Since development became a priority international issue a half century ago, strategic paradigms have come and gone. While some positive outcomes have been realized, none has produced the advertised broad-scale transformations in poor, often authoritarian, often unjust countries. In recent years, increasing attention has been paid to cultural values, beliefs, and attitudes. The Cultural Change Institute (CCI) works to promote awareness of the significance of culture and of cultural change in lagging societies through country case studies; studies of the instruments and institutions of cultural transmission (e.g., child-rearing practices, education systems, religions, the media); pilot projects; value and attitude surveys; and conferences.

"The central conservative truth is that it is culture, not politics, that determines the success of a society. The central liberal truth is that politics can change a culture and save it from itself."