The Power of Institutions

Conventional wisdom holds that "institutions matter." Here, Andrew MacIntyre reveals exactly how they matter in the developing world. Combining an eye for current concerns in international politics with a deep knowledge of Southeast Asia, MacIntyre...

Andrew MacIntyre is Professor of Political Science at the Graduate School at the University of California, San Diego. He is the author of Business and Politics in Indonesia and editor of Business and Government in Industrializing Asia, the latter from Cornell.

Political institutions have an important role to play in determining the quality of governance in any country but more so, in developing countries. This much is common knowledge. But what is not apparent is how exactly institutions do matter. The Power of Institutions provides some interesting answers to this question. This remarkably concise book tackles this difficult issue from a comparative perspective.... The book is commendable in terms of its conceptual clarity, neat arguments, uncluttered style and topicality.... The book elegantly combines the concerns of political science with that of area studies. Scholars from both the fields will find this study extremely useful.

Andrew MacIntyre explores what the concentration or dispersal of power within the national political architecture implies for the prevailing pattern of policy management, illustrating with cases from Southeast Asia and generalizing to developing countries.

Rick Doner, Emory University:

The Power of Institutions is an original and important book. Andrew MacIntyre makes clear and compelling arguments that combine innovative theoretical analysis with the nuts and bolts of political development in Southeast Asia.

Robert H. Bates, Eaton Professor of the Science of Politics, Harvard University:

In The Power of Institutions, Andrew MacIntyre extends the logic of the new comparative politics to the developing nations of Southeast Asia. This is an important and innovative work.