Paper short abstract:

We address the ‘big questions’ of the politics of development through a focus on the findings of the ESID research centre. Our findings suggest that the underlying forms of power and politics have different institutional effects in different kinds of political settlements.

Paper long abstract:

That politics has a defining influence over development processes and outcomes is now broadly accepted within international development theory and practice. However, there is less agreement over which forms of politics matter most, how these can be conceptualised and what kinds of policy implications flow from thinking politically about development. One approach has sought to go beyond 'new institutionalist' thinking whilst remaining committed to 'open' and 'inclusive' institutional orders. An alternative has placed greater emphasis on the capacity of public institutions rather than their inclusivity per se. Each approach suggests alternative policy agendas.

This panel addresses these 'big questions' through a focus on the findings of Effective States and Inclusive Development research centre. We employ an adapted version of the 'political settlements' framework use a comparative case-study method to apply it to the politics of accumulation, redistribution and recognition across Africa and Asia. Our findings suggest that these underlying forms of power and politics have different institutional effects and outcomes in different kinds of political settlement, which suggests the importance of ensuring that policy reform efforts are carefully aligned to the incentives and ideas that flow from these different kinds of political contexts. Although we suggest that development policy and practice needs to be rebalanced in favour of a stronger focus on state capacity overall, particularly through bureaucratic pockets of effectiveness, we also emphasise the routes through which combinations of capacity and accountability can emerge through the critical role played by coalitions at multiple levels of politics and governance.