Suchergebnisse

The Belgian politico-administrative relationship is known for its large ministerial cabinets who operate as interfaces between ministers & civil servants. According to Dierickx & Majersdorf (1994) ministerial cabinets are the central nodes in the Belgian policy-making networks, reducing the policy role of civil servants & shielding them from all relevant policy-making interactions. They found that pressure groups hardly ever turned to civil servants & stated that civil servants lived in an administrative beguinage. This article tests whether the conclusions of Dierickx & Majersdorf (1994) are still valid. Next, it seeks to explore the policy-making interactions of both actors in a more detailed way, since Dierickx & Majersdorf (1994) only measured the frequency of their contacts, not the direction, goal and/or content of the interactions. Based on a unique written survey-research among top civil servants & ministerial advisers, we discuss the role differences with regard to their interactions in four 'arenas.'. Adapted from the source document.