Political Diversity in the Developing

Political Diversity in the Developing World

Developing nations have historically been characterized by civil strife, political instability, high population growth and other social problems (Comparative politics). Some of these countries are now experiencing economic growth and moving towards advancement as they attain political maturity, but others such as Burma and Somali are sinking deeper into political and economic failure (Comparative politics).

Also in common, most developing countries are post-colonial, but the continuing impact of colonization has impacted these countries differently. In Africa, pre-colonial state traditions were weak and when the European powers divided Africa into colonies, preexisting political units were not maintained. This has resulted in post-colonial states in Africa that have trouble achieving a political identify (Chiriyankandath). Still, others believe that colonial capitalism in Africa effectively contaminated that capitalist model to the extent that it not accepted as a basis to frame the post colonial state's ideological foundation (Chiriyankandath). In the case of Latin America, some see the reasons for current-day political and economic problems as being that their development was tied to Europe and the United States during the late nineteenth and early twentieth century (Dependency Theory & Latin America). According to this source, this development has been conditioned by the incorporation of the region into the capitalist mode of production for the exploitation of Latin America's resources and the negative implications linger today. To many, globalization and neoliberalism are the contemporary disguises for continued colonialism in Latin America.