Political-administrative System Research Articles

Krause, Tobias A., Schachtner, Christian & Thapa, Basanta E. P. (Hrsg.) (2023). Handbuch Digitalisierung der Verwaltung. transcript Verlag. 420 Seiten. ISBN: 978-3-8252-5929-7 / ISBN: 978-3-8385-5929-2 (eBook). https://doi.org/10.36198/9783838559292.

The handbook Digitalisierung der Verwaltung provides meaningful knowledge on important management issues relating to the digital transformation in public administration and public service provision in Germany. 19 refreshing contributions shed light on personnel management, organisation, processes, and data infrastructure. With their valuable book, the editors not only address design features of digitalisation concepts, but also pose critical questions about implementation processes. The reader can learn from a multitude of illuminating practical examples, workable solutions and pioneering insights without ignoring the specific contextual factors of the political-administrative system in Germany. The book is aimed at public sector employees and executives, students and scholars, tech companies and service providers who deal with the digital transformation in public sector organisations.

Coastal management and climate change on the island and the sea of Chiloé (Chile): An evaluation of policies, regulations, and instruments

The objective of the research described here was to examine the policies, regulations, and instruments that directly or indirectly affect the coastal zones of the island and the sea of Chiloé (CZISC) and to evaluate the adequacy of the current political-administrative system concerning climate change. For this purpose, the Decalogue for Integrated Coastal Zone Management (ICZM) has been used as a methodological basis. Likewise, all policies, regulations, and instruments that have an impact on coastal management in Chiloé have been identified and classified based on their adaptation to problems that result from climate change. The documents have been grouped into seven numerical categories (1−7) that range from tools that omit the discourse on climate change (1) to those that focus exclusively on this subject and provide detailed information on the required actions and provisions (7). The lowest level (1) of the classification is predominant in the policies, regulations, and instruments studied, especially those that deal with subnational planning. Based on the strategic diagnosis presented, it was concluded that the lack of a holistic approach and the absence of discourse on climate change observed in Chiloé prevent the transition towards an ICZM model capable of improving human welfare and protecting socio-ecological systems in the long term.

Diagnosis of the coastal management model in Chile: The island and the sea of Chiloé governance

The aim of the study described here was to gain a better understanding of the cause of problems in southern Chile by critically analyzing the governance of the coastal areas of the island and the sea of Chiloé. Chiloé is the main island of the homonymous archipelago located in southern Chilean Patagonia. A strategic diagnosis was carried out by studying the ten subdivisions of the political-administrative system that compose the Integrated Coastal Zone Management (ICZM) Decalogue. The results demonstrate that conflicts in Chiloé follow a strongly centralized state model, which tends to prioritize economic development over the socio-ecological and cultural complexity of the coast and disregarding climate change effects and the relationship between ecosystem services and human well-being. In the last five years, some advances have been made in the constitutional process and decentralization objectives, suggesting an improvement in Chiloe’s coastal management.

Councils of State in Europe in their advisory and legislative functions: France, Belgium, Spain, Italy and Luxembourg

ABSTRACT This special issue explores the Council of State as an institution at the heart of the workings of the political-administrative system of many European states. More specifically, it dwells on the consultative and legislative functions of the Council of State as an institution. This special issue shows through the analysis of the cases of five European countries (France, Belgium, Spain, Italy and Luxembourg) in what ways the consultative action of the Council of State, while revealing its dual technical and political nature, assumes a role of neutrality and expertise which is authoritative within the debates that agitate parliamentary democracies. Examining the Council of State from the angle of its advisory function, as well as the dynamics and pressures to which it is subjected, makes it possible to identify both the evolution and the constraints that affect the construction of the law undertaken by legislative assemblies and governments and more generally the development of state standards.

Evaluation, Framing and Power

The concept of framing implies that policy issues can be viewed from different perspectives. The choice of perspective influences the way societal phenomena are understood and the solutions to the perceived problems, as well as the perspectives focused on when evaluating these solutions. Framing thus involves power, and framing in relation to evaluation involves the power to influence production of public knowledge and, subsequently, policy decisions informed by this evidence. While the role of framing in policymaking seems to be a topic of increasing academic interest, thus far evaluation literature has not reflected this trend. Evaluation still tends to be perceived as an objective external voice, providing the political–administrative system with neutral evidence. This paper challenges this dominant image of evaluation and seeks to contribute to clarifying the complex relationship between framing, evaluation and power.

Coordination and crisis management. The case of the federal Government and two sub-national governments in Mexico

The article analyzes how the Mexican subnational governments responded the COVID 19 outbreak during the first stage of the crisis. The response of two subnational governments whose territory is part of the largest metropolitan area in the country that has been the focus of the pandemic is presented. We ask about the coordination instruments to face COVID-19 between the federal policy and programs with the subnational governments and argue that, during the first stage of the management of the COVID-19 crisis the institutional and organizational design of the Mexican political-administrative system has had a relevant impact on the government’s response, as well in the coordination policies. The article demonstrates that in a crisis, coordination instruments do not depend on political parties but consist of a blend of weak and suitable articulation of policies of the subnational governments with the federal strategy, as well as the need to improve the instruments of collaboration between the various levels of government in the context of a healthcare system in transformation.

Understanding the Collaborative Process and Its Effects on Perceived Outcomes during Emergency Response in China: From Perspectives of Local Government Sectors

In contemporary China, the rapidly urbanized cities are exposed to a broad range of natural and human-made emergencies, such as COVID-19. Responding to emergencies successfully requires widespread participation of local government sectors that engages in diversified collaboration behaviors across organizational boundaries for achieving sustainability. However, the multi-organizational collaborative process is highly dynamic and complex, as well as its outcomes are uncertain underlying the emergency response network. Examining characteristics of the collaborative process and exploring how collaborative behaviors local governmental sectors engaging in the impact their perceived outcomes is essential to understand how disastrous situations are addressed by collaborative efforts in emergency management. This research investigates diversified collaborative behaviors in emergency response and then examines this using a multi-dimensional model consisting of joint decision making, joint implementation, compromised autonomy, resource sharing, and trust building. We surveyed 148 local governments and their affiliated sectors in China in-depth understanding how collaborative processes contribute to perceived outcomes from perspectives of participating sectors in the context of a centralized political-administrative system. A structural equation model (SEM) is employed to encode multiple dimensions of the collaborative process, perceived outcomes, as well as their relationships. The empirical finding indicates that joint decision making and implementation positively affect the perceived outcomes significantly. The empirical results indicate that joint decision making and joint implementation affect perceived outcomes significantly. Instead, resource sharing and trust building do not affect the outcomes positively as expected. Additionally, compromised autonomy negatively affects the collaborative outcomes. We also discuss the institutional advantages for achieving successful outcomes in emergency management in China by reducing the degree of compromised autonomy. Our findings provide insight that can improve efforts to build and maintain a collaborative process to respond to emergencies.

The East, the West, and the World History

The author raises in the article an important question of human civilization development: what contribution the East has made to the centuries-long evolution of society. The author emphasizes that, despite the low attention to the countries of the East in the World History books, it was the “Eastern” way that laid down by the great despotisms: Ancient Mesopotamia, Ancient Egypt, Ancient India, Ancient China, and was the main way of human development. Indeed the “Western path” did not appear immediately in Europe itself: both Minoan and Mycenaean Greece developed along the Eastern path, and only in Homeric Greece did the features of “Western” development begin to emerge, more clearly manifested in archaic Greece. The author concludes that such a “Western” emerged as a result of historical coincidence. The author turns to the similarities between the Eastern and Western paths of development, reinforcing them with examples from the history of Ancient Mesopotamia, Ancient Egypt, and Ancient China. The author pays special attention to the ancient Chinese model of statehood as a special kind of transformation of the supreme power. Many scholars record the presence in Ancient China in the 8th–7th centuries B.C. of the socio-political and political-administrative system typologically like the one that existed in Western Europe in the 11th–13th centuries. Ryabinin asks the question: “Why did this socio-political and politico-administrative system in Ancient China cease to exist?”. By the 8th–7th centuries, the Chinese state practice during the time of confrontation with the barbarians developed a new model of the political system and mobilization economy which did not allow the Chinese society to rebuild and avoid the format of a despotic regime. According to the author, the concept of “feudalism” in terms of relations within the ruling stratum does not belong exclusively to Western Europe. “Feudalism” as a system of vassal-loyal relations, for example, can also be observed in certain areas of India. Accordingly, the uniqueness of the European way of developing political systems lies not in democracy but something else. The paper emphasizes that this peculiarity is the priority of the wealthy people associated primarily with the market. It was those people who determined the main direction of the development of ancient society both in Classical Greece and in Republican Rome.

Worlds apart or coproduction? Investigating the relationship between knowledge users and producers

Based on interviews and survey data, this article examines the role of civil servants in the process of external evaluations. Traditionally the political–administrative system and the research sector have been seen as worlds apart, their differences hindering the use of evidence in policy, creating a need for knowledge brokering. However, there are perspectives taking the opposite position, recognizing the mutual influence of policy and research in the coproduction of knowledge. This study suggests that both perspectives are relevant and together could provide a better point of departure for understanding the production and use of evidence in policy.

Tourism entrepreneurs' expectation from the provincial government in touristic city – Pokhara, Nepal

PurposeThis paper explores entrepreneurs' expectation from the new provincial government to protect sociocultural values for promoting touristic city – Pokhara, Nepal.Design/methodology/approachThe purposive sampling technique was applied to source the information from the respondents resided at Pokhara. Structured questionnaire techniques and cross-sectional descriptive method were used to collect data from 393 tourism entrepreneurs to explore their understanding and existing situations.FindingsAbout 85.5% of the respondents argue that the new government system has affected their business and 58.27% feel procedural complexities due to new political administrative system. Natural beauty, growing pollution, unmanaged urbanizations, good flow of the tourists and sustainability of the touristic city resulted as main aspects of Strength, Weakness, Opportunity and Threats. The entrepreneurs expect that newly formed provincial government should provide business security, formulate appropriate tax policy and provision for business insurance scheme for smooth operation, growth and sustainability of their tourism entrepreneurship.Research limitationsThe research was taken in Pokhara, only the entrepreneurs mostly resided at Lakeside were taken and wider research across the whole city would give a more balanced perspective.Practical implicationRecommendations are made with the aim of uplifting entrepreneurship milieu in the touristic city Pokhara in order to promote tourism business of Pokhara.Social implicationThis research can help local authority to take local residents' and entrepreneurs' experience into consideration for creating better plan and policies for the well-being of Pokhara.Originality/valueThis is the first paper to provide data from the perspective of entrepreneurs' expectation from newly formed Gandaki provincial government in Pokhara, Nepal.

INSTITUTIONAL BASIS OF EXCLUSIVITY OF REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT REGULATION

Introduction. Reforming the political-administrative system on the basis of decentralization significantly expands the range of subjects of policy making and decision-making, as the regional and local levels of the political process are strengthened. This makes it possible to involve citizens more widely in political decision-making. However, in this context there is a threat of forming separate regional and local "clusters". They will arbitrarily interpret the rules set by the central government. The institutional basis for the exclusivity of regional development regulation should be understood as a set of institutions, formal and informal rules of administrative and economic behavior of management and economic entities in the regions of the state, which impede access of all actors to economic development. The Purpose of this article is identifying the institutional factors of exclusive development of the regions of the state and substantiating the recommendations for improving the efficiency of regulatory processes on the basis of an inclusive model of regional development. Results. In the article the development peculiarities of the formation processes of the exclusion of the regional development regulation are analyzed. Problems related to the functioning of the institution of the administrative market are outlined. Recommendations for improving the efficiency of the regional governance system are substantiated and the prospects for its development in the context of the introduction of an inclusive model are identified. Conclusion. It is noted that the efficiency and reliability of the regional development regulation system depends on a number of institutional factors that should act in the direction of overcoming political and economic exclusion and the formation of inclusive governance institutions in the regions of Ukraine. This process requires the development of an overall strategy, the formation of which is greatly complicated by the transfer of some political processes to the regional and local levels. Keywords: institutional development, system with open and limited access, regional development regulation, exclusive and inclusive development, administrative market, administrative reform, decentralization, region, Ukraine.

Between Domestic Learning and External Coercion: Budgeting and Fiscal Management Reform in Greece

ABSTRACT The article examines the interplay between external pressure and domestic learning through a case-study of Greek budgetary and fiscal management reform. Pre-crisis, budgetary management inadequacies were not efficiently addressed, mainly due to lack of awareness of problems, a low uncertainty environment and a strong political propensity to maintain discretionary use of financial resources. In contrast, crisis-era bailout conditionality represented a drastic change in the environment, increasing uncertainty and encouraging domestic openness to reform. The fiscal governance framework was significantly transformed, to a point of paradigm change. While there is no doubt regarding the impact of external pressure, the analysis highlights certain aspects that point to a domestic learning process, though variable in different parts of the political-administrative system.

Analyzing climate and energy policy integration: the case of the Mexican energy transition

ABSTRACT One of the main challenges faced by climate policy makers today is to design and implement policies capable of transferring climate policy goals into sectoral actions towards transformational pathways. Hence, climate policies need to be of cross-cutting character, lead to coherence with sectoral goals and reconcile diverging sectoral interests. Against this background, Mexico has undertaken significant efforts to reform its energy sector, including goals for clean energy and energy efficiency, and the adoption of implementation mechanisms via the Law for Energy Transition of 2015. Furthermore, Mexico has introduced a complex climate governance system, including ambitious mitigation goals. In this paper, we applied concepts of climate policy integration to analyse whether integration between the policy subsystems of energy and climate change occurred in Mexico in terms of political discourse and negotiation, policy goals and instruments, and implementation; as well as the factors at work that lead to climate policy integration. We find that on the level of political discourse and negotiation, an integration process between the energy and climate subsystems occurred, influenced by the availability and market maturity of clean energy, mitigation scenarios and external events, such as the 2015 Paris Climate Change Conference. However, a combination of decisions on integrated climate-energy policy outputs, and preparing the public administration system for the implementation of integrated policies, is needed to enable appropriate institutional mandates, budgets and instruments and avoid institutional fragmentation. Omitting to take these decisions was identified as a major shortcoming in the political-administrative system, preventing higher levels of climate policy integration. Key policy insights The Mexican Energy Transition Law shows that policy windows can be used by policy makers to attain integrated energy-climate policy outputs and to advance national mitigation and energy sector goals. In order to make full use of integrated policy decisions, the administrative system has to follow suit by also introducing mandates, budgets and policy instruments of an integrative character. Climate policy integration in practice implies identifying and using the full potential of policy windows in order to ensure the raising of ambition under the Paris Agreement as well as achievement of sectoral policy objectives.

Understanding reputational concerns within government agencies

Scholars have argued that government agencies face a complex web of reputational concerns regarding how they are perceived by multiple audiences who prioritise different dimensions of their work. Drawing on social identity theory, we argue that civil servants are concerned about the reputation of the agency for which they work, but also about other actors in the political–administrative system. Focusing on hierarchy, socialisation, and independence, we hypothesised six possible relationships, which we tested via a multilevel analysis of a survey of more than 2,000 Norwegian agency employees. This reveals that bureaucratic reputation depends not only on how external audiences perceive the agency, but also on how agency employees perceive themselves, particularly in terms of their professional background and organisational affinity. This article therefore highlights the multiple identities of civil servants and the multifaceted aspects of reputational concern; and argues that future research should pay attention to these hitherto neglected intersections of reputation.

The limits of authoritarian rule: policy making and deliberation in urban village regeneration in China

AbstractThe subject of this paper is the role of democratic deliberation as a policy instrument for district and local administrations in the urban village regeneration process. This paper contributes to a better understanding of the relationship between democratic deliberation and public policy making, and the theory of deliberative systems. Deliberation in the context of urban village regeneration is part of a complex, scalar, political-administrative system, with many actors whose activities are often not aligned. Although this configuration has authoritarian traits and operates largely without the protection of a strong and well-functioning rule of law, it is not all-sovereign. In fact, one of the most fascinating aspects of urban village deliberation is the way that reveals the limits of authoritarian rule in a modern national and international context. As we show, the Party encounters the same problems of technical, social, and institutional complexity, with the ensuing limits on vertical steering, as administrations in democratic countries. Using the case of Q village, we describe how hierarchical project management sits uneasily with village deliberation throughout the process. When officials attempt to curtail the legally mandated village deliberation process, they encounter stiff resistance and even a participation strike.

The role of advisory bodies in the emergence of cross-cutting policy issues: comparing innovation policy in Norway and Germany

ABSTRACTThe article examines the role of policy advisory bodies in the emergence of national innovation policy. Cross-cutting policy issues such as innovation policy pose unique challenges to governments. Given that they do not fit neatly within the purview of existing government departments, it is often unclear who is responsible for dealing with a given issue. Issues may go unaddressed or else be subject to competing initiatives from different departments. What role do policy advisory bodies play in addressing and advancing cross-cutting policy issues? The article examines how the issue of innovation policy was taken up and addressed by policy advisory bodies in two empirical cases: Norwegian ad hoc advisory commissions examining innovation policy during the period 1972–2016, and the German standing expert commission for science and innovation formed in 2006. The article finds that policy advice on innovation was adopted to a varying extent by the political-administrative system. It argues that this can be attributed to the organisation of advisory bodies and to the efforts of these bodies to establish connections and draw bridges across an entrenched political landscape.

Challenges to Decentralization of Disaster Management in Turkey: The Role of Political-Administrative Context

ABSTRACTGlobal disaster policy frameworks promote decentralization as a prerequisite of good disaster governance. Using 44 interviews, this study contributes to the literature that focuses on disasters and decentralization by investigating three systemic mechanisms that seemingly challenge decentralization of disaster management in Turkey: introduction of oversight systems, resource-allocation failure, and central–local collaboration. The results indicate that these mechanisms are enabled by a combination of political-administrative system characteristics and disaster-induced processes. To better understand how to secure the benefits of decentralization, we should engage with a wide range of disaster management actor perspectives, and integrate research on political-administrative systems and collaborative governance.

Against all odds? Implementing a policy for ecosystem-based management of the Barents Sea

Ecosystem-based management (EBM) should lead to policy that effectively addresses major negative impacts on the ecosystem in order to solve the problems identified. So far, there is little empirical knowledge about what is conducive to the formulation and implementation of such policies. The article suggests that implementation theory is an appropriate theoretical platform for acquiring such knowledge. General implementation theory is a starting point that gradually can be specified for implementation of EBM through carefully selected case studies. The article describes the theory and demonstrates its applicability by analysing the implementation of the measures in the Barents Sea Management Plan. Despite a policy design that violated several traditional recommendations for successful implementation, most measures in the plan were actually put into practice. The explanation lies in the Norwegian political-administrative system, the mobilization of knowledge, the collaboration created by involving a group of ministries and the authoritative handling of conflicts by the cabinet. All these explanations refer to processes occurring during the formulation of the policy, thus illustrating the need for a broader focus than the implementation process itself when studying policy implementation. The political leadership of the Norwegian government was decisive, demonstrating that EBM can be effectively implemented in a top-down fashion.

Le Contrôle des finances en mutation: Réflexions sur les défis actuels de la haute surveillance de l’administration

In recent decades, several developments have contributed to a change in the mandate of the Swiss Federal Audit Office (SFAO). The criterion of profitability was added to Article 5 of the Federal Audit Office Act (FAOA) in 1995. More recently, the report of the Federal Assembly’s Finance Committees and Control Committees on the IT project INSIEME recommended strengthening the powers of the SFAO, particularly in terms of announcing serious shortcomings found and the failure to implement its recommendations. These developments, as well as others internationally, have had implications for the SFAO’s mission, its tasks and the performance of its supervision for Parliament and the Federal Council. They include the introduction of a tool for monitoring recommendations in the administrative units, an increase in the resources allocated to the supervision of key IT projects and the publication of reports that could be requested in accordance with the Freedom of Information Act. Another development is that the SFAO now makes more systematic use of the tools available, to inform the federal departments about the most significant shortcomings and has also expanded its mandate range. This article presents recent developments that both constitute opportunities and carry risks for the Confederation’s financial supervisory body. It shows how the SFAO must keep a balance between supervising and contributing to a political-administrative system that is increasingly being questioned.

Political-administrative relations: The role of political advisers

AbstractMinisterial advisers were first formally appointed as support for individual Irish ministers in 1973, and since then their numbers and tasks have considerably expanded. As ‘temporary civil servants’, they are regarded as both an accepted and criticised feature of executive government. This article focuses on the role of political staff during the period 2011-16 and centres on the period of the economic crisis and its immediate aftermath. It considers themes arising in the international literature that raise questions for the reform of the Irish ‘special adviser’. In order to unpack the specifics of the Irish case, the position and function of special advisers are explored through two theoretical perspectives - public adviser bargains and the core executive. It is argued that the special adviser continues to fit somewhat uneasily within the imperatives of the political-administrative system because they are personally appointed by ministers and their selection is determined by the level and type of support required by individual ministers, as opposed to any preordained skills set.