Given China’s phenomenal achievements over the past three decades, and its growing global power and influence, debates about growth and development are taking place in a changed environment.

Many political leaders in the developing world as well as many other experts and interests now associate successful development with autocratic or authoritarian political systems. Yet many democracies in the developing world are also making significant progress, and notching up real achievements.

The key challenge – which has huge implications for global development and the future of the global community – is to demonstrate that these societies can effectively address issues of growth, poverty and inequality in a democratic environment. And by so doing, and because they are democracies, generate a better quality of life for the vast majority of their citizens.

This is a primary reason for the establishment of INCLUDE, a consortium of think tanks from rising democracies in the developing world. This is a bold initiative and the aim of learning from three vitally important countries – India, Brazil and South Africa – is an ambitious endeavour. The consortium will structure its work under the broad umbrella theme of democracy and inclusive growth. We intend to
learn more about each other’s countries and look for comparative insights. This new knowledge will be used to strengthen each think tank’s activities in promoting domestic reforms in their own country; and our comparative country insights will be used – in time – to influence other developing countries and the global conversation about development strategies, priorities and achievements.

Paper written by Peter Draper and Ann Bernstein in association with Centre for Policy Research, iFHC, Centre for Development and Enterprise.