This four-volume collection of Open Access books presents trans-disciplinary dialogues on the modern state formation and high economic growth of middle-income countries. Volume 1, Emerging States and Economies: Their Origins, Drivers, and Challenges Ahead, showcases such a dialogue. Volume 2, Paths to the Emerging State in Asia and Africa, offers historical and contemporary case studies asking how a country which was incorporated into the world economy as a periphery could undertake the task of economic development. Volume 3, Developmental State-Building: The Politics of Emerging Economy, modifies and revitalizes the notion of developmental state through nuanced analysis on the roles of human agency in structural transformation. Volume 4, Emerging States at Crossroads, analyzes the economic, social, and political challenges that emerging states confronts, including middle-income trap, social disparity, and pressure for political opening.