Bureaucratic Responsiveness Research Articles

Fragile States: A Donor-serving Concept? Issues with Interpretations of Fragile Statehood in Afghanistan

Current conceptions and models of fragile statehood in conflict-affected contexts can serve the purposes of international donor governments over and above reconstruction and statebuilding. First, despite remaining ill-defined, the fragile state concept is widely utilized by donors to oversimplify analysis of complex political environments, such as that of Afghanistan, leading to inadequate bureaucratic responses. Second, current models of fragile statehood are unable to capture contextual or temporal dynamics, and invariably omit the contribution of international intervention to entrenching fragility. This is particularly the case in Afghanistan where the effects of international militarized stabilization responses have not been systematically included in fragility assessments, leading to increased insecurity. This article calls for a more nuanced approach to fragility and greater acknowledgement of the role donor governments can play in its entrenchment.

Evaluating Political Signals

The bureaucratic response literature has focused on the quantity and timing of agency outputs in response to political signals. This focus on quantity rather than more qualitative measures such as the content and character of response has made it difficult to fully understand the causes and conditions under which response occurs in relation to a given signal. In the context of minority preference purchasing policy in the State of Florida, this study examines the relationship between political signals and the content and character of bureaucratic response—what is referred to here as the nature of bureaucratic response. A theory is developed and supported through interview and archival data to suggest that bureaucratic actors evaluate signals and policymaker intentions in determining if and how to respond. The article also provides one of the first in-depth examinations of the inner workings of minority preference purchasing.

Outside the Cage: Exploring Everyday Interactions between Government Workers and Residents in a Place-Based Health Initiative

This paper presents an ethnographic case study of the daily lived experience of place by government health and community workers in a place-based chronic disease initiative (PBI) located in a disadvantaged peri-urban area in Australia. The case study focused on the place at which the PBI staff members interfaced with the community informally as opposed to the deliberate interactions described in the formal community engagement strategy. Subtle social phenomena, such as social positioning and the contrasting cultures of bureaucracy and community, generated outcomes that were the antithesis of those sought by the PBI. If these characteristics of place are not attended to during the development of PBIs, we risk recreating existing social divides and jeopardizing the potential of these initiatives to build community capacity. This case study provides an important conceptual-theoretical understanding of the place-based approach, which can augment existing empirical studies of place. The findings are also relevant for those who are exploring the physical co-location of diverse professional groups in socially disadvantaged neighbourhoods. It also exposes the inherent complexity of “place” and the futility of poorly designed bureaucratic responses.

Politicizing Priority Departments

Presidents have the power to nominate the top ranks of the executive branch and they use it toward their own goals. Presidents need a mixture of experienced and loyal officers to promote bureaucratic competence and responsiveness, and advance their policies within the executive branch, but scholars’ focus has often been senatorial obstructionism rather than when presidents prefer loyal nominees and experienced nominees. This study uses a sample of 573 subcabinet nominations between 1961 and 2006, and relates presidents’ nominee choices to their policy priorities and departmental jurisdictions. It finds that presidents nominate significantly more loyalists and fewer experienced officers to higher priority departments, indicating the importance of responsiveness, as well as their suspicion of experienced officers. Presidents select more experienced nominees for lower priority departments to assure competence where they are least concerned with responsiveness. Furthermore, it finds that increased Senate ideological opposition has no significant effect on presidents’ selections.

Who Shapes the Rulemaking Agenda? Implications for Bureaucratic Responsiveness and Bureaucratic Control

Although scholars have recently shown a good deal of interest in rulemaking, they have ignored a critical question about the process: what kinds of stakeholders and what institutional actors influence the rulemaking agenda? The following analysis examines an original data set of 276 rules as an initial effort to fill this void. As such, it adds to our understanding of rulemaking and of broader issues of bureaucratic responsiveness and institutional control that have long been of interest to students of government and administration. We find that agency decisions to initiate rulemaking are heavily grounded in the implementation of ongoing programs and subgovernment relationships in which economic interests tend to be predominant. Yet we also find that Congress plays a prominent role in establishing the rulemaking agenda, both in an absolute sense and in relation to the president and the courts.

A Practice Framework for Assessments at Tower Hamlets Children's Social Care: Building on the Munro Review

The Munro review of child protection explains in depth the contemporary challenges in delivering statutory child protection services. It notes that complexity, uncertainty and emotional challenges inherent in social work are contemporary issues not resolved through new national guidance or more bureaucratic procedures. Rather, practice needs reforming at the local level. Tragedies in practice have tended to usher in more and more bureaucratic responses alongside an unabated blame culture for practitioners. There is no doubt that practice reforms are needed to address this; however these are neither straightforward nor easily achieved. Busy and overloaded offices of child welfare, managers and workers wedded to pre-existing frameworks, and an ever anxious political system and public can unwittingly act against the development and reforming of social work practice. While challenges exist that need overcoming, this paper describes one such initiative, the new practice framework for assessments, developed and implemented in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, as part of the Munro review.

The Difficult and Hopeful Ethics of Research on, and with, Social Movements

This article explores a number of key questions that serve to introduce this special issue on the ethics of research on activism. We first set out the limitations of the bureaucratic response to ethical complexities in our field. We then examine two approaches often used to justify research that demands time consuming and potentially risky participation in research by activists. We label these approaches the ethic of immediate reciprocity and the ethic of general reciprocity and question their impacts. We note, in particular, the tendency of ethics of reciprocity to preclude research on ‘ugly movements’ whose politics offends the left and liberal leanings predominant among movement researchers. The two ethics also imply different positionalities for the researcher vis-à-vis their subject movement which we explore, alongside dilemmas thrown up by multiple approaches to knowledge production and by complex issues of researcher and activist identities. The overall move to increasing complexity offered by this paper will, we hope, provide food for thought for others who confront real-world ethical dilemmas in fields marked by contention. We also hope that it will encourage readers to turn next to the wide range of contributions offered in this issue.

Rural Women's Access to Health Care in Bangladesh: Swimming Against the Tide?

Large segments of the population in developing countries are deprived of a fundamental right: access to basic health care. The problem of access to health care is particularly acute in Bangladesh. One crucial determinant of health seeking among rural women is the accessibility of medical care and barriers to care that may develop because of location, financial requirements, bureaucratic responses to the patient, social distance between client and provider, and the sex of providers. This article argues that to increase accessibility fundamental changes are required not only in resource allocation but also in the very structure of health services delivery.

Caesarean Delivery: the Regulations on Religious Affairs in China, March 2005

Taking effect in March 2005, the Regulations on Religious Affairs is an overdue delivery of a more benign policy towards religion in China. Comprehensive in scope, it was promulgated only after numerous drafts and six years of extensive consultation with the religious, academic, legal and human rights communities, followed by a nationwide effort to propagate the new policy at the national and local levels. The Regulations prescribes a new framework for state–religion relations, where the power of the state is limited by reducing government approval and certification requirements for religious communities. Religious organisations are granted increasing autonomy from state ideology, in managing their internal affairs, in owning and using religious property, and in accepting donations from within and outside China. The previous system of administering religious affairs through departmental micro-management and discretionary approval has been partly replaced by rule of law that sets limits on bureaucratic response time to applications from the religious communities, which are now empowered to lodge administrative appeals, challenge administrative decisions in courts, and sue for compensatory damages from illegal or negligent government action. While the state still manages and intervenes in religious affairs, the enactment of such legislation is a benign and overdue change in religious policy in the reform period in China.

What Do Bureaucrats Like Doing? Bureaucratic Preferences in Response to Institutional Reform

How do bureaucrats respond to administrative reform in relation to their overall administrative goals? The authors test the bureau‐shaping thesis, which holds that bureaucrats’ preferences for certain kinds of roles and tasks motivate their support for bureau reform. Drawing on attitudinal and behavioral data from a survey of English local government officials, the findings underscore how bureaucrats with different interests and motivations sort themselves into job types. Their preferences drive support for reform, which, in turn, strengthens the executive structure of English local government. Drawing on the literature on bureaucratic responses to institutional reform, the authors offer a more nuanced portrayal of bureaucratic preferences in line with the bureau‐shaping model. A key conclusion: political principals need improved empirical awareness of bureaucratic preferences when undertaking public institutional reforms.

Serving Citizens: How Comparable Are Polish and Russian “Street-Level” Bureaucrats?

An experimental survey on bureaucratic responsiveness in the social welfare arena in Poland and Russia shows that both countries’ social welfare workers are capable of performing in a manner deemed helpful to local Polish and Russian citizens—a key component of effective governance. Such findings are surprising given an absence of reforms to create Weberian bureaucracies out of both countries’ social welfare agencies, differences in Polish and Russian overall governance, and variations in civil society legacies. The findings suggest that Weberian features, designed to keep outside interests at bay, may not necessarily be essential for local government to be perceived as being responsive and may not be relevant for certain sectors, such as social welfare, where opportunities for corruption are more limited. Because “customer service” is important for an effective state, citizen perceptions of local bureaucrats’ responsiveness need to be recognized as critical components of on-the-ground governance.

Public Access to Genome-Wide Data: Five Views on Balancing Research with Privacy and Protection

Just over twelve months ago, PLoS Genetics published a paper [1] demonstrating that, given genome-wide genotype data from an individual, it is, in principle, possible to ascertain whether that individual is a member of a larger group defined solely by aggregate genotype frequencies, such as a forensic sample or a cohort of participants in a genome-wide association study (GWAS). As a consequence, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and Wellcome Trust agreed to shut down public access not just to individual genotype data but even to aggregate genotype frequency data from each study published using their funding. Reactions to this decision span the full breadth of opinion, from “too little, too late—the public trust has been breached” to “a heavy-handed bureaucratic response to a practically minimal risk that will unnecessarily inhibit scientific research.” Scientific concerns have also been raised over the conditions under which individual identity can truly be accurately determined from GWAS data. These concerns are addressed in two papers published in this month's issue of PLoS Genetics [2],[3]. We received several submissions on this topic and decided to assemble these viewpoints as a contribution to the debate and ask readers to contribute their thoughts through the PLoS online commentary features. Five viewpoints are included. The Public Population Project in Genomics (P3G) is calling for a universal researcher ID with an access permit mechanism for bona fide researchers. The contribution by Catherine Heeney, Naomi Hawkins, Jantina de Vries, Paula Boddington, and Jane Kaye of the University of Oxford Ethox Centre outlines some of the concerns over possible misuse of individual identification in conjunction with medical and family history data, and points out that if geneticists mishandle public trust, it will backfire on their ability to conduct further research. George Church posits that actions directed toward restricting data access are likely to exclude researchers who might provide the most novel insights into the data and instead makes the argument that full disclosure and consent to the release of genomic information should be sought from study participants, rather than making difficult-to-guarantee promises of anonymity. Martin Bobrow weighs the risks and benefits and proposes four steps that represent a middle ground: Retain restricted access for now, make malicious de-identification practices illegal, increase public awareness of the issues, and encourage recognition that scientists have a special professional relationship of trust with study participants. Finally, Bruce Weir provides a commentary on the contribution of the two research articles from Braun et al. [2] and Visscher and Hill [3].

Comparative and International Education: A Bibliography (2008)

Comparative and International Education: A Bibliography (2008)

Explaining Responsiveness in Collaboration: Administrator and Citizen Role Perceptions

Between 2003 and 2006, researchers facilitated a collaborative learning process with representatives of Los Angeles neighborhood councils and officials from city agencies. In two cases, each involving a large city agency, the quality of responsiveness on the part of agency officials to participating citizens was substantially different. This study considers the reasons why agency officials differed in their responsiveness. Using an inductive qualitative and quantitative content analysis across three sources of data, the study develops theory pertaining to bureaucratic responsiveness to citizens in collaborative processes. Specifically, the case findings are generalized to theory through seven propositions for future study. The study’s key finding is that administrator and citizen perceptions of their own and the other party’s roles may influence the quality of responsive behavior in collaborative activity. The propositions identify subfactors or contingencies that may allow administrators to be more responsive to citizens in collaborative processes.

News coverage and Japanese foreign disaster aid: a comparative example of bureaucratic responsiveness to the news media

News coverage and Japanese foreign disaster aid: a comparative example of bureaucratic responsiveness to the news media

Warning: The Hollow State Can Be Deadly

Public Administration ReviewVolume 68, Issue 3 p. 587-590 Warning: The Hollow State Can Be Deadly Thomas A. Bryer, Corresponding Author Thomas A. Bryer University of Central FloridaThomas A. Bryer is an assistant professor in the Department of Public Administration at the University of Central Florida. His research interests include civic engagement, collaborative public management, and bureaucratic responsiveness. His work has been published in the Public Administration Review, Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory, American Review of Public Administration, Public Performance and Management Review, and International Journal of Organization Theory and Behavior.E-mail: [email protected]Search for more papers by this author Thomas A. Bryer, Corresponding Author Thomas A. Bryer University of Central FloridaThomas A. Bryer is an assistant professor in the Department of Public Administration at the University of Central Florida. His research interests include civic engagement, collaborative public management, and bureaucratic responsiveness. His work has been published in the Public Administration Review, Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory, American Review of Public Administration, Public Performance and Management Review, and International Journal of Organization Theory and Behavior.E-mail: [email protected]Search for more papers by this author First published: 24 March 2008 https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-6210.2008.00896.xRead the full textAboutPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Share a linkShare onFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditWechat Volume68, Issue3May|June 2008Pages 587-590 RelatedInformation

Bureaucratic response to policy change: implementation of adult education policy in Norway

Our main concern was to investigate the implementation of the new Education Act, giving adults the statutory right to complete upper secondary education. Referring to a ‘top‐down’ and a ‘bottom‐up’ perspective we have investigated how the representatives of the county authorities (the bureaucrats) interpret and practise the specific section of the Act in relation to their definition, moral evaluation and economic view. The interpretation of the section in the Act and the practice varied. Two counties were proactive, result‐oriented and generous, while four counties were passive, act‐oriented and restrictive in their implementation. The implementation was influenced by the bureaucrats’ attitudes, decisions and actions. They had their own agenda, moral standard, interest and so on, which influenced their interpretation and practice. Our study indicates that it is not enough just to formulate a right. How it is formulated, and how it is interpreted and perceived may affect the implementation process.

Ethnic Representation in the Malaysian Bureaucracy: The Development and Effects of Malay Domination

Guided by the representative bureaucracy literature, this article examines the development and effects of a Malay-dominated bureaucracy in Malaysia. Malay domination is largely the result of ethnic preference in personnel policy and practice to provide employment to the economically disadvantaged Malays and to ensure their control of the bureaucracy. However, it dampens bureaucratic responsiveness to under-represented ethnic groups and government legitimacy among them. It also lowers bureaucratic effectiveness and efficiency. Malay domination of the bureaucracy is thus a multi-valued political choice. Pressures for reconsideration are briefly discussed and difficulties of reform noted.

Police Practices in Immigrant-Destination Cities

Political incorporation theory suggests that the incorporation of new groups into city electoral politics will precede any improvements in the way that local bureaucracies treat members of those groups. We argue, however, that the logic and sequencing of political incorporation and bureaucratic response do not apply when explaining police practices toward immigrant residents. Drawing on survey evidence and case studies of California cities, we find that police departments are ahead of city councils and other municipal agencies in providing language support and that local elected officials are largely unaware of key practices of their police departments regarding interactions with immigrants. Such findings support the perspective of bureaucratic incorporation of immigrants, in which local bureaucracies proactively develop their own practices, drawing on a professional ethos.

Citizen Involvement Efforts and Bureaucratic Responsiveness: Participatory Values, Stakeholder Pressures, and Administrative Practicality

This article addresses the efforts of local governments to involve citizens in administrative processes. In particular, we explore the following questions: What social and political groups in the community promote citizen involvement? Which groups awre likely to succeed? What barriers obstruct citizen involvement efforts? Do administrative attitudes make a difference in undertaking citizen involvement? Using survey data, this study tests a framework that assumes the decision to involve citizens in administrative processes reflects administrative responsiveness to salient community stakeholders, normative values associated with citizen involvement, and administrative practicality. The statistical results confirm the bureaucratic responsiveness framework and point to future directions for citizen involvement research and practice.