Institute of Development Studies

Politics and Power

While the concern for good governance has become widely accepted as a critical condition for advancing development agendas, the question of why democratic politics have not delivered better outcomes for the poor in developing countries remains elusive.

Recent trends challenge the conventional wisdom that democratic institutions are structures of voluntary cooperation, that solve redistributive conflicts and benefit all. A critical approach to the dynamics of power and the interactions between influential stakeholders (business groups, political elites, the military, the media, and international aid system) is necessary to understand why policy decisions may advance the interests of a privileged few at the expense of the less organised or poorly endowed. Often, alternative power dynamics take place outside legal structures through informal institutions or networks, which may contradict, complement or enhance the workings of formal institutions.

Relevant areas of work to understand the multiple dimensions of power include the new roles of private sector investment in providing development opportunities for the poor, the underlying factors facilitating collective action for service delivery, participatory approaches to empower minorities and excluded groups in the policy-making process, the incentives to improve responsiveness and accountability of elected officials, the politics of budget governance, and the politics of international aid among others.

Through our work we aim to inform scholarly debates, as well as influence domestic policymakers, international donors and most importantly the citizens of developing countries on alternative ways to secure greater social justice and equity.

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Latest Publications on Politics and Power »

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• Justino, P. (2011) 'Violent Conflict and Human Capital Accumulation', IDS Working Paper 379, Brighton: IDS
• Chopra, D. Williams, P. and Vira, B. (2011) 'Politics of Citizenship: Experiencing State-Society Relations from the Margins', Contemporary South Asia 19.3:243-247
• Conyers, D. (2011) 'Where Next? The Implications of Recent Events in North Africa and the Middle East for Zimbabwe', The Thinker 28:32-35, South Africa:
• Chopra, D. (2011) 'Interactions of ‘Power’ in the Making and Shaping of Social Policy', Contemporary South Asia 19.2:153-171
• Rosser, A. Joshi, A. and Edwin, D. (2011) 'Power, Politics, and Political Entrepreneurs: Realising Universal Free Basic Education in Indonesia', IDS Research Summary of IDS Working Paper 358, Brighton: IDS



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Politics and Power projects at IDS »»

• Global Uncertainties: Security in an Africa of Networked, Multi-Level Governance - The programme of research centres on how the various institutions responsible for the production of security and the management of conflict in Sub-Saharan African societies do, could and should evolve in response to the presence of violent conflict. (Ongoing)
• Participation and Development Relations - Promoting a rights perspective to the challenges of poverty, inequality and insecurity. (Ongoing)
• Power and Politics in Africa - This large research programme seeks to identify systems for exercising power, conducting politics and building states in sub-Saharan Africa that will offer better outcomes in terms of poverty reduction than the current arrangements. (Ongoing)
• Social, Technological and Environmental Pathways to Sustainability (STEPS) Centre - The STEPS Centre is an interdisciplinary global research and policy engagement hub, funded by the Economic and Social Research Council. It aims to develop a new approach to understanding, action and communication on sustainability and development. (Ongoing)
• Sustainable Livelihoods in Southern Africa - (2000 - 2003)