'Comfortable as it might be to think of development and democracy as compatible and mutually reinforcing, Leftwich's book provides a compelling warning against such simplistic, wishful and ideological theorizing. His conclusions are far from comforting, but constitute an invitation to a more realistic and politically aware analysis of the conditions and possibilities of development in different societies.' International Affairs "Adrian Leftwich's States of Development is a remarkable study of the appropriateness of past development policies, with an eye to the political environment in which they have operated." The Round Table