Against the Odds (Paperback)

Marcus Andre Melo

ISBN 10: 1849041199 / ISBN 13: 9781849041195

Editore: C Hurst & Co Publishers Ltd, London, 2012

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Paperback. Against the Odds is a Machiavellian study of the machinations of three senior politicians in quite different developing countries who adroitly played the tough political game in ways that reduced poverty. The three - former President Fernando Henrique Cardoso of Brazil, President Yoweri Museveni of Uganda, and Chief Minister Digvijay Singh in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh - had scarcely heard of one another, and never communicated. And yet they used a broadly similar repertoire of political devices - persuasion, distractions, bargaining, stealth and pressure - to pursue broadly similar goals. They demonstrated two crucial things: poverty reduction is politically feasible, even in the teeth of daunting economic and political constraints; and it is politically beneficial to those who achieve it, since it enhances their popularity, legitimacy and influence. If leaders in other developing countries who are naturally preoccupied with their own political interests recognise these things, then serious efforts to reduce poverty will become more common elsewhere. This book is, unusually, the work of three well-known political scientists from Brazil, Kenya and Britain - each of whom specialises in one of the three countries that are analysed. After extensive field research, they engaged in detailed comparative discussions that impart greater coherence to Against the Odds, especially its conclusions. This is a case study of how three developing countries, Brazil, Uganda and India, all developed broadly similar political devices to combat poverty. It argues that poverty reduction is politically feasible, even under the most daunting of circumstances. Shipping may be from multiple locations in the US or from the UK, depending on stock availability.

Codice articolo 9781849041195

Dati bibliografici

• Titolo: Against the Odds (Paperback)
• Editore: C Hurst & Co Publishers Ltd, London
• Data di pubblicazione: 2012
• Lingua: Inglese
• ISBN 10: 1849041199
• ISBN 13: 9781849041195
• Rilegatura: Paperback
• Condizione: new

Descrizione articolo

Riassunto

Against the Odds is a Machiavellian study of the machinations of three senior politicians in quite different developing countries who adroitly played the tough political game in ways that reduced poverty. The three - former President Fernando Henrique Cardoso of Brazil, President Yoweri Museveni of Uganda, and Chief Minister Digvijay Singh in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh - had scarcely heard of one another, and never communicated. And yet they used a broadly similar repertoire of political devices - persuasion, distractions, bargaining, stealth and pressure - to pursue broadly similar goals. They demonstrated two crucial things: poverty reduction is politically feasible, even in the teeth of daunting economic and political constraints; and it is politically beneficial to those who achieve it, since it enhances their popularity, legitimacy and influence. If leaders in other developing countries who are naturally preoccupied with their own political interests recognise these things, then serious efforts to reduce poverty will become more common elsewhere. This book is, unusually, the work of three well-known political scientists from Brazil, Kenya and Britain - each of whom specialises in one of the three countries that are analysed. After extensive field research, they engaged in detailed comparative discussions that impart greater coherence to Against the Odds, especially its conclusions.

Recensione

'A refreshing change from the typically depressing literature about governance that sees developing world politicians as impediments to social change ... by focusing on the strategies for success of three politicians--President Yoweri Musveni of Uganda, former Chief Minister Dogvijaya Singh of Madhya Pradesh and former President Henrique Cardoso of Brazil--despite seemingly insurmountable odds, the authors hope to inspire other politicians to do the same.' --Economic & Political Weekly

'Most analyses of development and poverty alleviation focus on overall economic growth and the design of particular economic programs. In contract, this book focuses on particular leaders who launched successful efforts to help the poorest (usually rural) members of their societies, drawing attention to the consummate political skills necessary to implement even well-conceived policies. In detailed case studies, the authors examine the records of three leaders: Yoweri Museveni, the president of Uganda since 1986; Fernando Henrique Cardoso, the president of Brazil between 1995 and 2002; and Digvijay Singh, the chief minister of Madhya Pradesh, an Indian state of 60 million people, between 1993 and 2003. Although the details of their approaches differed, all three men had been committed to alleviating poverty before they won high office and, once in power, engaged the poor in political decision-making partly to learn what the poor most wanted and partly to increase the accountability of otherwise corrupt local politicians and government officials. All three also moved to the political center, stressed the importance of private investment, and put heavy emphasis on primary education for the poor.' --Foreign Affairs

The key message of this uplifting and hugely important book is that politics matters; politicians matter . The authors show that political entrepreneurship in the service of the poor is not only possible, but can be made to work, including for the politician. Institutions matter, and so do path dependencies, but not as much as we are often told. That s another message of this book and it s one that is written into the careers of its main protagonists, Yoweri Musaveni, Digvijay Singh and Fernando Henrique Cardoso.' --Stuart Corbridge, professor of Development Studies, London School of Economics