stability and ‘integration’; what are the relationships between political norms,
structures and behaviour; how do new patterns of political authority emerge
from old ones; how do governmental processes select and transform political
demands into public policies? (Apter and Rosberg, 1994, pp. 21–3).
However, the attempt to establish a rigorous mode of analysis centred on
the concept of political development was eventually abandoned. The pres-
sures were too many for it to bear. Dependency theory, derived substantially
from a critique of modernization and development theorizing, gained in pop-
ularity. Definitions of ‘development’ proliferated, reflecting a fragmentation
of interests into specialized studies of institutions, areas and processes.
Disillusionment with ‘development’ in many parts of the Third World made
earlier theorizing appear ‘naively optimistic’. Even Almond had to admit that
‘as the new and developing nations encountered difficulties and turned largely
to authoritarian and military regimes, the optimism and hopefulness faded,
and interest, productivity and creativity abated’ (Almond, 1987, p. 444).
74 Understanding Third World Politics