Widespread changes within the aid environment, brought about in no small part thanks to the emphasis on good governance, mean that political scientists and development experts are increasingly working together, whether in research, teaching or in engagement with policy-makers on the politics of development. From the scramble for workable tools to analyze politics in developing countries, to the unprecedented appointment of a political scientist to head the World Bank, to the move towards general budget support in the distribution of aid and the implications of this for national and local politics within countries, and so on, we are reminded everywhere we turn about how central ‘getting politics right’ is for ensuring developmental success.
Politics and Development provides a timely and valuable introductory text that aims to explain and critically evaluate historical and contemporary debates regarding political development and the politics of development. It aims to guide the reader through current debates about the role of politics in helping or hindering development within countries, the way in which political development occurs, and how this fits into current wider debates, such as globalization and the changing nature of policy-making. As an introductory text, it presents debates and critiques in a manner that readers will find accessible, yet challenging. The use of wide-ranging examples from a number of countries and regions throughout the text will help the reader to understand both the academic and policy relevance of the debates under discussion.
The text presents debates and critiques in a manner that readers will find accessible, yet challenging. The book allows readers to work both ‘forwards’ and ‘backwards’, exploring how current debates evolved out of particular contexts and tracing current debates back to particular theoretical and historical perspectives. Most students struggle with making these connections, so this will be one of the main pedagogical approaches taken here.
