The huge popularity of the Harry Potter novels has surprised many. The series initially won considerable critical acclaim. Over time, the adulation is somewhat tempered, and reviewers have turned to more critical examination of class, racism, gender and similar elements in the series. In this article, we reevaluate the relations between Wizards and Muggles, and show that this relation can be interpreted in terms of the dependency literature prevalent in development studies to explain the relation between developed and developing countries. This article will focus on three principles of dependency relations that are present in the novels of Rowling: (a) flow of agricultural goods from the periphery to the centre; (b) flow of skilled labour from the periphery to the centre; and (c) prevalence of a ‘we–they’ relation between the centre and the periphery. It is argued that the economy and society of the Wizards sustains itself based on a neo-colonial mode of exploitation, operating through these channels.
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