`If it′s a lucid, concise intellectual history of development theory you′re looking for - one with originality and political bite, you′ll find it in T[um]ornquist′s fine book′ - James C Scott, Yale University `This book introduces the student to the politics of development in the postcolonial world by familiarising them with the main debates on the subject. I can think of no better way of doing it′ - Mahmood Mamdani, University of Cape Town `Through a wide ranging critique of influential conceptualisations of the ′Third World′, and by focussing on the symbiosis between politics and development, Tornquist opens the way for a fresh understanding of how late developing societies can be democratised′ - Neera Chandhoke, University of Delhi `A pleasant, wide-ranging and ambitious textbook Olle Tornquist has written. It is pleasant because of the authors frankness about his own preferences combined with an openess towards diverging views; it is wide-ranging in the theoretical space it covers; and it is ambitious in the way it proposes a "best practice" within the study of politics and development....I recommend the book to anyone interested in entering a stimulating discussion on the subject′ - The European Journal of Development Research