The Administrative Presidency as Supervised Collaboration: The Case of Ocean and Coastal Zone Management

Abstract

Scholars have paid little attention to the operation and effectiveness of offices, councils, committees, task forces, and the like within the Executive Office of the president. This neglect may be understandable given the opacity within the White House. Yet it is also unfortunate given the popular view of executive centralization as a counterpoise to a fragmented bureaucracy and given that “supervised collaboration” is the primary mechanism through which presidents can seek to coordinate policy implementation. With this in mind, the following study examines attempts to integrate the management of America's oceans and coasts under the past two administrations. Limited progress in this area to date speaks to institutional incentives and constraints that should temper the enthusiasm of those who look to the presidency as a source of administrative coordination. White House initiatives have come only recently and have resulted much more from a desire to shape policy than from concerns about efficiency, per se. Even so, the case of ocean and coastal zone management speaks to the limitations of unilateral presidential action.