Development study is a branch in social sciences that explores issues relating developing countries. Historically it has focused on social and economic development therefore may extend its significance to other regions and communities apart from concentration on the developing world. There are various approaches that conceptualize development studies. Among them are the modernization and dependency theories. This paper focuses to explore their similarities and difference in their significance to development studies.Dependency theory is a social science approach that argues that the developed nation draws resources from underdeveloped nations making them richer at the expense of their counterparts. The proponent of this theory is Sandra Ball-Rokeach and Milvin Defleur (1976). Dependency theory initially was in the communication discipline but merged out integrating several prospects. It merges prospects from psychology from social category theory, from causal approaches, media effects and traditions as well as contextual philosophy.
