Paper short abstract:

This paper examines the clashes of beliefs within SCT policy coalitions in Zambia and exposes where, between whom, and how negotiations occur. It argues that actors with competing beliefs 'talk past each other' to sustain their beneficial relations. This however jeopardizes transformative efforts.

Paper long abstract:

Recent policy and scholarly debates on the politics of adopting social protection have emphasised the importance of policy coalitions between national and transnational actors. Yet, viewing these coalitions as a monolithic group with a common set of values is hugely misleading and dilutes our understanding of where, between whom, and how negotiations occur. This paper unravels the clashes of beliefs between international donors and Ministry officials in the high-level negotiations of Zambia's first national Social Cash Transfer (SCT) scheme - the Inclusive scheme - and examines the different forms of power that were mobilized to win the policy design negotiations. The analysis is part of a larger research project on the negotiations of Zambia's welfare regime and builds on an interpretive analysis of over 50 key informant interviews with high-level actors as well as secondary literature.

The findings demonstrate that national and international actors with competing beliefs about the distribution of SCTs sustained their mutually beneficial relations discursively by 'talking past each other'. This was achieved by depoliticizing the ideological tensions through the involvement of international consultants as mediators and the mobilization of powerful technocratic values. While this strategy successfully translated donors' beliefs onto the initial policy and resulted in the formal adoption of a gender-transformative policy design, it also allowed national actors to reinterpret the policy in line with their prevailing beliefs. The paper concludes that if initiatives are to achieve transformative objectives, 'talking past each other' can not be the right strategy as it undercuts deliberation and participation.