This lucidly written book, thoroughly updated, provides both an assessment of the current state of development theory and an extensive survey of the impact of evolving policies and practices throughout the developing world. Rapley critically traces the evolution of development theory from its strong statist orientation in the early postwar period, through the neoclassical phase, to the present emerging consensus on people-centered development. New to the third edition is a chapter on "postdevelopment" thought, as well as increased attention to the challenges posed by weak states and by critical environmental issues. Using a wide range of examples, Rapley shows where and how various approaches to development have worked or failed continuing to confront the question of why development remains so far out of reach for so many poor countries.

An introduction to the theory and practices of development in the third world, tracing the evolution of development theory over 40 years, and examining why so many of the benefits of development are still not shared by millions.

Over the last three centuries, the West rose to dominate the planet. Then, suddenly, around the turn of the millennium, history reversed. Faced with economic stagnation and internal political division, the West has found itself in rapid decline. This is not the first time the global order has witnessed such a dramatic rise and fall. The Roman Empire followed a similar arc from dizzying power to disintegration - a fact that is more than a strange historical coincidence. In Why Empires Fall, historian Peter Heather and political economist John Rapley use this Roman past to think anew about the contemporary West, its state of crisis, and what paths we could take out of it. In this exceptional, transformative intervention, Heather and Rapley explore the uncanny parallels - and productive differences - between the two cases, moving beyond the familiar tropes of invading barbarians and civilizational decay to learn new lessons from ancient history. From 399 to 1999, the life cycles of empires, they argue, sow the seeds of their inevitable destruction. The era of western global domination has reached its end - so what comes next?

First published in 1997. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

Though studies of capitalism in Africa traditionally focus on the activities of foreign investment, in Cote d'Ivoire capitalist development has been largely the work of a domestic class of entrepreneurs. This book traces the history of Cote d'Ivoire's capitalist development, beginning with early European contact and bringing the study up to the present decade. Drawing on new data, Rapley's provocative argument refutes all standard assumptions about capitalism in the country. He demonstrates that a dynamic capitalist class has emerged in Cote d'Ivoire, one neither subordinate to foreign interests nor synonymous with the bureaucratic or political elite. Thes indigenous entrepreneurs, Rapley posits, control the Ivoirien state as a class, and it is indigenous Ivoirien capitalism that has been primarily responsible for the growth of the country's economy.

Has the far-reaching experiment in creating a new world order along neoliberal lines succeeded? John Rapley answers with an emphatic no, contending that the rosy picture painted by neoliberal proponents of globalization was based on false assumptions. True, Rapley acknowledges, neoliberal reforms often did generate economic growth - but at a price. The resulting increase in inequality led to political instability and spawned tendencies ranging from right-wing populism to renewed ethnic and Islamic militancy. Rapley offers a range of cases to illustrate how neoliberal globalization has helped to destroy regimes in the developing world by profoundly altering patterns of income distribution and resource allocation. The political tensions unleashed by these regime crises, he argues, are now being manifested around the globe, with the negative consequences still to be fully realized.