ABSTRACT
This volume is an attempt to take stock of research on the relationship between development and democracy. The different contributions point out what is accepted knowledge within the field, they highlight areas in which different viewpoints exist, and they emphasise weaknesses and lacunae in existing research. They also, in various ways, try to reduce the gaps they have defined. In this concluding chapter, a humble attempt is made to structure and summarise this debate: what are the lessons learnt by recent research and what challenges still exist for researchers within the field? The selection of ‘gains and gaps’ is obviously highly subjective. Still, the arguments to be found in the chapters of this book provide a fairly good basis for an assessment of the field.
