Market, State and Development

The basic political actor in today’s world is the sovereign state. The prerequisite to enduring sustainable order, stability, development and growth is an efficient, functioning and effective state. But the state is both more legitimate and more effective in its elemental tasks when it is democratic, inclusive and organized on principles and structures of good governance. Many of these can be informed by international debate and best practice. But no system of governance will survive, let alone thrive, if it is a foreign import. Instead it must connect to and build on local traditions, belief systems and governance practices. At the same time, isolation and disengagement from global norms is no more an option in today’s world than is delinking from the global economy or rejecting globalization….