WHEN we decided to select Guyana, as one of our case studies in an international research partnership involving the World Trade Institute in Switzerland, where I serve as a project leader, the Columbia University’s Earth Institute and four other respected academic institutions around the world, we knew that Professor Prem Misir would be one of our strongest partners. Given that the aim of our research was to investigate how various stakeholders in the selected developing countries, ranging from Malawi and Nepal to Georgia and Turkey, perceived the prospect of achieving the UN’s Millennium Development Goals by the 2015 deadline, Professor Misir, with his career combining an outstanding academic background with public service at the highest levels, stood out from the rest. As such he is someone who could blend rigorous scholarly analysis with critical insider knowledge about politics, bureaucracy and ethnicity in Guyana. 
In his book, Professor Misir takes us through the long history of racial division and ethnic discrimination in bureaucracy, from its genesis during the colonial times of “British Guiana”, through the repressive era of the PNC, to today’s multi-party democracy of Guyana. He skillfully lays out the sizeable literature on the theory of ethnic conflict and marginalization, which has long puzzled many leading scholars of social science. More specifically, he focuses on the dichotomy of “representative” and “non-representative” bureaucracy, and explains how the state machinery could institutionally marginalize certain ethnic groups then legitimize its dominance with its hegemonic discourse. Also offering practical examples from different periods and from different regions of the globe, he provides the reader with a comprehensive synopsis of the theoretical aspects of the matter.  
Professor Misir then turns to the compelling case at hand, Guyana, and investigates how factors such as poverty, educational background, and socio-economic status affect ethnic participation of East-Indians and Africans in the public sector. Yet he goes beyond that question and probes how, if at all, this would in turn affect the policy priorities of public professionals and the provisions of government services.
This is the first ever book on Guyana empirically analyzing—by using historical and contemporary data on education, health and allocation of public services—whether and to what extent the Guyanese society is divided along ethnic lines which feed into the political system, fostering the marginalization of the un/under-represented. He conducts his scientific analysis of the data, convincingly lays out his verdict and openly challenges those, who he argues, seek to benefit from ethnic conflict, or the perception of it.
Professor Misir then walks the reader through the political transition which led to the emergence of multiparty democracy as the foundation of a multi-ethnic and multi-cultural society. He describes the promising recent developments towards achieving a more inclusive bureaucracy and participatory governance as part of a successful democratization process which could eventually bring lasting peace, security and economic prosperity to the Guyanese people whatever their origins.
In summary, if you are a scholar of ethnic, cultural and political studies, this is truly an exceptional case study on a unique socio-economic and geographical setting. And if you are an expert reader of Guyanese studies, no need to say that this is a must-read piece of work. Finally for politicians and professionals, there is a lot of advice that can be taken from a prolific author who understands the world from the prism of academic rigour and eloquently explains it to everyone in practical and policy terms.