Suchergebnisse

Policy dismantling is a distinctive form of policy change, which involves the cutting, reduction, diminution or complete removal of existing policies. The perceived need to dismantle existing policies normally acquires particular poignancy during periods of acute economic austerity. Dismantling is thought to be especially productive of political conflict, pitting those who benefit from the status quo against those who, for whatever reason, seek change. However, scholars of public policy have been rather slow to offer a comprehensive account of the precise conditions under which particular aspects of policy are dismantled, grounded in systematic empirical analysis. Although our overall understanding of what causes policy to change has accelerated a lot in recent decades, there remains a bias towards the study of either policy expansion or policy stability. Dismantling does not even merit a mention in most public policy textbooks. Yet without an account of both expansion and dismantling, our understanding of policy change in general, and the politics surrounding the cutting of existing policies, will remain frustratingly incomplete. This book seeks to develop a more comparative approach to understanding policy dismantling, by looking in greater detail at the dynamics of cutting in two different policy fields: one (social policy) which has been subjected to study before and the other (environmental policy) which has not. On the basis of a systematic analysis of the existing literatures in these two fields, it develops a new analytical framework for measuring and explaining policy dismantling. Through an analysis of six, fresh empirical cases of dismantling written by leading experts, it reveals a more nuanced picture of change, focusing on what actually motivates actors to dismantle, the strategies they use to secure their objectives and the politically significant effects they ultimately generate. Dismantling Public Policy is essential reading for anyone wanting to better understand a hugely important facet of contemporary policy and politics. It will inform a range of student courses in comparative public policy, politics, social and environmental policy

Growth in membership and intensifying responsibilities require much greater adaptability in organizational structures and administrative arrangements at international than at national levels. The ongoing transformation toward multilevel governance seems to empower international organizations and thus shines a new spotlight on international civil servants. We know little, however, about what motivates this growing class of bureaucratic elite. Against this background, this article explores the question as to how officials of the European Commission relate to the recent management modernization within their institution (Kinnock reform). Competing explanatory approaches (opportunity, socialization, and governance views) are used to develop hypotheses about the relationship between Commission officials and their acceptance of or opposition to administrative reform. The main finding is that the individual attitudes of Commission officials toward administrative change can best be explained by the opportunity model, which emphasizes the rational calculation of individual costs and benefits.

Cet article étudie l'attitude des fonctionnaires de la Commission européenne à l'égard de la récente modernisation de la gestion de cette institution voulue par la réforme Kinnock. L'utilisation d'approches théoriques concurrentes (théories de la maximisation de l'utilité, de la socialisation, de l'idéologie) permet d'élaborer des hypothèses empiriques sur ce qui, chez ces fonctionnaires, détermine l'approbation ou l'opposition à la réforme. Ces hypothèses sont testées sur la base de données provenant d'enquêtes récentes, suivant un modèle de régression linéaire simple. On relève que, sauf s'ils craignent des effets négatifs sur leur propre carrière, les fonctionnaires de la Commission acceptent plutôt bien la réforme. Ces réactions aux changements organisationnels récents indiquent que la Commission semble être entrée dans une ère de normalisation en matière de modernisation administrative interne.

Résumé La réforme Kinnock a modifié le visage de la Commission européenne. Dans cet article, nous examinons le lien entre les conséquences de la réforme et les résultats stratégiques. Nous prenons pour fondement empirique une enquête menée auprès de plus de 100 chefs d'unité (CU) de directions générales responsables de la formulation des politiques. Nous verrons que la récente réforme de la Commission redéfinit effectivement le rôle des CU de façon exhaustive. Les ressources mises à leur disposition dans le cadre de la préparation des politiques ont été considérablement réduites. Cela aura donc très probablement des conséquences négatives pour la capacité de l'organisation à produire des projets stratégiques de qualité. Remarques à l'intention des praticiens Nous examinons ici Les cadres intermédiaires en tant que piliers organisationnels Les risques liés à la décentralisation des fonctions de gestion Les conséquences de la réforme administrative sur les résultats stratégiques

The Kinnock reform has changed the European Commission. This article discusses the link between reform effects and policy output. A survey of more than 100 heads of unit (HoU) of policy-making Directorates-General serves as the empirical basis. It is concluded that the recent reform of the Commission does indeed comprehensively redefine the role of the HoU. Their resource base to focus on policy drafting has been hugely reduced. Negative consequences for the organization's potential to deliver policy draft of high quality are therefore very likely.Points for practitionersThis article deals with the following areas:• Middle management as organizational backbone• The perils of decentralizing management functions• The impact of administrative reform on policy output.

Résumé C'est dans le contexte du changement institutionnel et de la réforme organisationnelle que nous allons analyser la politisation de la bureaucratie de la Commission européenne. La politisation désigne généralement le fait de remplacer la neutralité bureaucratique par l'introduction de considérations politiques dans la gestion des ressources humaines et le comportement des agents de l'État. Les notions de politisation directe et de politisation professionnelle vont nous servir d'angles d'observation pour notre analyse. Les données empiriques sont issues d'une analyse documentaire et d'enquêtes en ligne et semi-structurées récemment menées auprès des agents de la Commission. Nous allons voir que les bureaucrates de la Commission, même s'ils sont très sensibles à l'aspect politique de leur fonction, sont moins politisés qu'avant, depuis les réformes Kinnock. Si le collège des commissaires est effectivement devenu plus politiquement sensible face à ses pairs supranationaux et aux gouvernements nationaux, la bureaucratie de la Commission peut être considérée comme faiblement politisée ou, selon les débats en cours, comme relativement instrumentale au sens néo-wébérien. Remarques à l'intention des praticiens Distinction entre politisation « directe » et « professionnelle » ; On observe une dépolitisation au niveau de la fonction publique, mais un rôle politique accru pour le collège des commissaires ; Preuves de la qualité et du professionnalisme des services de la Commission.

Against a background of institutional change and organizational reform, we analyze the politicization of the European Commission's bureaucracy. Politicization can generally be defined as the substitution of bureaucratic neutrality by introducing political considerations into the human resource management and behaviour of civil servants. The concepts of direct and professional politicization serve as vantage points for our analysis. The empirical data are taken from documentary analysis and recent online and semi-structured surveys of Commission officials. We show that Commission bureaucrats, although they are highly sensitive to the political side of their job, are less politicized since the Kinnock reforms than before. While the College of the Commission seems to have indeed become more politically responsive to its supranational peers and national governments, the Commission's bureaucracy can be characterized as weakly politicized or, according to current debates, as quite instrumental in a Neo-Weberian sense. Points for practitioners Distinction between 'direct' and 'professional' politicization. We see de-politicization at service level but a stronger political role for the College of the Commission. Evidence for the high quality and high professionalism of the Commission service.

Over the past 50 years, an increasing amount of political authority has been delegated to the regional government level in Europe. This paper analyses regional demands for involvement in policy-making by focusing on the preferences of top-level regional civil servants ("regio-crats"). A survey (n=347) of regio-crats in 60 regions of 5 European Union member states serves as the empirical basis for the analysis of regional demands for policy involvement in the multilevel system. The data reveal differential patterns of demands. By and large, regio-crats emerge as being conservative, incremental and modest in their wishes for greater policy involvement, except where the regional contexts are characterised by substantial emancipatory political ambitions or cultural distinctiveness. Regional demands for policy participation in the multilevel system are pragmatic, patch-worked and incremental, and more conservative than transformative.

[Abstract] Over the past 50 years, an increasing amount of political authority has been delegated to the regional government level in Europe. This paper analyses regional demands for involvement in policy-making by focusing on the preferences of top-level regional civil servants ("regio-crats"). A survey (n=347) of regio-crats in 60 regions of 5 European Union member states serves as the empirical basis for the analysis of regional demands for policy involvement in the multilevel system. The data reveal differential patterns of demands. By and large, regio-crats emerge as being conservative, incremental and modest in their wishes for greater policy involvement, except where the regional contexts are characterised by substantial emancipatory political ambitions or cultural distinctiveness. Regional demands for policy participation in the multilevel system are pragmatic, patch-worked and incremental, and more conservative than transformative