Coordination Dilemma Research Articles

WHY STRONG COORDINATION AT ONE LEVEL OF GOVERNMENT IS INCOMPATIBLE WITH STRONG COORDINATION ACROSS LEVELS (AND HOW TO LIVE WITH IT): THE CASE OF THE EUROPEAN UNION

The European Union (EU) inherited ‘indirect administration’ from classical international organizations: policies adopted by the international organization are subsequently to be implemented nationally by member states themselves, and not by bodies owned by the international organization. This arrangement has often led to legislation being incorporated and applied rather differently across countries. In order to harmonize implementation practices within the EU, we have witnessed a development from ‘indirect administration’ to more ‘direct administration’ in the sense that national agencies work closely with the European Commission, EU agencies and sister agencies in other member states, partly bypassing national ministries. Thus, stronger coordination across levels may counteract strong coordination at the national level. This ‘coordination dilemma’ seems to have been largely ignored in the literatures on EU network governance and national ‘joined‐up government’, respectively. The ambition of this article is twofold: first, the coordination dilemma is theoretically and empirically illustrated by the seeming incompatibility between a more direct implementation structure in the multilevel EU administrative system and trends towards strengthening coordination and control within nation states. Second, the article discusses organizational arrangements that may enable systems to live with the coordination dilemma in practice.

Public and Private Partner Selection in Battle of Sexes

In this paper the authors investigate what factors can promote population diversity. They compare different partner selection models and strategy mobility on the Battle of Sexes game. This is a game with a coordination dilemma where players must decide which event to attend given that each one has its preferred event but they prefer going together. They investigate two types of partner selection: one based in private information and another based on public information, which is based on an opinion model. The authors analyze two variants of the opinion model. Experimental analysis shows that partner selection plays a minor role of favoring population diversity. One of the most important factors is strategy mobility either implicitly through mutation or explicitly when an offspring is placed in a different location.

The Low Productivity Trap: Chiapas Growth Diagnostics

Chiapas is the state with the lowest income per capita in Mexico and the state that grew the least during the last decade. Therefore, the income gap between Chiapas and the rest of Mexico has widened remarkably. This weak performance contrasts sharply with the relative macroeconomic and institutional stability that prevailed during the same period, and the massive amount of public resources that poured into the region since the Zapatista uprising in January 1994. To identify contributing factors, this document follows the Growth Diagnostics methodology developed by Hausmann, Rodrik and Velasco (2005), with some changes to adapt to the particularities of a sub-national context. Our goal is the same: to identify the main constraints to economic growth in Chiapas. Our analysis indicates that the main constraints to economic growth in the state are not among the usual suspects. Low levels of education are to some extent related to the way Chiapas fell behind the rest of Mexico, but only explain a small part of the gap. Mountainous geography and weather are a challenge to building and preserving infrastructure in the region, but that doesn’t seem to be the major obstacle to the development of productive capacities. There isn’t evidence of failures in the credit markets. Low levels of private credit in Chiapas are related to the low productivity of the local economy rather than bottlenecks or insufficiencies in the supply of financing options. Our conclusion is that Chiapas is in a (low) productivity trap. Its major problem is that its economy has very low complexity and mirrors its scant capacities. Modern production systems require a number of complementary inputs that are absent in Chiapas. In this context, productive diversity and private investment are low because returns to investment are also low. Given that demand derived from investment is low, supply of complementary inputs is inhibited, which leads to a coordination dilemma similar to the chicken and egg problem. Solving this problem requires government intervention. Some of the few cases of exports of manufactured goods in Chiapas are the result of successful federal interventions to coordinate provision of necessary production inputs with the demand for them.

THE CENTRE STRIKES BACK: META‐GOVERNANCE, DELEGATION, AND THE CORE EXECUTIVE IN THE UNITED KINGDOM, 2010–14

A growing literature on ‘agencification’, ‘quangocratization’, and the ‘autonomization’ of the state has highlighted a coordination dilemma in contemporary public governance whereby governments rely on delegated governance but are frustrated by the lack of control that arises from such structures. In the run‐up to the 2010 General Election in the United Kingdom this coordination dilemma was prominent as the capacity of the Cabinet Office to exert control over arm's‐length bodies, either directly or indirectly, received intense criticism. This article presents the findings of the first detailed research project to examine the subsequent Coalition Government's approach to this dilemma. It argues that in relation to the governance of public bodies, the role and capacity of the Cabinet Office has been transformed. In mapping this development the article explores the implications of the centre striking back in the context of ‘post‐New Public Management’ reforms.

The Evolution of Network Based Cybersecurity Norms: An Analytical Narrative

We examine coordination dilemmas in cybersecurity policy by using an already developed evolutionary game theoretical model. We suggest that norms to encourage network based security systems may not evolve independently of international governance systems. In fact, certain kinds of state action may actually further discourage the evolution of such norms. This paper therefore suggests that specific system-wide cybersecurity systems will be more effective than network-specific security. We build on established analytical frameworks to develop a cumulative understanding of the dynamics at hand. This would allow us, in due course, to extend the contributions of evolutionary game theory to cybersecurity problems.

Military Compliance and Rebellion: Who Is the Audience of a Mass Killing?

Reducing threats is an important objective of all governments. Mass killings are a tactic employed by some leaderships, presumably to achieve this goal. But do mass killings work''? We argue that the groups targeted by violence are rarely the primary audience of mass killing policies, and to determine the true effectiveness of mass killings one must account for how all groups within a country respond to political violence. We develop a theory that focuses on how the compliance decisions of military members tasked with carrying out atrocities affect the coordination dilemma of individuals contemplating rebellion. Mass killings are shown to be effective at reducing anti-regime activity among individuals who are not direct targets of violence. Further, leaders enjoy a lower risk of removal following highly lethal mass killings. A variety of empirical tests provide strong support for our theory's implications.

Reconciliation Between Muslims and Christians

“A Common Word Between Us,” an open letter from Muslim scholars to Christian leaders, is the most developed effort at Muslim-Christian reconciliation to date. Endorsed by well-known Muslim scholars from diverse sects and backgrounds, the letter emphasizes the central role of love of God and the Golden Rule in both religions and cites the catastrophic consequences of conflict. The signatories frame a norm of interreligious covenant for constructive collaborations, present their argument as an authoritative Islamic position, and effectively reject the clash-of-civilizations narrative. Using game-theory models to articulate strategic challenges facing interreligious initiatives, this essay argues that a norm of interreligious covenant can potentially produce successful collective action in situations resembling both coordination and prisoner's dilemma games, depending on the success of norm entrepreneurship.

Influence of Cation Size on the Co‐crystallisation of Benzoic Acid with Different Benzoates

AbstractIn the pharmaceutical industry many new active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) are marketed as carboxylic salts because of enhanced solubility and dissolution rates. These salts are, however, often hard to crystallise and/or exhibit a low degree of crystallinity. The reason may be the largely differing sizes of cation and anion. One way out of the resulting “coordination dilemma“ is the formation of co‐crystals of the salt with its neutral acid which delivers additional coordination sites for the cation. In this line, the crystal structure of a new co‐crystal of benzoic acid (HBz) and lithium benzoate (LiBz) with composition 1HBz·1LiBz was determined and was compared to published ionic co‐crystals of other alkali salts with respect to the structure determining criteria: coordination number of the cation, ratio of HBz:Bz–, mode of coordination of the carboxylic groups (mono‐ or bidentate), and connectivity (edge‐ or corner‐sharing) between neighbouring polyhedra. The new crystal structure is closely related to form A of 2HBz·1NaBz. Both crystal structures contain dimers with shared edges which are further connected by bridging bidentate ligands to tapes.

Focal Points in Public Policy: Evidence from Voluntary Regulation

AbstractNumerous studies argue that law affects behavior “expressively”—such as when states create focal points that overcome the coordination difficulties firms face. We argue that governments help firms overcome coordination dilemmas by explicating a preferred strategy for firms weighing investment in voluntary regulation. Firms would prefer to coordinate on a common strategy as a way of reducing the costs of voluntary regulation and increasing its benefits. We test our hypothesis about the efficacy of focal point selection with the European Union's (EU) advocacy of the Eco‐Management and Audit Scheme (EMAS) over a rival environmental management system, International Standards Organization (ISO) 14001. EU nations have statistically significantly lower rates of ISO 14001 certification than comparable countries at least in part due to their advocacy of EMAS. These results emphasize the role the state plays in coordinating business behavior even when such policy is simply expressive.

Coordination dilemmas and the valuation of women in the U.S. Senate: Reconsidering the critical mass problem

We offer a model of colleague valuation to illuminate the coordination challenges women legislators face. Our model predicts that women members’ strategies depend upon whether they value women colleagues as much as men do, or instead value fellow women colleagues more highly. We test these predictions by analyzing leadership PAC campaign contributions U.S. Senators made to incumbent and challenger women during the 105th—108th Congresses. We find that women Senators value fellow incumbent women colleagues less highly than do men Senators, whereas they value women challengers more highly than do men. Attaining a critical mass of women in legislatures is thus not sufficient for creating a successful working environment, but instead creates a coordination problem that supplants the previous token minority problem.

Coordination between electoral arenas in multilevel countries

AbstractThis article shows the existence of a coordination dilemma in multilevel countries that hold elections for different parliaments, at different territorial levels and with different electoral rules. With evidence from Spain, the analysis identifies interaction or contamination effects between national and subnational electoral arenas that generate, just as in most mixed‐member electoral systems, a centrifugal force that increases the number of electoral parties in national elections. The incentives that solve this coordination dilemma faced by small regional or local parties are theoretically discussed and empirically tested.

The Coherence Dilemma in Peacebuilding and Post-Conflict Reconstruction Systems

This article analyses the coherence and coordination dilemma in peace-building and post-conflict reconstruction systems, with special reference to the United Nations' integrated approach concept. It argues that all peacebuilding agents are interdependent in that they cannot individually achieve the goal of the overall peacebuilding system. Pursuing coherence helps to manage the interdependencies that bind the peacebuilding system together, and coordination is the means through which individual peacebuilding agents can ensure that they are coherent with the overall strategic framework. The article is focused on two areas where the lack of coherence provides the most promise for improving peacebuilding coherence. The first is the need to generate a clearly articulated overall peacebuilding strategy. The second is the need to operationalise the principle of local ownership. The article argues that without meaningfully addressing these shortcomings peacebuilding and post-conflict reconstruction systems will continue to suffer from poor rates of sustainability. African Journal on Conflict Resolution Vol. 8 (3) 2008: pp. 85-110

Organizational Complexity and Coordination Dilemmas in U.S. Executive Politics

Modern scholarship on the institutional presidency has emphasized the formal mechanisms that presidents employ to obtain bureaucratic compliance. This literature emphasizes presidents' effective use of both expressed and implied constitutional powers. Unfortunately, little systematic inquiry has analyzed how extraconstitutional features of the executive branch limit the president's capacity for effective control over administrative agencies. This essay highlights three problems of organizational complexity relating to presidential control over the bureaucracy that merit greater attention from scholars of U.S. executive politics: (1) vertical coordination, (2) horizontal coordination, and (3) credible commitment. The author sketches out elements of a research agenda that examines presidential control over the bureaucracy in relation to each of these coordination problems. The basic implication of this essay is a simple one—failing to account for these organizational problems overstates the true capacity of presidential control over executive administration.

Analysing utility tunnels and highway networks coordination dilemma

Utilities are an integral component of the total transportation network comprising highways, railways, airways, and waterways, as well as pipelines, wires, and cables that transport people, goods, and public services. The perennial dilemma of mutual interference between utility lines and transportation networks could be minimised making use of utility tunnel systems. Utilidors most striking feature is that they house several types of power, water, sewage, communications, gas and other statutory services in an easily accessible space. Placing utilities in tunnels under public rights-of-way reduces the continual cutting of pavements resulting from utility burial practices and facilitates the installation, inspection, replacement, and maintenance operations. Utility tunnels and transportation networks may not be compatible at transmission levels. Highway systems are generally planned to avoid high-density areas insofar as is possible. However, where the location of utility networks coincides sufficiently with the highway routes, the situation becomes more favourable to the utility tunnel concept. This paper discusses how compatibility of utility system networks with highway system networks could be greatly improved by appropriate attention to utilidor systems in urban planning. A sustainable approach to the dilemma of where to locate utilities in urban streets and highways has become urgent as the need for services expands in our modern cities. Interference between the safety and flow of highway traffic and utility tunnel operation could be a problem unless adequate measures are undertaken.

The evolution of authoritarian processes: Fostering cooperation in large-scale groups.

Authoritarianism, comprising conventionalism, authoritarian submission, and authoritarian aggression, is an important factor underlying prejudice and social discrimination and therefore is typically perceived as socially problematic. In contrast, our work examines adaptive features of authoritarianism. Evolutionary game theoretical considerations (e.g., biased social learning) point to authoritarian psychological processes that establish and foster group life (e.g., high levels of ingroup cooperation). First, the evolution of social learning (particularly conformist and prestige biases) leads to the establishment of local and distinct cultural groups (conventionalism). Second, local cultural rules solve coordination dilemmas by transforming these rules into normative standards against which others are evaluated (authoritarian submission). Third, the common rules within a particular culture or group are reinforced by a tendency to reward norm compliance and punish norm deviations (authoritarian aggression). Implications regarding the deduction of novel research questions as well as dealing with authoritarianism as a social problem are discussed.

Voting for autocracy: hegemonic party survival and its demise in Mexico

1. Equilibrium party hegemony 2. Structural determinants of mass support 3. Budget cycles under autocracy 4. The politics of vote-buying 5. Judging economic performance in hard times 6. Ideological divisions in the opposition camp 7. How voters choose and mass coordination dilemmas 8. Electoral fraud and the game of electoral transitions 9. Conclusion.

The importance of electoral rules: Comparing the number of parties in Spain's Lower and Upper Houses

In this paper we study a coordination dilemma that appears in democracies where the Upper and Lower Houses are elected simultaneously using significantly different rules. How do party systems form when some parties are only viable in some districts of one of the chambers? Are party systems independent from one another, as Duvergerian theories expect, or dependent, as the literature on the interactive features of mixed electoral systems predict? Using the case of Spain, where all the possible incentive structures for electoral coordination are present, we test both theories. Our results point out that contamination effects matter, but they are not strong enough to make Duvergerian gravity disappear. Both effects are at play in Spanish elections.

Toward a Descriptive Model of Humanitarian Assistance Coordination

This paper argues that the operating environment of humanitarian assistance is best conceived as an interorganizational social network or regime and that the problem of power and authority in such situations must be re-founded or reconceived accordingly. This contention is developed to contribute to an important ongoing dialogue among analysts concerning how humanitarian aid may most effectively be delivered in the context of a realistic appraisal of the structural and operating conditions in which it is offered. The paper first outlines the primary elements of the organizational environment in which humanitarian efforts must proceed, next suggests a way of thinking about how one might conceive of those conditions that builds on recent work, and then sketches the elements of a strategic contingency approach to the humanitarian assistance coordination dilemma. This analytical frame leads one to rethink assumptions concerning how best to conceptualize both the environment and the behavior of humanitarian organizations engaged in providing assistance in emergency situations and to suggest that theory building for this domain of study should now turn to a network-based and strategically contingent perspective for its foundation.

Making humanitarian relief networks more effective: operational coordination, trust and sense making

Effective coordination of humanitarian assistance activities remains elusive. This paper briefly addresses some of the reasons for what is widely perceived as a coordination dilemma in humanitarian affairs and argues for a new conceptualisation of the issue. Rather than continue to request that more authority be vested in a single organisation to secure coordination through top-down control, it contends that it may be timely to consider whether relief agencies involved in an emergency should be reconceived as social networks and efforts made to achieve changes in their organizational cultures that encourage operational coordination across institutional lines. Since such labours imply the need to trust, this article explores what forms of trust might be employed to promote improved coordination among relief institutions and how those relationships could themselves be conceptualised. Finally, while acknowledging that coordination is not costless, it suggests that its effective pursuit may be advantageous even in scenarios where aid organisations balk at cooperating to secure it.

Focal Points in Public Policy: Evidence from Voluntary Regulation

Numerous studies argue that law affects behavior expressively - such as when states create focal points that overcome the coordination difficulties firms face. We argue that governments help firms overcome coordination dilemmas when they explicate a preferred strategy for firms weighing investment in voluntary regulation. Firms seeking the advantages of self-regulation would prefer to coordinate on a common strategy as a way of reducing the costs of voluntary regulation and increasing its benefits. We test our hypothesis about the efficacy of focal point selection within the context of the European Union's advocacy of the Eco-Management and Audit Scheme (EMAS) over a rival environmental management system, ISO 14001. Our data are from a broad variety of nations both inside and outside the EU, and our statistical analysis accounts for other institutional factors thought to cause the adoption of both environmental management systems. EU nations have statistically significantly lower rates of ISO 14001 certification than comparable countries and higher adoption rates of EMAS. These results emphasize the role the state plays in coordinating business behavior even when such policy is simply expressive.