DVA1501 Assignment 1 2025 – Due 28 March 2025

DVA1501
ASSIGNMENT 1 2025

Questions:

Question 1: Explanation of Modernisation Theory and Decolonial Theory
(10 marks)

Modernisation Theory
Modernisation theory emerged in the post-WWII era, influenced by the success of the
Marshall Plan in rebuilding Europe. It posits that development is a linear, Westerncentric
process
where
societies
progress
from
“traditional”
(subsistence
agriculture)
to

“modern”
(industrialized,
urbanized)
stages.
Key
figures
like
Walt
Rostow
proposed
a

five-stage
model
of
economic
growth,
culminating
in
mass
consumption
akin
to
Western

nations.

The
theory
assumes
economic
growth
and
industrialization
are
primary
drivers
of

development.

Western
values,
institutions,
and
technologies
are
superior
and
universally
applicable.

Benefits
of
growth
“trickle
down”
to
uplift
all
societal
segments.

Context:
Rooted
in
Cold
War
geopolitics,
modernisation
theory
aimed
to
counter

communism
by
promoting
capitalist
models.
Institutions
like
the
World
Bank
and
IMF