Andre Gunder Frank (February 24, 1929 – April 25, 2005) was a German- American sociologist and

economic historian Economic history is the study of history using methodological tools from economics or with a special attention to economic phenomena. Research is conducted using a combination of historical methods, statistical methods and the application of ...

who promoted

dependency theory Dependency theory is the idea that resources flow from a " periphery" of poor and exploited states to a " core" of wealthy states, enriching the latter at the expense of the former. A central contention of dependency theory is that poor states ...

after 1970 and world-systems theory after 1984. He employed some Marxian concepts on

political economy Political or comparative economy is a branch of political science and economics studying economic systems (e.g. Marketplace, markets and national economies) and their governance by political systems (e.g. law, institutions, and government). Wi ...

, but rejected

Marx Karl Marx (; 5 May 1818 – 14 March 1883) was a German philosopher, political theorist, economist, journalist, and revolutionary socialist. He is best-known for the 1848 pamphlet '' The Communist Manifesto'' (written with Friedrich Engels) ...

's stages of history, and

economic history Economic history is the study of history using methodological tools from economics or with a special attention to economic phenomena. Research is conducted using a combination of historical methods, statistical methods and the Applied economics ...

generally.

Biography

Born Andreas Frank in Weimar Germany, his parents were the

socialist Socialism is an economic ideology, economic and political philosophy encompassing diverse Economic system, economic and social systems characterised by social ownership of the means of production, as opposed to private ownership. It describes ...

and

pacifist Pacifism is the opposition to war or violence. The word ''pacifism'' was coined by the French peace campaigner Émile Arnaud and adopted by other peace activists at the tenth Universal Peace Congress in Glasgow in 1901. A related term is ''a ...

writer Leonhard Frank and his second wife Elena Maqenne Penswehr. His family, which was of

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

origins, fled from Germany when the

Nazis Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During H ...

came to power. Frank was educated a various schools in

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

before the family emigrated to the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

in 1941. The young Frank participated without much success in

track and field Track and field (or athletics in British English) is a sport that includes Competition#Sports, athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name used in North America is derived from where the sport takes place, a ru ...

competitions, earning the ironic nickname "Gunder" (after the Swedish running champion Gunder Hägg) from his high-school teammates. Frank later simplified his first name to "Andre" and adopted "Gunder" as a middle name. In the United States, Frank attended

Swarthmore College Swarthmore College ( , ) is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Swarthmore, Pennsylvania, United States. Founded in 1864, with its first classes held in 1869, Swarthmore is one of the e ...

(which had been founded as a

Quaker Quakers are people who belong to the Religious Society of Friends, a historically Protestant Christian set of denominations. Members refer to each other as Friends after in the Bible, and originally, others referred to them as Quakers ...

institution), gaining an

economics Economics () is a behavioral science that studies the Production (economics), production, distribution (economics), distribution, and Consumption (economics), consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and interac ...

degree in 1950. He then moved to the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, or UChi) is a Private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Its main campus is in the Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood on Chicago's South Side, Chic ...

as a graduate student in the economics department, but he was forced out after only one year. Frank received a master's degree in economics from the

University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...

and later spent some time among the

beatnik Beatniks were members of a social movement in the mid-20th century, who subscribed to an anti- materialistic lifestyle. They rejected the conformity and consumerism of mainstream American culture and expressed themselves through various forms ...

s in

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

, before returning to Chicago in 1955 as a research assistant in Bert Hoselitz's Center for Economic Development and Cultural Change (CEDCC). In 1958 he received a Ph.D. degree in economics from the University of Chicago, with a dissertation entitled ''Growth and Productivity in Ukrainian Agriculture from 1928 to 1955''. Although various sources later claimed that Frank's doctoral supervisor had been

Milton Friedman Milton Friedman (; July 31, 1912 – November 16, 2006) was an American economist and statistician who received the 1976 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences for his research on consumption analysis, monetary history and theory and ...

(whose ''

laissez faire ''Laissez-faire'' ( , from , ) is a type of economic system in which transactions between private groups of people are free from any form of economic interventionism (such as subsidies or regulations). As a system of thought, ''laissez-faire'' ...

'' approach to economics Frank would later harshly criticize), Frank in fact received his degree under the direction of Hoselitz. Frank was an assistant professor of economics at

Michigan State University Michigan State University (Michigan State or MSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan, United States. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State o ...

(MSU), but in the early 1960s he became disillusioned with academic life in the US and took a leave of absence from MSU. In 1962 he moved to

Latin America Latin America is the cultural region of the Americas where Romance languages are predominantly spoken, primarily Spanish language, Spanish and Portuguese language, Portuguese. Latin America is defined according to cultural identity, not geogr ...

, inaugurating a remarkable period of travel that confirmed his peripatetic tendencies. His most notable work during this time was his stint as Professor of Sociology and Economics at the

University of Chile The University of Chile () is a public university, public research university in Santiago, Chile. It was founded on November 19, 1842, and inaugurated on September 17, 1843.

, where he was involved in reforms under the socialist government of Salvador Allende. After Allende's government was toppled by a coup d'état in 1973, Frank fled to Europe, where he occupied a series of university positions. From 1981 until his retirement in 1994 he was professor in developmental economy at the

University of Amsterdam The University of Amsterdam (abbreviated as UvA, ) is a public university, public research university located in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Established in 1632 by municipal authorities, it is the fourth-oldest academic institution in the Netherlan ...

. He was married to Marta Fuentes, with whom he wrote several studies about social movements, and with Marta he had two sons. Marta died in Amsterdam in June 1993. His second wife was sociologist Nancy Howell, a friend for forty years: while married to her, they lived in

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

. Frank died in 2005 of complications related to his cancer while under the care of his third wife, Alison Candela.

Works and ideas

During his career, Frank taught and did research in departments of anthropology, economics, geography, history, international relations, political science, and sociology. He worked at nine universities in North America, three in Latin America, and five in Europe. He gave countless lectures and seminars at dozens of universities and other institutions all around the world in English, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, German and Dutch. Frank wrote widely on the economic, social and political history and contemporary development of the world system, the industrially developed countries, and especially of the

Third World The term Third World arose during the Cold War to define countries that remained non-aligned with either NATO or the Warsaw Pact. The United States, Canada, Taiwan, Japan, South Korea, the Southern Cone, NATO, Western European countries and oth ...

and Latin America. He produced over 1,000 publications in 30 languages. His last major article, "East and West", appeared in the volume: "Dar al Islam. The Mediterranean, the World System and the Wider Europe: The "Cultural Enlargement" of the EU and Europe's Identity" edited by Peter Herrmann (

University College Cork University College Cork – National University of Ireland, Cork (UCC) () is a constituent university of the National University of Ireland, and located in Cork (city), Cork. The university was founded in 1845 as one of three Queen's Universit ...

) and Arno Tausch ( Innsbruck University), published by Nova Science Publishers, New York. His work in the 1990s focused on world history. He returned to his analysis of global political economy in the new millennium inspired by a lecture he gave at the Stockholm School of Economics in Riga (SSE Riga). In 2006 SSE Riga received Andre Gunder Frank's personal library collection and set-up the Andre Gunder Frank Memorial Library in his honor, with the support of the Friedrich Ebert Foundation. Frank was a prolific author, writing 40 books. He published widely on political economy, economic history, international relations, historical sociology, and world history. Perhaps his most notable work is ''Capitalism and Underdevelopment in Latin America.'' Published in 1967, it was one of the formative texts in dependency theory. In his later career he produced works such as ''ReOrient: Global Economy in the Asian Age'' and, with Barry Gills, ''The World System: Five Hundred Years or Five Thousand''. Frank's theories center on the idea that a nation's economic strength, largely determined by historical circumstances—especially geography—dictates its global power. He is also well known for suggesting that purely export oriented solutions to development create imbalances detrimental to poor countries. Frank has made significant contributions to the world-systems theory (which, according to him, should simply be called the World System), insisting that the idea of numerous "world-systems" did not make much sense (indeed, if there are many "world-systems" in the world, then they simply do not deserve to be called "world-systems"), and we should rather speak about one single World System. He has argued that a World System was formed no later than in the

4th millennium BC File:4th millennium BC montage.jpg, 400x400px, From top left clockwise: The Temple of Ġgantija, one of the oldest freestanding structures in the world; Warka Vase; Bronocice pot with one of the earliest known depictions of a wheeled vehicle; Kish ...

; his argument contrasts sharply with the scholarly majority who posit beginnings in the "long 16th century" (a position held, for example, by Immanuel Wallerstein). In one of his last essays, Frank made arguments about the

2008 financial crisis The 2008 financial crisis, also known as the global financial crisis (GFC), was a major worldwide financial crisis centered in the United States. The causes of the 2008 crisis included excessive speculation on housing values by both homeowners ...

Selected publications

Books

* (1966) ''The Development of Underdevelopment''.

Monthly Review Press The ''Monthly Review'' is an independent Socialism, socialist magazine published monthly in New York City. Established in 1949, the publication is the longest continuously published socialist magazine in the United States. History Establishment ...

.Andre Gunder Frank, "Publications".
Accessed: July 30, 2012. * (1967) ''Capitalism and Underdevelopment in Latin America''. Monthly Review Press. * (1969) ''Latin America: Underdevelopment or Revolution''. Monthly Review Press. * (1971)
Lumpenburguesía : Lumpendesarrollo
'. México : Era. (Spanish) * (1972)
Lumpenbourgeoisie, Lumpendevelopment
'. Monthly Review Press. (tr. Marion Davis Berdecio) * (1975) ''On Capitalist Underdevelopment''. Bombay: Oxford University Press. * (1976) ''Economic Genocide in Chile. Equilibrium on the point of a bayonet''. Nottingham, UK: Spokesman. * (1978) ''World Accumulation, 1492–1789''. Monthly Review Press. * (1978) ''Dependent Accumulation and Underdevelopment''. Monthly Review Press. * (1979) ''Mexican Agriculture 1521-1630: Transformation of the Mode of Production''. Cambridge University Press. * (1980) ''Crisis: In the World Economy''. New York: Holmes & Meier. * (1981)
Crisis: In the Third World
'. New York: Holmes & Meier. * (1981) ''Reflections on the World Economic Crisis''. Monthly Review Press. * (1982) ''Dynamics of Global Crisis'', with S. Amin, G. Arrighi and I. Wallerstein. Monthly Review Press. * (1983) ''The European Challenge''. Nottingham, UK: Spokesman. * (1984) ''Critique and Anti-Critique''. New York: Praeger. * (1996) ''The World System: Five Hundred Years or Five Thousand?'' with Barry K. Gills, Routledge. * (1998) ''ReOrient: Global Economy in the Asian Age''. Berkeley: University of California Press.
Accessed: July 30, 2012. * (2013) ''ReOrienting the 19th Century: Global Economy in the Continuing Asian Age'', with Robert A. Denemark, Paradigm Publishers.

Journal articles

* (1958) "General Productivity in Soviet Agriculture and Industry," '' Journal of Political Economy'' * (1958) "Goal Ambiguity and Conflicting Standards: An approach to the study of organization," '' Human Organization'' * (1977)
On so-called primitive accumulation
" '' Dialectical Anthropology'' 2, 87 * (1977) "Long Live Transideological Enterprise: the socialist economies in the capitalist international division of labor," '' Review: A Journal of the Fernand Braudel Center'' * (1989) "Ten Theses on Social Movements," with M. Fuentes, '' World Development'' * (1990) "Theoretical Introduction to Five Thousand Years of World System History," ''Review: A Journal of the Fernand Braudel Center'' * (1992) "Third World War: A Political Economy of the Gulf War and New World Order," '' Third World Quarterly'' 13(2). * (1994) "Is Real World Socialism Possible?," '' Democracy & Nature'', Vol.2, No.3, pp. 152–175

Book chapters

* (1990) "Civil Democracy, Social Movements in World History," with M. Fuentes. In Amin et al., ''Transforming the Revolution''. * (1990) "Revolution in Eastern Europe: Lessons for democratic socialist movements (and socialists)." In Tabb, ed., ''Future of Socialism''. * (1992) "The Underdevelopment of Development," with M.F. Frank. In Savoie, D.J. and I. Brecher, eds., ''Equity and Efficiency in Economic Development.'' Montreal: McGill-Queen's University Press. * (2001) "The Global Economy, AD 1400-1800: Comparisons and Relations." In Suneja, V., ed., ''Understanding Business: Markets. A Multidimensional Approach to the Market Economy.'' London: Routledge.

References

Notes

External links

Andre Gunder Frank
website * David Landes; Andre Gunder Frank
Economic History Debate
on C-SPAN2 (Northeastern University World History Center, 1998-12-02) * Theotonio dos Santos

, ''

Monthly Review The ''Monthly Review'' is an independent socialist magazine published monthly in New York City. Established in 1949, the publication is the longest continuously published socialist magazine in the United States. History Establishment Following ...

'', May 2005.
Andre Gunder Frank
''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...

'', May 25, 2005 *
Andre Gunder Frank : 'Prophet in the Wilderness' (1929 -2005)
* Jeff Sommers

''Social Justice'', Vol.32, No.2 (2005).
Andre Gunder Frank Audio Collection
at the

International Institute of Social History International is an adjective (also used as a noun) meaning "between nations". International may also refer to: Music Albums * ''International'' (Kevin Michael album), 2011 * ''International'' (New Order album), 2002 * ''International'' (The T ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Frank, Andre Gunder 1929 births 2005 deaths Academics of the University of East Anglia Deaths from cancer in Luxembourg Dependency theorists Economic historians German economists German male writers German sociologists Imperialism studies Marxian economists Marxist theorists Marxist writers Latin Americanists Swarthmore College alumni Academic staff of the University of Amsterdam University of Chicago alumni Academic staff of the University of Chile World historians World system scholars Writers about globalization