In terms of policy implications, the cases of DFID and the
World Bank make us wonder whether one of the reasons for
lack of familiarity with political analysis outside public sector
and governance professional networks can be found in the
puzzling reluctance of its advocates to put forth a clear model
for carrying out PEA as part of operational work. 20 There is
some concern that formalization may actually hinder the kind
of constant informal analysis that advocates seek: as a result
of this “laissez faire” mentality, however, political analysis is
not a consistent policy. Even “governance” itself remains a
contested term detached from any concrete results framework,
a lack of definition which has muddled priorities and hampered
dissemination among nonpublic sector specialists
(World Bank, 2012, pp. 28–29). This leads to conflict and confusion
between governance broadly understood and political
analysis as a nuanced understanding of risk, with the former
enjoying at least lip service donors, while the latter remains
tied to a specific professional community. The challenge is
not one of developing a single, unequivocal model or toolkit
that can be dropped into any development problem, but that
of positing a single, unequivocal logic – analytical or discursive
– which can compete with the powerful assumptions
and intellectual common ground of the economics profession.
Even then, perhaps the greatest hurdle is the continued identi-
fication of political analysis with the governance silo. This is a
dilemma that PEA proponents themselves discuss in workshops
and private conversation, but one that is often overshadowed
by a defensive attitude when dealing with other
aid professionals. What our comparison of DFID and the
World Bank shows is that overcoming the administrative barriers
to political analysis requires some degree of bureaucratic
advocacy which persuades political principals and managers
of the operational viability of thinking politically, especially
when facing such powerful professional and corporate incentives
as steady disbursement and value-for-money.