The form of state and development policy: case of selected Asian countries

Abstract

Since World WarⅡ, many social scientists in the West have proposed numerous theories to examine various issues of national development(Adelman and Morris, 1973; Amsden, 1984; Evans, Rueschemeyer and Skocpol, 1984; Higgott and Robinson, 1985; Zysman, 1983). These theories differ a great deal over the exact role which political factor plays in the process of economic development and industrialization. Pluralist theories, for example, argue that government plays no major role. These theorists assume that society as a whole is organized by interdependent institutional elements, and politics by competitive interest groups which vie for each other for maximizing their own interests. According to them, the polity and the economy are relatively autonomous so that the role of government is not significant in economic change. However, since they are interdependent in nature, certain associations are expected. On the other hand, the statists, particularly those with marxist perspectives, view that politics is essentially a matter of class politics where a hegemonic class rules over the state which in turn facilitates economic change to the benefit of the hegemonic class.