University of the Cordilleras

Governor Pack Road, Baguio City 2600

College of Arts and Sciences
A.Y. 2016-2017

CRITIQUE PAPER 1

THE ROLE OF POLITICS IN DEVELOPMENT

By
Professor Francis Fukuyama

Submitted by:

Mr. Emmanuel Jimenez Bacud

CSE-Professional Level
Master of Arts in Political Science

Submitted to:

Prof. Calindas, PhD

Philippine Military Academy
Faculty-in-charge; Politics of Modernization
(8:00-12:00 Sat; M208)

Date of Submission: June 03, 2017

Critique Paper: The Role of Politics in Development 1

 I.) SUMMARY OF THE ARTICLE
As early as 1966, Samuel Huntington in his article Political Modernization: America vs.
Europe, proposed that political modernization involves three key aspects: 1.) rationalization of
authority, 2.) differentiation of new political functions and 3.) increasing mass participation
such that these processes were enormously manifested by the regions of Western Europe and
North America and at the same time were essential aspects for the progress of the
aforementioned regions.
Concerning the 21st century politics, Francis Fukuyamas article The Role of Politics in
Development accentuates the significance of politics through state-sponsored policy-
formulation and policy- implementation strategies observed in varying political milieus.
Fukuyama, through his historical bricolage, analyzed the impacts of defective governance in
the context of modernizing political culture through the Washington consensus which was
coined by John Williamson following the ideas of Thatcher and Regan (that the state is too big
and that it interfere with business too much) to describe the policies of large-scale institutions
based in Washington such as IMF and World Bank favoring the reconstruction of economies
by stabilizing, privatizing and liberalizing economic machineries in the developing world
(Heywood, 2011), the dissolution of Soviet Union on August 29, 1991 as triggered by Yeltsins
coup detat against Gorbachev because of the implemented policies namely glasnost
(openness) and perestroika (restructuring) to establish better diplomatic relations with the
West (Bruner, 2006), the political culture of neopatrimonialism in Sub-Saharan Africa as
evident in contemporary Nigeria, the promulgation of competent civil service in China (though
the Chinese bureaucracies were allegedly corrupt) that led to its stronger and more coherent
institutions as this reflected also to his recently-published book The Origins of Political Order
in 2011 and the dilemma of Denmark-model of incorrupt institution as a precondition for
development. Fukuyama further argued that during this crucial points of political history,
leaders were just purely concentrated on the policies such that they took institutions and
politics for granted; hence, a lot of policy mistakes were made.
In addition, he also provided evidence-based insights about the concepts of democracy,
inequality and populism in the sphere of development. Accordingly, deeper extent of democracy
ameliorates governance. He posits that if you have a corrupt government, more transparency
through media and publications about public spending must be observed. Deeper democracy
would also denote accountability in public service such that political procedures really aim to
persecute corrupt, incompetent and despotic politicians. Regarding inequality and populism,
Fukuyama considered the political scenario in South Africa and its clientelistic distribution

Critique Paper: The Role of Politics in Development 2

with very sharp class stratification that results to poor economic growth and the political
struggle in Latin America in the context of Hugo Chavez regime in Venezuela that failed to
provide opportunities for the poor. Fukuyama also advance the argument that the government
(such as the case of Brazil, Mexico, Guatemala and Nicaragua) capacitates the state with the
resources that can be utilized to aggregate the support of the people and to initiate
development.
At the concluding part of the article, it has been advanced that effective government aided
with proper navigation of politics is the key to economic growth and sustainable development.
As Janoski, et al (2005) believe, the modern-day territorial state and the capitalist market
economy superseded a political economic order of development that consisted of a plethora of
corporate communities endowed with traditional rights and obligations and formed a more
liberal community where citizens improved their lives and the government provided competitive
arena for equal participation among them.

II.) CONTENT ANALYSIS

Deconstructing the theoretical pillars of Fukuyamas article The Role of Politics in
Development, it has been strengthen the ratiocination of Heywood (2013) that politics which
inextricably linked to either conflict or cooperation empowers people particularly the power
elites to make, preserve and amend general rules under which they live and of Nebres (2007)
that politics is a method within a state to win elections or to assure the passage of policies
through legislation. Fukuyamas article also adhered to Eastons Political System Paradigm in
discussing politics, state and development. As proposed by the following illustrative model,
Politics as an input within a state must be rationalized through effective governance and
competent democracy to fecundate development in which defined by the The Encyclopedia of
Political Science (2013) as a state of prosperity experienced by any region through synchronized
investment mechanism in the economy, assurance of efficient labor force, formulation of
sustainable fiscal policies and creation effective institutions.

INPUT SYSTEM OUTCOME

(POLITICS (State as the (State development
THROUGH core political denoting economic
COOPERATION agency of growth and good
OR CONFLICT) politics) quality of citizens
life)

Critique Paper: The Role of Politics in Development 3

 Adopting the literature of Escobar (1995) in substantiating the discussion of the model,
development in the context of state-led politics is a multidimensional process. However,
development as a political concept should instigate the well-being of citizens and liberal
discourse with the domain of the state to ensure a sound democracy. Hence, state development
must also incorporate the importance of social movements since the art of politicking must be
also enjoyed by the common citizens to counter the hegemonic entity of any form of
bureaucracy within the government since this principle was pioneered during the French
Revolution such that modern politics began as a revolt against a political order that recognized
people, not as individuals, but only as members of established social groups (Giddens, 1991).
In Fukuyamas insight about development in China, it can be inferred that its closed
and centralized government is an essential factor since Chinese central government can act
more quickly and efficiently with less public input (less democratic) into the process and
stipulates a sense of expediency in the state affairs is highly perceived (Russett; Starr; &
Kinsella, 2010). Besides, the strong center (national government) is also a remarkable variable
in achieving a perpetual form of development in a state as observed in China because it has
the ability to effectively manipulate policies and reinforce obedience among citizens to maintain
peace and solidarity among them (Lee, 2013). On the other hand, Fukuyama also commented
on the prevalence of clientelistic nature of politics that may serve as a barrier of development.
His analysis reaffirms the literature of Kasuya (2009) that introduces the Presidential
Bandwagon framework which entails a strong sense of patronage politics in as manifested
through patronage driven-elections, permeability in political parties and proliferation of viable
candidates affecting the stability of state-led policies and reforms. In Fukuyamas article it has
been also strengthen that defective leadership or defective policies implemented can affect the
development of the state. Thus, mastering the political culture and the capacity of political
institutions could provide leaders a better framework for strategic way of governance and
development. Democratic governance should engage the citizens in the important affairs of the
state to formulate a consensus-based strategies that will really represent the will of the people.
In structural approach, formulation of pluralist theories (centered on the demands of the
common public) and paradigms most commonly conceive the politics of manageable competition
among groups in a society for political representation and development. Though the state
embodies this complex social formation, it exhibits a number of features that may be labeled
stateness, that is, the set of attributes featuring a national and well-developed state that
comprised the characteristics of the externalization of power, the institutionalization of

Critique Paper: The Role of Politics in Development 4

authority, the diffusion of control, and the capacity to reinforce a national identity and
national development.

References:
Bruner, B. (2006). Time Alamanac 2006 with Information Please. Boston. Princeton Education, Inc.

Escobar, A. (1995). Encountering Development: The Making and Unmaking of the Third
World. Princeton, New York; Princeton University Press.

Fukuyama, F. (2013). The Role of Politics in Development. The Center for Development and
Enterprise. pp. 1-6.

Giddens, A. (1991). The Consequence of Modernity. Stanford, California. Stanford University Press.

Heywood, A. (2011). Global Politics. . Basingstoke, Hampshire. Palgrave MacMillan.

Heywood, A. (2013). Politics. 4th edition. Basingstoke, Hampshire. Palgrave MacMillan.

Huntington, S. (1966). Political Modernization: America vs. Europe. World Politics, Vol. 18, No. 3. pp. 378-414

Janoski, T.; et al (2005). The Handbook of Political Sociology: States, Civil Societies and Globalization.
Cambridge. Cambridge University Press

Kasuya, Y. (2009). The Presidential Bandwagon Framework.

Kurian, G. T., et al (2013). The Encyclopedia of Political Science. American Political Science.
Association-CQ Press.

Lee, K. Y. (2013). One Mans View of the World. Singapore. Strait Times Press Ltd.

Nebres, A. (2009). Political Science: Made Simple. Mandaluyong City. National Bookstore.

Russet, B.; Starr, H. & Kinsella, D. (2010). World Politics: The Menu for Choice. 9th edition.
Canada. Wadsworth Cengage Learning

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