Politics is widely viewed as inherently problematic, and political analysis invoked mainly to try to explain development policy failures. But can political analysis tell us whether governments are likely to be pro- poor? And why are pro-poor outcomes often so difficult to achieve? An Institute of Development Studies working paper identifies a wide range of opportunities that exist for pro-poor policies and offers a series of guidelines for thinking about specific cases. Using the guidelines, policymakers can obtain a more realistic perspective on their projects and programmes and increase chances of success.