Public Financial Management for PRSP - Deutsches Institut für ...
Public Financial Management for PRSP - Deutsches Institut für ...
Public Financial Management for PRSP - Deutsches Institut für ...
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Stefan Leiderer et al.<br />
The political economy of transition<br />
Malawi is a country in transition. The first democratic multiparty elections<br />
only took place in 1994, after almost 30 years of authoritarian rule under<br />
Dr. H. Kamuzu Banda. Societies in political transition share a number of key<br />
features all over the world. The features are, <strong>for</strong> example, unconsolidated and<br />
young democratic institutions, administrative staff with little experience with<br />
working in democratic and legal-bureaucratic environments, high expectations<br />
of the population <strong>for</strong> material as well as legal improvements and a lack<br />
of ‘democratic culture’. Another key characteristic is the high dynamic of<br />
<strong>for</strong>mal and in<strong>for</strong>mal bargaining <strong>for</strong> power and interests. ‘Old elites’ try to<br />
retain or trans<strong>for</strong>m their positions, while ‘new elites’ try to join or replace the<br />
old elites. Political conditions in transition countries are often shaped by<br />
rapidly changing coalitions, the sudden accumulation of power or the loss<br />
thereof by individuals and groups. Furthermore, in recent years academic<br />
work on institutions and path-dependency has made clear that new structures<br />
and procedures do not just replace the previous ones. As Bratton and van de<br />
Walle (1997) conclude in their study on transition processes in sub-Saharan<br />
Africa: “the institutional heritage of neopatrimonial rule has shaped regime<br />
transitions in much of Africa” (Bratton / van de Walle 1997, 269).<br />
Processes such as PRS implementation, decentralisation and the re<strong>for</strong>m of<br />
PFM imply decisions about the redistribution of power, responsibilities and<br />
resources. As this study explicitly takes the political dimension of these processes<br />
into account, the theoretical background of the political economy of<br />
transition is highly relevant, although it is not the main focus.<br />
Analytical approach and preliminary categories<br />
A study on the major challenges in PFM at central and local government<br />
level <strong>for</strong> implementing the M<strong>PRSP</strong> is a study on institutional and organisational<br />
change and on the factors that inhibit this change. Based on the theoretical<br />
background provided above, it seemed to be promising to focus on<br />
actors and institutions <strong>for</strong> analysing PFM practice and its change – or the lack<br />
thereof. While actors can be individuals or groups who have the ability to act<br />
in a coherent manner, institutions can generally be defined as structures of<br />
166 German Development <strong>Institut</strong>e