This series is dedicated to the proposition that it is no longer valid or profitable to study comparative politics only within an essentially North American- and European-centered frame of reference. Although admittedly more familiar, more comprehensible, and—in the past, at least—closer and more important to us, the political histories, ideologies, and institutions of these areas constitut…
The authors of this ambitious book address a fundamental political question: why are leaders who produce peace and prosperity turned out of office while those who preside over corruption, war, and misery endure? Considering this political puzzle, they also answer the related economic question of why some countries experience successful economic development and others do not.