Public Financial Management for PRSP - Deutsches Institut für ...

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