Judicialisation and informalisation of politics in Malawi: Implications for inclusive development

Abstract

This chapter presents debates on the institutional drivers of inclusive development in Malawi by critically examining the role of the judiciary in the informalisation of politics and the impact of informalisation on inclusive development. It aims to conceptualise informalisation as the process by which institutions are created, located, communicated and enforced outside officially sanctioned channels. The chapter examines the tension between the doctrinal and practical approaches of Malawi’s highest courts to the inclusion of politics in judicial discourse, with reference to the informalisation of politics in the context of ‘customary law’ institutions, mechanisms of accountability in parliamentary and political party relations and actions of local government and community structures that lack statutory authority. It suggests certainty and coherence in judicial discourse and practice; increased attention to the political role of the judiciary in academic and policy discourse and development programming.