Nation-states in the developing world have seen a renaissance in their political, social, and economic structures. Newly industrializing countries like Brazil, Mexico, China, and India are poised to claim the 21st century as their own. But economic conditions in many nations of the developing world still leave much to be desired, especially with respect to its marginalized citizens, whose incomes are often less than two dollars a day. Scholars continue to ask what academics, political actors, economic entrepreneurs, and others-committed to tackling the bane of underdevelopment in the developing world-can do to improve the plight of these nations' destitute populations.

The Developing World: Critical Issues in Politics and Society explores the challenges presented by political, cultural, religious, social, and economic practices to the future development of these nation-states. The essays gathered here-written by seasoned scholars with deep social, political, and academic roots in Africa, Asia, and Latin America-explain how improvements in politics, social arrangements, and information communication technologies contribute to the effectiveness of emerging nations' internal politics and their influence on world affairs. Individual essays consider such key issues as

*how to develop more efficiently the processes of liberal democratization
*how to apply more uniformly the law enforcement policies of governments to all citizens in a society
*how the marginalization of women hampers national development
*how the political development of Mexico as a "linguistic regional power" has influenced the rest of Central America
*how development and protection of the environment are linked
*how an effective application of information communication technologies can enhance the quality of education and boost growth at all levels in a polity

This work will interest scholars focused on the developing world, social and public policy, international politics, and social and political theory.

Contributions by: George Klay Kieh, Jr., Bennett A. Odunsi, Sambuddha Ghatak, David R. Davila-Villers, Kwesi A. Tandoh