The agenda for ''good governance'' postulates that it constitutes both
a precondition for and an outcome of economic development. In direct
opposition, neo-Marxist analyses assert a causal link between economic
Liberalization and bureaucratic-authoritarian regimes. This article a
rgues that the relationship between governance and economic developmen
t cannot-be resolved in such abstract and ahistorical terms but must b
e approached through concrete analyses of political strategies around
and within the post-colonial state. A closer examination of authoritar
ianism and economic liberalization in Sri Lanka supports this argument
.