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The latest round of leadership changes at the IMF and the World Bank has generated increasingly intense criticism of the tacit Western hold on governance of these institutions. While this dynamic is indicative of global power adjustments, it also signals a paradigm shift in thought about issues and methodology of development and growth. John Maynard Keynes famously noted the influence economists exert on leaders as: "Practical men, who believe themselves to be quite exempt from any intellectual influence, are usually the slaves of some defunct economist." Perhaps it is time, especially in the field of development, to question the traditional monopoly of economists, and to effectively include scientists, anthropologists, and others to provide collaborative thought leadership.

The Forum of this issue of the Journal brings together leading policy makers, business professionals, and academics to evaluate the changing landscape of international development. New forms of assistance and greater connectivity among development stakeholders have reduced relevance of the traditional role of multilateral or bilateral agents of foreign aid and pillar organizations of the Washington Consensus. These bodies must adapt to an ever-changing world while being constrained by laws and bureaucratic processes. There is also a need to balance the perennial temptation of using official development assistance to promote national agenda with the interests of recipients. To deal with these and similar challenges effectively, the future lies in building networks of hybrid partnerships among governments, individuals, and other stakeholders in development.

It is never easy to divest political motivations from economic undertakings. Beyond the articles in the Forum, Andrew Natsios describes China's difficulty in applying its international policy principle of non-intervention while investing in Sudan, and Shashi Tharoor provides an assessment of India's political and economic activities in Latin America. In a special two-part series on the euro zone crisis, Kathleen McNamara explains how the crisis transformed the European Central Bank from an independent body to a political entity, while Minxin Pei describes how different political economies have made China reluctant to assist the euro zone.

The Journal continues to enjoy prominence in shaping policy debates and analyses of international affairs. As USAID prepares to hold its inaugural Frontiers in Development Forum in June 2012, we hope that issues raised in this volume will contribute to debates on challenges to development at the Forum and beyond.

Finally, we have continued to facilitate access to this publication through fully uploading archives on the website and developing more regular features online. We hope that the readers find the analyses presented in the Journal engaging and conducive to forward-looking discussions.