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A Creeping Transformation?
(2001)
The analysis of forms and effects of what is usually conceived of as globalization or internationalization has become a major topic of political speeches and academic research, especially in the social sciences. While the consequences of globalization for Western economies and societies are often at the forefront of debates, their effects on public administrations are focused on relatively sparsely yet.
This entry aims at identifying the different manifestations and effects of internationalization in the context of bureaucracies. The subsequent sections provide an introduction and delineate the main mechanisms of internationalization. The next section identifies the topics discussed in the context of globalization, internationalization and transnationalization, and distils the main characteristics of international public administrations, as well as the effects and ramifications of internationalization on domestic public administration.
Each crisis is dreadful in its own special way, and so is the COVID-19 pandemic. Beyond its lethal nature and truly global spread, one of its characteristics lies within the detachment of cause and effect. The cause, i.e. SARS-CoV-2, can clearly be attributed to health issues, though the COVID-19 pandemic challenges entire public administration (PA) systems well beyond the health sector. Both the lockdown as executed and the first careful exit-steps in their entire complexity increase scope and scale of PA’s tasks and responsibilities, challenging not only health authorities, but all parts of the administrative system, from security administration to public service delivery, with the entire world remaining in very turbulent water. Thus, the question arises how the PA should react to ensure high performance in times of crisis. Our findings underpin the relevance of trust in public administration (or “the government” in general), notably in times of crisis: the higher trust levels are, the more likely compliance of citizens and successful networking with non-state actors is. Even in the absence of many trust generating factors, trust levels are increasing in the current COVID-19 pandemic.
The methodology of experiments has been slow to garner a following in public administration (PA), a scientific discipline that exhibits a high degree of methodological conservatism over time (Perry 2012). Our re-view takes stock of the experimental research agenda so far. Examining all articles that appeared between 1990 and 2013 in the fifteen most cited journals in the field of ‘Public Administration’, we analyze the range of experimental PA research with regards to their coverage of ex-perimental methods and research designs applied, but also with a view to their contribution to the development of an experimental research agenda. Based on the finding that PA not only experiences a general dearth of experimental research, but also a limited scope with regard to the variety of experimental designs and research questions tackled, we assess the potential benefits from that methodological advancement and outline approaches for prospective research.
The Covid-19 pandemic constitutes a veritable capacity test for local administrations in Germany and Austria. Based on a survey among systematically sampled Austrian (n=130) and German (n=517) employees of local public administrations, the article taps into the perceptions of how the bureaucracies in the two federal states coped with the challenges emerging at the early stage of the crisis. As it turns out, in the administratively well-equipped and—in comparison to disastrous situations elsewhere—mildly hit countries, local administrations did fine—even growing beyond themselves. Key to a higher probability of coping well with Covid-19 appears to be an intelligent administrative networking strategy. Five tentative lessons are drawn on what—at this early stage—can only constitute an incomplete picture taken from a fluid context.
Policy Dismantling
(2013)
It is an open question what impact public governance reforms have had in the MENA (Middle East and North Africa) region, which is challenged by domestic transformative societal developments as well as by transformational pressures from abroad. To assess their differential impact, the article first revisits the legacies that characterize the public administrative systems of the MENA region. Then, using data from the newly-developed Arab Administrative Elites Survey, it taps into the images and aspirations of public governance insiders as regards crucial public sector values. According to this data, the reforms aim to increase efficiency and to bring public administrations closer to the people. Arguably, reforms in MENA public governance converge, though from a relatively low level, with the direction of global standards of public management.