Political and Economic Changes and Development
What the exam is asking
This domain connects economic development to political change. Know the concepts: modernization theory (growth fosters democratic pressures), dependency and import substitution, neoliberalism and structural adjustment, state-led development, and rentier states (revenue from resources rather than taxation, weakening accountability).
Apply to the six. China pursued market reforms under party control - growth without democratization. Russia experienced shock therapy in the 1990s, then state reassertion over strategic sectors. Mexico liberalized trade (NAFTA/USMCA) and democratized, though inequality and corruption persist. Nigeria depends on oil rents, which fuels patronage and weakens state capacity. Iran faces sanctions and a rentier economy tied to hydrocarbons. The UK is a mature postindustrial democracy grappling with inequality and regional divergence.
Traps
- Assuming growth causes democracy - China is the counterexample.
- Treating globalization as uniformly good or bad; outcomes depend on state capacity.
- Confusing development (broad well-being) with growth (GDP).
- Overlooking rentier effects: oil wealth can reduce the tax bargain that builds accountability.
Rule of thumb
Ask where state revenue comes from. Taxation of citizens tends to build accountability; resource rents tend to weaken it. That single question explains much of Nigeria's and Iran's political economy.
Worked example
Question: Why has oil wealth not produced strong democracy in Nigeria? Because rentier revenue bypasses citizen taxation, weakening the accountability link, while patronage distributes rents - development and democratization diverge.