Refine
Year of publication
Document Type
- Article (42) (remove)
Has Fulltext
- no (42) (remove)
Is part of the Bibliography
- no (42)
This article asks how and why United Nations organizations reform their administrative structure and processes over time. It explores whether we can observe a convergence towards a coherent administrative model in the United Nations system. Like in most nation states, reform discussions according to models like New Public Management or post-New Public Management have permeated international public administrations. Against this background, the question of administrative convergence discussed for national administra-tive systems also arises for United Nations international public administrations. On the one hand, similar challenges, common reform ‘fashions’ and an increasing exchange within the United Nations system make convergence likely. Yet, on the other hand, distinct tasks, administrative styles and path dependencies might support divergent reform trajectories. This question of convergence is addressed by measuring the frequency, direction and rationales for reforms, using a sample of four international public administrations from the United Nations’ specialized agencies (the Food and Agriculture Organization, International Labour Organization, International Monetary Fund and World Bank). We find that conver-gence depends on the area of reform (human resources or organizational matters are more harmonized than others) and time (some international public administrations are faster or earlier than others).
Public officials have been shown to discriminate against citizens based on race and gender. We suggest that bureaucrats also discriminate based on political beliefs that citizens reveal to them. We support this argument with evidence from the application of freedom of assembly rights in the context of gay marriage. We confront German city administrations with requests about the organization of a political rally and randomize the underlying political belief and cause: the promotion of or opposition to same-sex marriage. We find that none of these causes receives discriminatory treatment per se. Instead, further explorative, yet theory-guided, analysis indicates that the cultural and political environment within which bureaucracies are embedded determines which of the two requests receives worse and less helpful answers. I.e. the treatment effect seems to be moderated by the local prevalence of Catholicism and the strength of sexually conservative political parties that oppose same-sex marriage.
Stephan Grohs, Professor für Politikwissenschaften an der Deutschen Universität für Ver-waltungswissenschaften Speyer, klärt zunächst den Begriff „Eigenständige Jugendpolitik“
und die Rolle der kommunalen Ebene für deren Umsetzung. Auf dem Hintergrund der in zwei Projekten gesammelten Erfahrungen, sieht er eine deutliche Diskrepanz zwischen „wohlmeinenden“ Programmen auf Bundes- und Landesebene und den Realisierungs-möglichkeiten der dort formulierten Ziele im Gestrüpp der „rechtlichen, finanziellen und politischen Rahmenbedingungen“ auf der örtlichen Ebene. Er verweist aber auch auf An-satzpunkte dafür, wie es gelingen könnte, die Interessen von Jugendlichen in der Kommu-nalpolitik stärker zur Geltung zu bringen. Dazu müssten sich allerdings sowohl die Akteu-rinnen und Akteure in den Kommunalverwaltungen bzw. der politischen Gremien bewegen, als auch die Vertreterinnen und Vertreter der Kinder- und Jugendhilfe.