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Development studies is a beneficiary of knowledge resources from several disciplines including political theory’s analytic and prescriptive input. The dominant background of political theory and other disciplinary contributions to development studies is the liberal thought. Liberal theses on development seem to presume that development only makes meaning from such perspective. However, tensions arise in knowledge claims between the neoclassical liberals and alternative liberal scholars especially the neo-Keynesian on the one hand and more radical neo-Marxist thoughts on the other hand. The tension is centrally concerned with contention between the market sovereignty of the neoclassicals and state interventionism of the Keynesian and neo Marxist radical thoughts. These contentions draw in the role of the state in development and hence, create an opening for political theory’s intervention. This paper establishes the nexus of political theory and development studies by focusing its subject matter, methodology and social commitments. The main claim of the work is that the dominant liberal ideas on development fail to capture the realities of all societies, yet the alternative frameworks, despite their promise, have yet to elaborate their tenets to capture the nuances of developing societies in Africa. Accordingly, the decisive intervention in defining the roles of both citizens and state for a development based on constructivist understanding of society is a necessary role of political theory in development studies. Resumo Os estudos de desenvolvimento são beneficiados pelos recursos de conhecimento de várias disciplinas, incluindo os inputs analíticos e prescritivos da teoria política. O pano de fundo dominante da teoria política e outras contribuições disciplinares aos estudos de desenvolvimento é o pensamento liberal. As teses liberais sobre desenvolvimento aparentam pressupor que o desenvolvimento apenas faz sentido a partir dessa perspetiva. No entanto, as tensões surgem sob a forma de procura de conhecimento entre os liberais neoclássicos e estudiosos liberais alternativos, especialmente o neokeynesiano, por um lado, e os pensamentos neo-marxistas mais radicais, por outro lado. A tensão está centralmente relacionada com a disputa entre a soberania de mercado dos neoclássicos e o intervencionismo estatal dos pensamentos radicais keynesianos e neo-marxistas. Estas disputas atraem o papel do Estado em desenvolvimento e, portanto, criam uma abertura para a intervenção da teoria política. Este artigo estabelece o nexo da teoria política e estudos de desenvolvimento ao focar-se na temática em questão, na metodologia e em compromissos sociais. A principal reivindicação do artigo é que as ideias liberais dominantes sobre o desenvolvimento falham em captar as realidades de todas as sociedades, ainda que as estruturas alternativas, apesar das suas promessas, ainda não tenham elaborado os seus princípios para capturar as nuances das sociedades em desenvolvimento em África. Consequentemente, a intervenção decisiva na definição dos papeis dos cidadãos e do Estado para um desenvolvimento baseado na compreensão construtivista da sociedade é um papel necessário da teoria política nos estudos de desenvolvimento.

« Despotisme, Démocratie et Diplomatie: Relations Nigéria-Afrique du Sud 1993-1999 » Résumé Immédiatement après son accession à l'indépendance en 1960, le Nigéria a assumé un rôle d'avant-scène dans la lutte contre l'apartheid en Afrique du Sud. Ce rôle a conduit à des relations glaciales entre le Nigéria et le régime de l'apartheid. Au début des années 1980, il y avait de grands espoirs que la fin de l'apartheid conduirait à des relations cordiales et de collaboration entre le Nigéria et l'Afrique du Sud. Toutefois, dans ‘immédiat post-apartheid, les relations demeurèrent concurrentielles et conflictuelles. Cet article place son explication des relations Nigeria- Afrique du Sud dans la période [indiquée (1993-1999)] dans le lien entre le système international, le type de régime et la politique étatique. Il suggère que les relations inter-étatiques peuvent être caractérisées par les conflits s'il y a des différences fondamentales entre le type de régime et le comportement vis-à-vis des normes internationales. Par conséquent, la persistance du régime autoritaire au Nigéria sous Général Abacha, qui allait à l'encontre du «comportement acceptable» des Etats dans le système international, mit [le Nigéria] au-devant de l'affrontement avec l'Afrique du Sud. Parmi les points majeurs ayant dessiné les relations Nigeria- Afrique du Sud à cette époque figurent les luttes démocratiques internes au Nigéria, particulièrement le combat des Ogonis, une minorité ethnique de la région pétrolifère du delta du Niger. L'exécution de son leader, Ken Saro Wiwa en 1995 devint un élément de l'irréversibilité de la nature conflictuelle des relations entre le Nigeria et l'Afrique du Sud. L'article examine un certain nombre de mesures et contre-mesures adoptées par les deux pays l'un contre l'autre pendant cette période, et conclut que, bien que les relations Nigeria-Afrique du Sud à cette époque reflétaient un échec de la diplomatie, le soutien de l'Afrique du Sud aux réformes démocratiques a grandement contribué à l'effondrement du despotisme au Nigeria, et au retour de relations diplomatiques normales entre les deux pays. Immediately after attaining independence in 1960, Nigeria assumed a frontline role in the struggle against apartheid in South Africa. This role led to frosty relations between Nigeria and the apartheid regime. In the early 1990s, there were high expectations that the end of apartheid would usher in cordial and collaborative relations between Nigeria and South Africa. However, in the aftermath of apartheid, relations remained competitive and conflict-prone. This paper locates its explanation of Nigeria-South Africa relations over the period in the link between the international system, regime type and state policy. It proposes that inter-state relations are likely to be characterised by conflict if there are fundamental differences in regime type and attitude to international norms. Consequently, the persistence of authoritarian rule in Nigeria under General Abacha, which ran against the grain of ‘acceptable behaviour' of states within the international system, put it on collision course with South Africa. Prominent among the issues that shaped Nigeria-South Africa relations at the time was internal democratic struggles in Nigeria, particularly the struggle of the Ogoni, an ethnic minority in the oil-rich Niger Delta. The execution of its leader, Ken Saro-Wiwa, in 1995, became a threshold of irreversibility in conflictive relations between Nigeria and South Africa. The paper examines a number of measures and countermeasures adopted by both countries against each other during this period and concludes that although Nigeria-South Africa relations at the time expressed a failure of diplomacy, South Africa's support for democratic reforms in Nigeria contributed immensely to an end to despotism in Nigeria and return to normal diplomatic relations between the two countries. Democracy & Development Vol.4(2) 2004: 49-66