West African contribution to dependency theory debates on the NIEO in the 1960s–1980s

Paths to overturn the Global South’s recurring economic disadvantage ignited debate among advocates and practitioners of dependency theory that gained significant influence in the “Third World” by the 1970s. Raul Prebisch suggested renegotiating trade and investment conditions via international organisations to favour developing countries, culminating in the New International Economic Order initiative. Samir Amin’s radical approach considered this strategy ineffective due to the global economy’s embedded inequality and proposed the “Third World’s” delinking from it to reduce vulnerability to external threats. West Africa of the 1960s–1980s offers practical record for both approaches as the NIEO was actively promoted by Senegal on UN platforms along with Senghor’s moderate national-oriented economic reforms, while Amin’s position on national auto-centred development priority was largely implemented by Thomas Sankara in Burkina Faso. Thus, the two strategies had their chance to “compete” within one region, which allows assessment of their practical output and viability. This article reviews West African empirical contribution to the NIEO debate, showing the flaws and merits of both approaches and deriving potential feedback for the future. © 2025 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.