What is...Dependency Theory?

Dependency Theory provides a crucial framework for understanding the persistent inequalities shaping our global society which extend beyond borders, influence global conflicts, financial systems, and work at the intersections of gendered and racialised oppression. In this episode, Dr Felipe Antunes de Oliveira (Queen Mary University of London) is in conversation with host Judith Koch (University of Sussex) to discuss Dependency Theory which is rooted in Latin American thought. Felipe's unique dual perspective as a scholar of Latin American Political Economy and International Relations Theory on the one hand, and as a career diplomat on the other hand deeply informs his critical approach to development discourses. Felipe worked at the Department of South American Politics of the Brazilian Ministry of External Relations from 2012 until 2014, he acted as advisor to the Brazilian Executive Director at the IMF from 2019 to 2020, and is currently on a secondment to the Brazilian Ministry of Finance working as Coordinator General of International Economic Cooperation. His latest book, "Dependency and Crisis in Brazil and Argentina: A Critique of Market and State Utopias" (2024, University of Pittsburgh Press) proposes a way to overcome the problematic binary distinction between development and underdevelopment. Join us for a thought-provoking conversation!