Reform coalitions

DLP research looks beyond the individual leader and ‘reform champions’ to examine leadership as a collective process, and the important role of coalitions in achieving developmental reform.

For example, DLP-commissioned research in the Philippines has found that even with strong presidential support for reforms, coalitions involving elements of government, the legislature, and civil society have played a crucial role in overcoming opposition and ensuring implementation. Our research explores how developmental (and collusive) coalitions are forged and maintained, and how leaders and coalitions work to achieve reform in different institutional settings. Understanding coalitions is particularly important given their potential to overcome collective action problems. These problems arise when the rational pursuit of narrow interests leads to collective irrationality.