The Political Economy of Underdevelopment: Power, Poverty, and Policy Failures

Abstract

The concept of underdevelopment indicates a nation's economic stagnation, political fragility, and social vulnerability. This article explores how internal factors such as corruption, patrimonialism, poor governance, and civil conflict intersect with external forces like global economic dependency and historical exploitation to sustain underdevelopment through tracing its discourse from Truman’s 1949 inaugural speech to contemporary analyses. The article underscores how structural weaknesses, political decisions, and state failure intensify poverty, illiteracy, unemployment, and resource underutilization in the Global South. Empirical references to Zimbabwe, and thematic insights from scholars such as Myrdal, Rotberg, and Rose-Ackerman, illustrate how both state and systemic failures contribute to persistent underdevelopment. The paper concludes by emphasizing the need for holistic approaches that address both external dependencies and poor internal governance to foster sustainable development in underdeveloped regions.