Patterns of difference and practical theory: researching the new poverty strategy processes in Africa

A collection on the past and future of social‐development analysis provides an opportunity to reflect and connect. This article reflects on a ten‐year‐old book called Rethinking Social Development and connects it with a recent study of Poverty Reduction Strategy processes in Africa. It argues that the recent work fills a gap in the empirical basis of the book, adding force to its main arguments—about dominance, agency and diversity in development—while also speaking to some unresolved issues: about the place of macro‐institutional analysis, the limits of ‘actor orientation’ and the generation of practical theory. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.