Politics rules. Whether we like it or not, we are subject to politics wherever we go and whatever we are doing. Development is always and everywhere political, and frequently occurs with the interests of the powerful at the forefront. Can we hope to better understand the politics that shapes and controls our lives and dominates the lives of others across the globe? In this concise volume, Adam Sneyd argues that it is imperative to understand the sub-field of development politics. He shows how the hard skill of careful political analysis can shed new light on some of today’s most intractable development challenges. In the end, Sneyd shows how conflicts over ideas can entrench underdevelopment and why we need better analyses of development politics in order to fight the status quo and expedite inclusive change.