This book brings together essays that tackle the political aspects of development. It offers various explanations for variations in the pace and pattern of economic development across both time and space, focusing on a particular variable or set of variables such as civil conflict, natural resources, and regime type. The book traces the trajectory of scholarship in the field of political development, beginning with the rise of what became known as "modernization theory" in the 1960s. It also examines how development intersects with ethnicity, democracy, and taxation; the synergies and disconnects among religion, politics, and economic development; the politics of the so-called resource curse; and the impact of foreign aid on democratization in developing countries. Furthermore, the book looks at the experiences of countries and regions such as Africa, India, Latin America, South Korea, China, and East Asia.