The Theories of Imperialism and the Internationalization of Capital Özgür Öztürk This paper tries to periodize the Marxist theories of imperialism, and to determine the continuity/discontinuity relations between the theorethical periods. It is stated that the Marxist theories of imperialism emerged in three main historical ‘waves’, and that the differences in emphasis between the different waves resulted from the different stages of the internationalization of capital. The first wave of theories, also known as the classical theories of imperialism, has been formulated at the beginning of the 20th century; in this period the internationalization of money-capital has been remarkable, but the international movement of productive capital has been limited. Second wave of theories, put forward in 1960s and 70s, has generally been formulated within the underdevelopment literature and has focused on development-industrialisation instead of ‘capitalist development’. The internationalization of productive capital and the start of industrial accumulation in the third world has been determinant for the second wave of theories. The paper lastly deals with the recent theories of new imperialism. New theories seem to be the product of a period in which the movement of money-capital has accelerated.