Much of the conversation about PEA has so far involved
the very researchers and practitioners who proselytize it: a
loose network of professionals spanning bilateral donors like
the UK Department for International Development (DFID)
or the Netherlands aid agency, multilaterals like the World
Bank and UNDP, think tanks like the Overseas Development
Institute, and private companies like Oxford Policy Management
or The Policy Practice. 3 Political-economy analysis
remains an insider’s game, the realm of governance advisers
and consultants. Unsurprisingly, the dominant questions in
the nascent PEA literature address the issues deemed most
pressing by its foremost practitioners: what are the best frameworks,
who should be involved in applying them, how can
they identify solutions instead of just problems, and whether
is it possible to think and speak politically in development
contexts which often reward discretion over honesty
(Routley & Hulme, 2013).