This document provides an overview of modernization theory. It discusses:
1) The emergence of modernization theory in the late 1940s/1950s as a response to concerns about the spread of communism in developing countries. The theory promoted the adoption of Western capitalist and democratic models of development.
2) Modernization theory viewed developing countries as "traditionally" held back from development due to cultural barriers, and proposed they develop through industrialization and adopting Western values/institutions with assistance from Western countries.
3) Critics argue modernization theory promoted an overly simplistic view that did not account for diversity in development paths or historical/cultural contexts of different societies. The theory was also seen as ethn