Introduction: Interrogating the Resurgence of Latin American Dependency Theory

Abstract

As 2025 draws to a close, we are witnessing a fundamental transformation of the global economy and political order established in the 1970s and '80s. The rise of China to become by some measures the largest economy in the world, and the formation of the BRICS as an influential grouping of non-Western states, shows a profound shift in the geography of capital accumulation since the 1980s. But the growing significance of China, India, and the constellation of other high-growth economies, has not led to the worldwide convergence promised by advocates of neoliberal globalization. Rather, the emerging world order once again raises the prospect of transformation without convergence that is fundamental to Dependency Theory. Viewed from Latin America, the parallels between the current era and the original formative period of Dependency Theory are striking. Latin America faces de-industrialization, a return to 'extractivism' based on natural resource exports, combined with persistent poverty and rising inequality, mirroring its position in the early to mid-20th century. The political, social, and economic transformations outlined above have coincided with a renewed interest in Latin American Dependency Theory, both within the continent and beyond. This Special Issue of Alternautas explores the ongoing significance of this 'view from the periphery' in terms of its historical roots and its novel contemporary transformations.