Interdependence and dependency in the political economy of Sierra Leone

Sesay, Max Ahmadu (1993) Interdependence and dependency in the political economy of Sierra Leone. University of Southampton, Doctoral Thesis.

Abstract

This thesis determines the place and function in international politics of the economic relations of modern Sierra Leone. Through the use of recent theories of International Relations, the manner in which one of the world's little known and poorest nations affects, and/or is affected by, global trends is analytically assessed. Chapters one, two and three respectively review the literature on `interdependence', `dependency' and Sub-Saharan Africa's political economy. While chapter four deals with the manner in which Sierra Leone became part of the world economy, the fifth examines the nature of post-colonial leadership and the pursuit of `nation-building'. Chapters six, seven and eight focus on Sierra Leone's interaction with foreign capital. They deal respectively with the implications of import-substitution industrialization, foreign mining of mineral resources and the role of such international financial institutions as the IMF, World Bank and Paris Club in the country's economic development.

The thesis, in short, examines the inter-play between historical, external and internal causal factors of backwardness. It tests the validity of the concepts of `interdependence' and `dependency', drawn respectively from the pluralist and structuralist paradigms in International Relations, in explicating the place and function in the international economy of developing countries that share the characteristics of Sierra Leone.

The conclusion is that no single existing theory can accurately explain the processes of nation-building, the dilemmas of the political leadership and the ineptitude witnessed in post-colonial Sierra Leone. The findings imply that efforts at comprehending the internal dynamics of small, developing and especially Sub-Saharan African countries and their relation with the external environment can have direct relevance to the country's policy-makers.

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