Historical institutionalism in the Maldives: A case of governance failure

Abstract

This article explains the problem of governance in the Maldives in terms of how weak historical institutions embedded in the present political system have limited the government’s capacity to govern for the development of the broader society. This is done in light of the argument that the Maldives has experienced problems with development, especially within key socio-economic areas including health, education and community-based economic activities, despite the development achieved with its booming tourism industry during the 1980s–2000s. Using the present literature on development and governance, the article shows that this underdevelopment has been caused by a failure to achieve good governance of economic resources. Through a historical-institutional evaluation of the politico-institutional developments during the 1880s–1960s, this article explains that the Maldives acquired weak historical institutions that may have been transmitted through time to become embedded in the present political system and reduced the government’s capacity to govern efficiently. It is argued that the institutional foundations were based on undemocratic constitutional rules, created and shaped by the past monarchical political practice, and that these historically transmitted rules have reduced the government’s capacity to govern effectively leading to the problems with development experienced by the Maldives today.