as a third-world response to Eurocentric modernization theory. While modernization theoreticians interpreted developing world problems as the outcome of its internal dynamics, Frank suggested to view the developing nations failings as the result of its structural disadvantageous position within world capitalist system. Frank radicalized dependency theory assumptions having produced the thesis on the development of underdevelopment. His version of the dependency theory became an important source for Immanuel Wallerstein’s world-systems theory.Frank’s last book titled “Re-Orient: Global Economy in the Asian Age” was published in 1998. In that book Frank re-invented himself. Frank transfor med himself from being predecessor of Wallerstein’s world-systems analysis into Wallerstein’s successor with his Asia-centric theory of a single five thousand years world system. Frank’s Asia-centric research program goes beyond more general theorizing and has a high degree of political and policy relevance to post-Leninist nations.