Abstract

Policy development is a complex process. It is characterised by different actors that compete for government attention on an issue. Since energy problems present a major barrier to development, many countries have adopted comprehensive policy frameworks to support renewable energy. This study aimed at understanding how politics of policy processes affect the promotion of renewable energy development in Malawi. To understand what is happening the study embraced a political economy approach to explain the role that various actors and institutional contexts play in policy processes. This helped to comprehensively explain the policy actors’ narratives, their strategies, the resources they use for political turf competition, and the extent to which institutions reinforce policy networks and narratives for promoting renewable energy development in Malawi. Using qualitative methods of data collection, specifically key informant interviews with officials from organizations in the renewable energy sector, that is, The Department of Energy Affairs (DoEA), Malawi Energy Regulatory Authority (MERA) , Power Market Limited (PML), Renewable Energy Industries Association of Malawi (REIAMA), Electricity Supply Corporation of Malawi (ESCOM), Energy Generation Company (EGENCO), JCM Power, and Cedar Energy Limited, the study found that policy narratives affect the content and policy alternatives available to policymakers. It was also established by this study that agenda setting is not a rational process but a struggle over the definition of the problem as all interests are not equally represented and some issues are more likely to reach the formal agenda than others. The study also found that there is competition for political turf and that policy actors use different resources to gain advantage over opposing groups or interests. Lastly, the study observed that energy systems are locked-in a path dependent process and for renewable energy to develop Malawi has done an energy sector reform to level the playing field for new entrants in energy production.

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School	: School of Law, Economics and Government
Issued Date	: 2023

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