Exploring the political economy of clean energy development, this study appraises how political (de)stabilization influences the clean energy transition process in selected South Asian countries. Using yearly data spanning from 1998 to 2021, the results show that political stabilization facilitates the clean energy transition process by raising the share of renewables in the final energy consumption profiles of the concerned South Asian nations. Contrarily, political destabilization is found to inhibit the transition process. In addition, political stabilization is witnessed to partially offset the clean energy transition-inhibiting impact of rising carbon dioxide emissions across South Asia. Furthermore, the results endorse that financial development and receipts of international remittance contribute to the clean energy transition process while incoming foreign direct investments exert no impact in this regard. Accordingly, a couple of policies are recommended for the concerned South Asian nations.