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Policy Development in Unitary Subsystems: The Case of the Access to Information Act in Malawi, 1999-2020
Thesis (PhD)--Stellenbosch University, 2026.
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| Format: | Thesis |
| Language: | English |
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Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University
2026
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| _version_ | 1867613906130698240 |
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| access_status_str | Open Access |
| author | Banda, Lloyd George |
| author2 | Adams, Ubanesia |
| author_browse | Adams, Ubanesia Banda, Lloyd George |
| author_facet | Adams, Ubanesia Banda, Lloyd George |
| author_sort | Banda, Lloyd George |
| collection | Thesis |
| dc_rights_str_mv | Stellenbosch University |
| description | Thesis (PhD)--Stellenbosch University, 2026. |
| format | Thesis |
| id | oai:scholar.sun.ac.za:10019.1/135600 |
| institution | Stellenbosch University (South Africa) |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2026-06-10T12:43:35.067Z |
| license_str | Other — see source repository |
| provenance_str_mv | Harvested via OAI-PMH from SUNScholar — Stellenbosch University Repository |
| publishDate | 2026 |
| publishDateRange | 2026 |
| publishDateSort | 2026 |
| publisher | Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University |
| publisherStr | Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University |
| record_format | dspace |
| source_str | SUNScholar — Stellenbosch University Repository |
| spelling | oai:scholar.sun.ac.za:10019.1/135600 Policy Development in Unitary Subsystems: The Case of the Access to Information Act in Malawi, 1999-2020 Banda, Lloyd George Adams, Ubanesia Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Dept. of Political Science. Thesis (PhD)--Stellenbosch University, 2026. Banda, L. G. 2026. Policy Development in Unitary Subsystems: The Case of the Access to Information Act in Malawi, 1999-2020. Unpublished doctoral dissertation. Stellenbosch: Stellenbosch University [online]. Available: https://scholar.sun.ac.za/items/675af6f5-e2e6-466b-b2b7-c31d38613815 Access to Information or Freedom of Information (ATI/FOI) law is a critical enabler of good governance and strong institutions as enshrined in Sustainable Development Goal 16 (SDG 16.10). Despite being one of the most controversial policies in both developed and developing, pluralist and corporatist countries—achieved at the peril of prolonged civil society advocacy in many countries—there is little research to account for nuances associated with its development process. Using a qualitative case study design, this dissertation sought to answer the main research question: “What factors shaped the development of Malawi’s ATI Act and how?” Using the Advocacy Coalition Framework (ACF), the study found that the goal conflict between non-state actors (hereafter referred to as the Reformist Advocacy Coalition, RAC) and state actors (hereafter referred to as the Status Quo Coalition, SQC) determined the development of the law. While the SQC sustained the policy process due to possession of political resources, the RAC’s pursuit of the law was anchored on deep and policy core beliefs to end the culture of secrecy and endemic bureaucratic corruption in the public sector. The 1994 constitutional entrenchment of the Right to Information, the second Vienna Convention of 1993, the international and African Commission’s ATI framework, and donor support ensured that the RAC’s pursuit involved non-trivial coordination over two decades, despite the frustrating counteracting beliefs and strategies by the SQC, who used their political power to manipulate the distribution of critical political resources. This research contributes to policy development research by employing a framework developed to study the policy process as an alternative to the iron triangle and policy cycle models, as well as a synthesis of top-down and bottom-up implementation models, ultimately to examine policy change in pluralist political contexts. The study argues that studying policy development using the ACF must focus on country-specific political structure, especially the principal-agent relationship between political elites and government authorities. To allow for a contextualised understanding of policy development, the study adapted the subsystem section of the framework to provide feedback loops from advocacy coalitions to government authorities. Doing so enables a clear understanding that the ACF’s free market postulation of the policymaking process is not predetermined. The government should not always be seen as the decision maker of the final resort after deliberations from various policy stakeholders. Instead, the research provides preconditions for the potential of government authority, as a distinct policy advocacy coalition in itself, which can advance the elite’s policy agenda against the will of non-state actors or thwart the development of policies that it deems unfavourable, especially under a strong executive which commands total subordination of government authorities. This study, therefore, contributes to policy development literature and debates and calls for the refining of the ACF in order to address some of its limitations and increase its applicability across different political systems. Doctoral 2026-04-02T08:10:59Z 2026-04-02T08:10:59Z 2026-03 Thesis https://scholar.sun.ac.za/handle/10019.1/135600 en Stellenbosch University 259 pages application/pdf Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University |
| spellingShingle | Banda, Lloyd George Policy Development in Unitary Subsystems: The Case of the Access to Information Act in Malawi, 1999-2020 |
| title | Policy Development in Unitary Subsystems: The Case of the Access to Information Act in Malawi, 1999-2020 |
| title_full | Policy Development in Unitary Subsystems: The Case of the Access to Information Act in Malawi, 1999-2020 |
| title_fullStr | Policy Development in Unitary Subsystems: The Case of the Access to Information Act in Malawi, 1999-2020 |
| title_full_unstemmed | Policy Development in Unitary Subsystems: The Case of the Access to Information Act in Malawi, 1999-2020 |
| title_short | Policy Development in Unitary Subsystems: The Case of the Access to Information Act in Malawi, 1999-2020 |
| title_sort | policy development in unitary subsystems the case of the access to information act in malawi 1999 2020 |
| url | https://scholar.sun.ac.za/handle/10019.1/135600 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT bandalloydgeorge policydevelopmentinunitarysubsystemsthecaseoftheaccesstoinformationactinmalawi19992020 |