Introduction -- Political development and political underdevelopment -- The causes of political underdevelopment -- Interactionist arguments -- Fiscal sociology -- Earned and unearned state income -- What can be done?

The states of the ‘South’, although diverse, tend to be underdeveloped in the politica l sense: neither authoritative and effective nor legitimate and ac- countable to citizens. The conventional respons e of aid donors is ins titutional transfer: trying to align the ins titutional configurations of Southern states ev en more closely with those of Northern polities. This ma y not be the best approach. The politica l unde rdevelop - ment of much of the South largely results from the ways in which Southern states have been created and political authority shaped through economic and political interactions with the wea lthier countries of the North. Political under- development is an outcome of unev en (economic) development. A better ap- preciation of the nature of these pro - cesses could lead to more appropriate policy. History cannot be reversed. But more attention could be paid to the ways in which Northern states currently help sustain political underdevelopment in the South, notably by perpetuating the conditions under which state elites in the South can remain too independent of their own citizens.