State and Development

A new phenomenon in the past several decades has been the steady growth of the role of the state in both political and economic life throughout the developing world. This is largely the result of political leaders becoming increasingly involved in economic affairs and thereby using the state apparatus as an instrument to achieve politically- defined, economic objectives. Stronge developmentalist states, hence, have come to be seen as playing a central role in promoting economic growth and socio-cultural change. This collection of essays, however, raises a series of caveats about the idea that strong states promote development by exploring several case studies, including Algeria, Malaysia, South Korea, Venezuela and Taiwan.