Third World Theories of Underdevelopment: Colonial Legacies, Structural Dependency, and the Political Economy of Marginalisation Introduction Third World theories of underdevelopment emerged as a sustained intellectual and political critique of orthodox modernization theory and liberal developmentalism that dominated post–Second World War economic thought. Rejecting the assumption that underdevelopment represents an early stage of a universal … Continue reading How do Third World theories of underdevelopment conceptualise the relationship between colonial legacies, structural dependency, and contemporary patterns of economic marginalisation? Critically examine the role of domestic elites and state structures in mediating, reinforcing, or resisting external constraints on development in postcolonial states.