Theorizing the Political Factor in International Development Management

Abstract

To the extent that executive politics is a commitment to the systematic study of politics in administrative settings (Lodge and Wegrich, Chapter 1, this volume), its contribution to understanding dynamics in the field of international development management is almost guaranteed. This is due to the relatively poor theorization of the political factor within the administrative settings of developing countries1 and, relatedly, international foreign aid. Long-standing controversies over the appropriate relationship between planning and political functions in international development have usually privileged the former over the latter.