The Politics of Development Looks Different at the Grassroots than at Essay

The Politics of Development Looks Different at the Grassroots than at the National Level - Essay Example This paper highlights that in many developing countries like Malaysia and Vietnam, governments are ruled by a few elite members of society. Since these government officials do not truly represent the majority of the people, they tend to have narrower visions of development. In most cases, their visions of development do not really go past their own personal interests and the interest of the group where they belong to. For many politicians and government officials in both Vietnam and Malaysia, politics and governance is but a means to stay in power and protect their own interests. On the other hand, although there are also a number of people in the Vietnamese and the Malaysian governments that are for the development of the country as a whole, the efforts of these people are often misguided and do not really produce the desired impact into the lives of the people at the grassroots level. For instance, in Malaysia, the thrust of the government to unify the country resulted in the degra dation of culture and diversity among its people. This study outlines that international forces play a big role in the policies that the national governments formulate. In past years, the demand for integration and globalization forces the national governments of developing countries to rethink their priorities and come up with policies that will make their countries globally competitive. The idea that a country could not survive if it does not conform to the requirements of globalization sent the governments scrambling for national development frameworks that will user changes especially in the countryside.