Meaning of "as" in following sentence [closed]

I am not sure of the meaning of this sentence:

The significance of culture and identity in development has to do not so much with the cultural factor in the process of development as with abandoning Eurocentric development thinking.

I'm not sure what the use of as is supposed to convey. Does it mean "development has to do not so much ... as with abandoning", i.e. not as much as abandoning? Does the abandoning have more to do with it?

And the second question: Why does it use "has to do not so much". Why not "has not so much to do"? Is "have to" a verb?

Solution 1:

Here is the way that I would rephrase it for better understanding:

The significance of culture and identity in development has less to do with the cultural factor in the process of development than it does with abandoning Eurocentric development thinking.

So... the significance is more deeply rooted in the abandonment of Euro-centric development thinking.

Solution 2:

I can understand your confusion - I would say it's badly written. It's a tricky one for me to understand. You have a combination of two constructs: "to have to do with" and "not so much X as Y". When you understand both of those constructs, it should make more sense.

If I tweak it slightly, the meaning should be clear:

The significance of culture and identity in development has less relevance with "the cultural factor in the process of development" as with "abandoning Eurocentric development thinking."