Policy formulation in Malawi : case of police reform 1995-2000

Abstract

This paper reviews the process of policy formulation in Malawi with particular reference to police reform between 1995 and 2000. After a long period of one party government, Malawi from 1994 made the transition to a multiparty parliamentary democracy. The Malawi Police is an important institution in the new regime. Within the frameworks of interest group theory and stakeholder theory the paper explores the way in which various interests influenced the reform of the police organization and management from 1995 to 2000. Reviews were undertaken of the literature on the policy process and the scholarly writing on interest group and stakeholder theory. Field research was carried out in the public documentation available in Malawi and by face to face interviews with senior officials and other participants in the reform process. The findings confirmed the utility of both interest group and stakeholder theory in explaining how public policies are formulated.