This is a 1994 collection of scholarly essays on state, society and politics in the Third World.Including cases drawn from Africa, the Middle East, Asia, and Latin America, this collection of scholarly essays is relevant to the growing state theory literature in the social sciences, stressing a state-in-society approach to the study of political development.Including cases drawn from Africa, the Middle East, Asia, and Latin America, this collection of scholarly essays is relevant to the growing state theory literature in the social sciences, stressing a state-in-society approach to the study of political development.This is a collection of scholarly essays on state, society and politics in the Third World, with cases drawn from Africa, the Middle East, Asia, and Latin America. The introductory chapter outlines the theoretical approach of the contributors and the concluding chapter summarizes the importance of their studies and the contribution of the volume to general theory in comparative politics. The book is relevant to the growing state theory literature in the social sciences and it puts forward a state-in-society approach to the study of political development.Preface; List of contributors; Introduction: developing a state-in-society perspective; Part I. Theoretical and Methodological Considerations: 1. The state in society: an approach to struggles for domination Joel S. Migdal; Part II. States: Embedded in Society: 2. Traditional politics against state transformation in Brazil Frances Hagopian; 3. State power and social organization in China Vivienne Shue; 4. Centralization and powerlessness: India's democracy in a comparative perspective Atul Kohli; 5. States and ruling classes in postcolonial Africa: the enduring contradictions of power Catherine Boone; Part III. Social Forces: Engaged with State Power: 6. Labor divided: sources of state formation in modern China Elizabeth J. Perry; 7. Business conflict, collaboration and privilege in interwar Egypt Robert lÓ