Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO)
Political Economy Environment Analysis in Sierra Leone
Political economy analysis is concerned with the interaction of political and economic processes in a society: the distribution of power and wealth between different groups and individuals, and the processes that create,
sustain and transform these relationships over time. (DFID Practitioner Paper, 2009 –’Political Economy Analysis: How to Note).
 Political economy analysis is particularly useful for development practitioners since it helps us to understand what drives political behaviour, how this shapes particular policies and programmes, who are the main
“winners” and “losers”, and what the implications are for development strategies and programmes. Specifically, it is concerned with understanding.
 For the purposes of this presentation I will focus my PEA analysis on the topic: ‘Electoral Conflict and Violence: Drivers of Peace inclusive governance and Development’.
Methodology and Research Questions Methodology
I used a problem-driven framework because of its practicality
and usefulness to the SL Context:
 Identify a governance problem
 What are the structural problems and barriers that exist
 Who are the actors and their motivations/incentives
 What are the like solutions, entry points, pathways and low
hanging fruits
Data Sources
 Secondary data review- review of various elections observer
reports by donors like DFID, EU, IMF, World Bank etc. and
national election observation bodies like National Elections
Watch, Civil Society Organizations etc. Analytical document
review process- A lot has been researched and written about
elections and citizens participation in Sierra Leone by many
scholars and authors including PEAs on elections and
participation
 KII- Key Informant Interviews: Talk to political parties,
elections observer groups like NEW, Youth Groups, CSO’s
EMB’s, NEC,PPRC, Security Sector and Gender and
Participation groups like 50/50
 Focus group discussions- Engage and talk to diverse people
with opposing political views
Source: Daniel Harris (2013): Applied Political Economy Analysis – A problem Driven Framework
Research Questions
 Why are elections so intensely contested and some times
becoming a do or die battle in Sierra Leone?
 How can electoral processes in Sierra Leone be more
inclusive, transparent and participatory?
PEA Focus on Data
Collection & Analysis
 The focus of the PEA is to understand what is the
problem – why are elections so intensely contested and
why is violence used as a weapon for election victory?
 What are the structural, political, administrative issues and
barriers
 Who are the actors - and what are their main motivations
the incentives and power structures that promotes such
problems?
 How can things get better- what is the plausible path ways
for change?
 What are the potential change processes?
 Assessment of several path ways to identify low hanging
fruits or entry points?
Analysis
Triangulation of evidence from various data sources - cross
referencing and validation of facts