Rural development and the state

This book is an attempt to understand the lineaments of rural development strategies in a number of developing countries. We attempt to evaluate the success or failure of those strategies, their suitability for the countries in question and their applicability to other countries. There is no real attempt to seek solutions, although the conclusions attempt to find 'necessary preconditions' for meaningful and self-sustaining rural development.
Due to contrasts in cultures, urbanization, historical and particularly colonial experiences, dependence on industrialized countries, resources and environment, ideological or standardized approaches are inappropriate. Very practical and often very localized micro-approaches also provide few answers. Even communist countries like China and Vietnam tolerate some private ownership of the means of production and in every country the state plays a necessary and vital role in stimulating or inhibiting rural development. All countries try a number of different and often contradictory approaches simultaneously and, of course, all countries change policies with time.
The policy changes over time are a result of the state's changing perception of the political and administrative aspects of the problems of economic and social development. Thus, the role of the state in formulating, initiating, or even implicitly sanctioning policy changes is crucial. These policies sometimes are the result of a well-thought-out strategy of development, but more frequently a strategy results from a series of state policies. Since a large number of present-day developing countries have a colonial past, policies and strategies changed to a significant extent when the political and administrative authority shifted from the colonial rulers to nationalist governments. Always, however, the hand of the past is obvious.