Marcin Grabowski and Paweł Laidler Te Economic and Political Dimensions of Development in the 21st Century Abstract: Te problem of development may be addressed from various perspectives. Two of these, namely economic and political, are the focus of this chapter. Tese dimensions are especially important, given that political and economic goals are not necessarily anal- ogous in supporting development, especially when populist ideas triumph over economic rationality. Tis article briefy focuses on the evolution of development issues and ideas since the end of the Second World War, explains ways of measuring development, starting from purely economic indicators focusing on GDP/GNP growth, the broader Human Development Index introduced in the 1990s, the much more comprehensive Millennium Development Goals of 2000, through to the comprehensive Sustainable Development Goals. Finally this chapter juxtaposes the economic dimension of development with the political one, posing a number of open questions for further debate. Keywords: economic development, political development, constitutionalism, GDP, HDI, Millennium Development Goals, Sustainable Development Goals Introduction Development has been a problem in both domestic and international politics for a really long time, but in economic terms, we could observe and in some way measure development (understood as growth) especially since the Industrial Revolution in the 19th century. 1 Te following century still focused on economic develop- ment, with a strong emphasis on industrial development. Te post-World War II period brought us a set of development theories that have gradually become multi- dimensional. In the second half of the 20th century, the scientist gained an under- standing that apart from economic development, other dimensions must be taken into account. Finally, at the beginning of the 21st century we could observe a focus on new dimensions, to a large extent neglected in classical theories and models. 1 A brilliant book, analyzing history of development, and critically evaluating selected theories of development with a special focus on European success was written by David Landes in 1998, causing a lot of controversies. History of development, including indus- trial development will not be a focus of this book, however. Cf.: Landes, David: Te Wealth and Poverty of Nations: Why Some Are So Rich and Some So Poor. W.W. Norton and Company: New York-London 1998.