relationstheory

    The Relations Theory states that there has to be a relationship between two or more variables to cause a change in direction. According to Professor Jordan Naod, "Relationships determine everything that you do." This applies to everything in any person's life, whether it be romantic affairs between a man and a woman or agreement with the laws of physics between a book and the desk it is sitting on. But, when applied to the development of African nations it says that two variables are interrelated contributers to crises in developing countries. Examples of these variables would be multinational corporations and the elite officials of that nations.
     The Relations Theory was developed to replace the Internalist and Externalist, or World System, schools of thought. The World-System school of thought, which was largely developed by Ali Mazuri of Kenya, who was the first neo-Marxist, says that developing countries have been setup by a conspiracy so that they can be exploited every fifteen to twenty years. In this, the World-System school of thought claimed that all of the problems that kept developing African nations from developing were caused by external powers that were interested in them because of insecurity, not just economy.
     The Internalist school of thought is strongly advocated by Ayittey George. It states that the problems of developing African countries are due largely to internal problems, specifically corrupt leaders. When organizations such as the World Bank or the International Monetary Fund see the problems in these developing countries they sometimes give money to them to help them develop their country and economy. These currupt leaders, who are often the heads of state, steal the money for themselves. The nation, therefore, not only loses the money that was given to them for their welfare but also accrues large debts which they are not able to pay back. In this, the Internalist school of thought claims that all of the problems of developing African nations are due to internal problems.
     The Relations Theory is more scientific than either of these. It does not use the cause-effet methodology of Internalism and Externalism. It does not claim that the problems in these nations is caused entirely by one thing or another. It says that these African nations go through both internal and external problems. It is the combination and relationship between these two variables which cause economic and political problems in these African states.

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