Intra-government collaboration in Seychelles to reduce dependency from imported fossil fuel: a WEF security nexus perspective

Abstract

The Government of Seychelles has placed significant emphasis on the need to reduce reliance from imported fossil fuel use. A new energy policy was designed to target the reduction of energy consumption in the country. The policy was followed through with institutional changes, such as enacting new legislation and providing financial incentives. The thesis uses the concept of WEF security nexus as a lens to guide through the institutional, structural and organisational challenges that can affect the effectiveness of this new policy. The WEF security framework relies upon the ability of all stakeholders to function in a collaborative network. In the context of Seychelles, the framework is used to understand how different ministries, along with relevant stakeholders, work together to reduce the reliance of Seychelles from imported fossil fuel. The nexus approach proposes similar recommendations to that advocated in mainstream institutionalist literatures, where the solutions for resource failure can be found in institutional changes and participatory approaches. The thesis explores how collaboration manifests at the bureaucratic level, the awareness of the different actors of their impacts on other sectors, the effectiveness of inter-agency participation in Seychelles and the abilities of government actors to negotiate conflicting interests to achieve greater harmonisation of policies. From a critical institutionalist perspective, it can be shown that bureaucrats act as bricoleurs as they attempt to navigate through both formal and informal institutions, weak structures and power differentials. The thesis finds that collaboration between government organisations is complex due to the various informal practices pervading bureaucracies, such as working in silos. Participation between government organisations, and between government and non-state actors can be inhibited by elements of mistrust and power dynamics. Government organisations face a knowledge gap when it comes to sectoral policies which impacts the possibilities for meaningful debates and exchange of information to resolve conflicts. In the end, institutional changes are not translated into actions within everyday activities of government organisations, making organisational change less likely to occur.