To what extent do presidents select appointees based upon campaign experience and connections? The answer to this question has important implications for our understanding of presidential management and political leadership. This article presents a theory explaining where presidents place different types of appointees and why, focusing on differences in ideology, competence, and non‐policy patronage benefits among potential appointees. We develop a formal model and test its implications with new data on 1,307 persons appointed in the first six months of the Obama administration. The empirical results broadly support the theory, suggesting that President Obama was more likely to place appointees selected for non‐policy patronage reasons in agencies off his agenda, in agencies that shared his policy views, and where appointees are least able to affect agency performance. We conclude that patronage continues to play an important role in American politics, with important consequences for campaigns, presidential politics, and governance.
Parliamentary research & administrative studies share a considerable number of research interests; both research communities, however, have largely worked on their topics separately. These are good reasons for interlinking both strands of research more tightly. Hence, the focus here is on role perceptions of Members of the Bundestag & civil servants which are consulted as a significant predictor to explain individual behavior. Empirical results on mutual perceptions are rare; scientists have even less knowledge on how self-perceptions correspond with "mirror images." This aspect, however, is essential for assessing the stability of trust between political elites, being a necessary precondition for effective governance. This paper presents the state of the art, identifies shortcomings, & develops hypotheses on (mutual) role perceptions of parliament & ministerial bureaucracy. As a result, a particular focus is laid on the Europeanization of policy-making & the presumed strong impact on role perceptions. Adapted from the source document.
One feature associated with democratic governance is frequent leadership turnover. While the ease of replacing leaders improves accountability, it may impede the ability of democracies to make credible long‐term international commitments. Using newly collected data that identify cases in which leaders who derive their support from different domestic interests come to power, we evaluate the effects of changes in domestic political leadership on one important aspect of foreign policy—decisions to maintain military alliances. An analysis covering bilateral alliances between 1919 and 2001 reveals that changes in societal supporting coalitions in nondemocratic states are associated with decisions to abrogate alliances prior to their scheduled end dates, but changes in societal supporting coalitions in democracies have no effect on the probability of premature alliance termination. We conclude that international cooperation is sensitive to changes in core supporting coalitions, but that this effect is moderated by democratic political institutions.
How to characterize the relationship between member governments & the European Commission has long been a matter of controversy among EU scholars. Although most now agree that traditional theoretical frameworks -- intergovernmentalism & supranationalism -- are inadequate to understand the complexities of EU governance, few viable alternatives have emerged. In this article, I provide a prospective look into a promising approach. The analytical framework is built on insights adapted from the new economics of organization (NEO). Specifically, I fuse the theoretical notion of incomplete contracting with principal-agent analytics to explain both the form & content of supranational delegation. The framework promises to offer scholars the means to get away from asking whether or not member governments dominate supranational institutions, to an inquiry wherein one can distinguish the conditions under which governments control supranational institutions from those where these institutions operate with a degree of autonomy. 114 References. Adapted from the source document.
Globalisierung, finanzielle Engpässe oder der demographische Wandel sind Beispiele für aktuelle Trends, mit denen sich die Raumentwicklung befassen muss. Als mögliche Antworten, mit den damit einhergehenden Herausforderungen umzugehen, werden in der Wissenschaft zum einen die Regionalisierung, zum anderen die Zivilgesellschaft genannt. Die Arbeit befasst sich somit mit der Frage, was es mit der Rolle der Zivilgesellschaft auf der Ebene der Metropolregion auf sich hat. Um den komplexen Diskurs der Regionalisierung einzugrenzen, wird sich hier auf die elf, durch die Ministerkonferenz für Raumordnung benannten, Metropolregionen in Deutschland fokussiert. Vor dem Hintergrund, dass sich in der Literatur vielfach der Hinweis findet, dass die Zivilgesellschaft zusehends als Partner in Governance-Strukturen angekommen sei, befasst sich die Arbeit mit der zivilgesellschaftlichen Perspektive. Hierzu ist es zunächst erforderlich, ein besseres Verständnis über die Zivilgesellschaft zu gewinnen. Ausgehend von der Annahme, dass in den raumrelevanten Disziplinen Zivilgesellschaft noch immer primär im Kontext von Beteiligungsprozessen diskutiert wird, besteht ein Anspruch der Arbeit darin, auf die Heterogenität von Zivilgesellschaft hinzuweisen. Hierzu wurden sechs Schnittmengen entwickelt, um einordnen zu können, wo Zivilgesellschaft auf Raumentwicklung trifft. Um sich der Rolle der Zivilgesellschaft in deutschen Metropolregionen zu nähern, wurde nach der Literaturauswertung ein Augenmerk auf die Präsenz zivilgesellschaftlicher Akteure in metropolregionalen Außendarstellungen geworfen. Hierzu wurde das über das Internet zugängliche Informationsmaterial ausgewertet. Dabei zeichnete sich ab, dass diese Rolle – zumindest auf dieser Ebene der Auswertung – eher als marginal einzustufen ist. Um vertiefende Einblicke zu erhalten, wurden zwei Metropolregionen für eine detaillierte Betrachtung ausgewählt. Die Fallbeispiele unterscheiden sich in ihrer Entstehung, räumlichen Rahmenbedingungen und Struktur wesentlich, aber sie weisen vergleichsweise offene Angebote und Plattformen für nicht öffentliche oder wirtschaftsnahe Akteure auf. Auch bei den 55 Experteninterviews in den zwei Metropolregionen erfolgte der Zugang primär über die zivilgesellschaftlichen Akteure. Sie wurden entlang der im Vorfeld definierten Schnittmengen erfasst. Dies geschah vor dem Hintergrund der Annahme, dass sich das Selbstverständnis der Zivilgesellschaft womöglich von der Erwartungshaltung metropolregionaler Akteure und Wahrnehmung der Wissenschaft abhebt. Im Ergebnis zeigt sich, dass zivilgesellschaftliche Akteure durchaus auf metropolregionaler Ebene einen Handlungsbedarf sehen und versuchen sich einzubringen, wenn ihnen dafür ein Rahmen oder eine Plattform gegeben wird. Ihre Aktivitäten sind dabei in der Regel eher reagierend als agierend und betreffen erwartungsgemäß zumeist – nicht ausschließlich – die professionalisierten Teile der Zivilgesellschaft. Deutlich wird, dass dieses Engagement in erster Linie erfolgt, um den Anschluss an eine neue Handlungsebene nicht zu verpassen. Dabei zeigt sich, dass der Mitsprache, Einflussnahme oder eigenen Projekten klare Grenzen gesetzt sind. Eine Relevanz in Governance-Strukturen scheint zwar gegeben zu sein, dies erfolgt aber weder auf Augenhöhe, noch ist sie in den Strukturen und Köpfen tatsächlich verankert. Ein Ausweg aus dieser Situation kann nur angerissen werden, zumal dies entscheidend von der wirtschaftlichen Einflussnahme, der jeweiligen Struktur und Akteuren abhängt. Gezeigt werden kann jedoch, dass eine verstärkte Rolle zivilgesellschaftlicher Akteure wünschenswert, aber noch nicht Realität in deutschen Metropolregionen ist. Deutlich wird ebenso, dass der Zivilgesellschaft auf dieser räumlichen Ebene eine Rolle zugeschrieben wird, die sie in der erwarteten Form bei der gegebenen Struktur wohl nicht erfüllen kann – und will. ; Globalization, financial strains and the demographic change are examples of current trends which spatial development has to cope with. Science name regionalization and civil society as two possible solutions to challenges related with these trends. This paper focuses on the role of civil society at the level of metropolitan regions. To limit the complex discourse about regionalization only the eleven metropolitan regions according to the decision of the German 'Ministerkonferenz für Raumordnung' will be looked at. In view of the fact that several publications state that civil society has already achieved a full partner-status within governance-structures, this paper tries to look at the issue from a civil society perspective. Requiring first to achieve a better understanding of civil society. Based on the assumption that within spatial-related disciplines civil society is primarily discussed as a form of participation this work will point out the diversity of civil society including the development of six forms of interaction between civil society and spatial development. After evaluating the available literature to understand the role of civil society in German metropolitan regions in a better way the material published on the internet was looked at, thus analyzing the primary presentation to the general public. It became obvious – at least on this level of analysis – that the role of civil society in metropolitan regions is almost non-existent. Two metropolitan regions were chosen for a more thorough analysis. They differ significantly in their genesis, spatial framework and structure but both share relatively open platforms and offers for non-public as well as non-business-oriented stakeholders. 55 interviews were conducted with experts who are stakeholders of civil society in these two metropolitan regions keeping in mind that self-expectations of civil society might differ significantly from those expectations of science as well as other players in metropolitan regions. As a result stakeholders of civil society conceive the need for engagement on the level of metropolitan regions if they are given a basis or platform. Their activities are usually reactive instead of pro-active and – as expected – mainly focuses on the professionalized part of civil society. It became obvious that this involvement is particularly aimed to keep pace with these new levels of involvement. It also became apparent that clear limits of having a say, influence or even own projects exist. It appears that a relevance of civil society in governance-structures exists, but they neither are at eye-level nor are they really embedded in structures or in the stakeholders minds. Within this paper it is only possible to sketch a solution to this problem particularly since such a solution would be depended on economic influence, the given structures and stakeholders but it is possible to show that a more pronounced role of civil-society-actors would be desirable, yet still well beyond realization in German metropolitan regions. It also became apparent that expectations towards civil society on this spatial level exist, which might be beyond their capability - and also beyond their goals.
European integration has produced, among other phenomena, a type of governance that is very different from the traditional (vertical) forms of governance because of its unique structure: a series of interest group networks, organized on a European scale, that cover multiple institutional levels. This article examines the role played by institutions in this political sphere, centering its discussion on the style & nature of the participation & representation of these groups in designing & implementing a common policy. Adapted from the source document.
There is a continuous exacerbation of environmental problems in big cities of today's world, thereby, diminishing the quality of life in them. Of particular concern is the fact that today's megacities are evolving in the developing world without corresponding growth in the economy, infrastructure and other human development indices. As urban population continues to grow in these cities of the Global South, governing institutions are usually unable to keep pace with their social responsibilities, thus, making the issue of urban governance very critical. This is because effective and efficient urban governance is highly essential for the creation, strengthening and sustenance of governing institutions. Lagos, a mega-city of over 15.45 million people and the most populous metropolitan area on the African continent epitomizes the fundamental grave characteristics of the emerging megacities of the Global South, thereby, constituting an apt choice in understanding the emerging megacities of the next generation. Two out of every three Lagos residents live in slums and de-humanizing physical and social conditions. Many of them sleep, work, eat and cook under highway bridges, at the mercy of weather elements. This research, therefore, evaluated urban governance through housing administration in Africa's largest megacity. It examines the extent of housing problems in the city, the causal factors and the culpability of government agencies statutorily responsible for the provision, control and management of housing development in Lagos - the tenth largest city in the world. A representative geographic part of the city which manifests classic characteristics of slum life, listed by Mike Davis as the largest slum in Africa and the 6th largest in the world – Ajegunle - was adopted for case study. The research design combined rigorous literature search (desk research) with quantitative and, especially, qualitative approaches to data collection. The qualitative approach was more intensely adopted because government officials often respond to enquiries with 'official answers and data' which may not be reliable and the study had to rely on keen observation of physical traces, social interaction and personal investigation. The cross-sectional research method was adopted. Information was solicited from house-owners, building industry professionals, sociologists and officials of relevant government agencies, through research tools like questionnaires, interviews, focused group discussions and personal observations. The analysis and discussion of these field data, in conjunction with the information from the desk research gave a better understanding of the status-quo, which informed the recommendations proposed in the dissertation for mitigating the problems. The research discovered that many of the statutory housing agencies have the capacity to effectively discharge their responsibilities. However, it was also shown that corruption and abdication of responsibilities by the staff of these agencies constitute primary causes of the chasm between the anticipated lofty outcome from the laudable building regulations/bye-laws and the appalling reality. It also discovered that lack of political will and apathy on the part of successive Governments of Lagos State to the improvement of housing conditions of the poor masses are major causes of the housing debacle in Lagos. Several germane and realistic recommendations for redressing the situation were subsequently proffered. These include amongst others, the conduction of an accurate census for Lagos, in conjunction with credible international agencies, as a requisite basis for effective planning of any sort. The process of obtaining legal titles for land should also be made less cumbersome, while the housing administration process should be computerized; in order to reduce inter-personal contacts between applicants and government officials to the barest minimum, as a means of curbing the wide spread corruption in the system.
Es wird gezeigt, dass sich der Begriff Governance auf die Steuerung und Koordination von verbindlichen Entscheidungen und Regelsetzungen bezieht und damit politische Funktionen und/oder politische Akteure einschließt. Die Untersuchung von Governance der Transformation ist im Kontext der Transformationsforschung angesiedelt und bezieht sich als Transition im engeren Sinn auf den Prozess des Regimewechsels von autoritären zu demokratischen Regimetypen. Insbesondere werden damit die Phasen der Liberalisierung des autokratischen Systems, der Institutionalisierung und der Konsolidierung der Demokratie verstanden. (GB)
