Politics rules. Whether we like it or not, we are subject to politics wherever we go and whatever we are doing. Development is always and everywhere political, and frequently occurs with the interests of the powerful at the forefront. Can we hope to better understand the politics that shapes and controls our lives and dominates the lives of others across the globe?

In this concise volume, Adam Sneyd argues that it is imperative to understand the sub-field of development politics. He shows how the hard skill of careful political analysis can shed new light on some of today’s most intractable development challenges. In the end, Sneyd shows how conflicts over ideas can entrench underdevelopment and why we need better analyses of development politics in order to fight the status quo and expedite inclusive change.

Adam Sneyd is an associate professor of political science at the University of Guelph. He is the author of three books on the politics of the global economy, including Politics Rules: Power, Globalization and Development. His research articles have been published in the Annals of the American Association of Geographers, Development and Change, Third World Quarterly and the Journal of Contemporary African Studies. He serves on the editorial boards for Scientific African and the Canadian Journal of Development Studies.

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