@phdthesis{Herold2019, author = {Herold, Jana}, title = {International Bureaucracies as Governance Actors}, school = {Universit{\"a}t Potsdam}, pages = {233}, year = {2019}, abstract = {This study assesses and explains international bureaucracies' performance and role as policy advisors and as expert authorities from the perspective of domestic stakeholders. International bureaucracies are the secretariats of international organizations that carry out their work including generating knowledge, providing policy advice and implementing policy programs and projects. Scholars increasingly regard them as governance actors that are able to influence global and domestic policy making. In order to explain this influence, research has mainly focused on international bureaucracies' formal features and/or staff characteristics. The way in which they are actually perceived by their domestic stakeholders, in particular by national bureaucrats, has not been systematically studied. Yet, this is equally important, given that they represent international bureaucracies' addressees and are actors that (potentially) make use of international bureaucracies' policy advice, which can be seen as an indicator for international bureaucracies' influence. Accordingly, I argue that domestic stakeholders' assessments can likewise contribute to explaining international bureaucracies' influence. The overarching research questions the study addresses are what are national stakeholders' perspectives on international bureaucracies and under which conditions do they consider international bureaucracies' policy advice? In answering these questions, I focus on three specific organizational features that the literature has considered important for international bureaucracies' independent influence, namely international bureaucracies' performance and their role as policy advisors and as expert authorities. These three features are studied separately in three independent articles, which are presented in Part II of this article-based dissertation. To answer the research questions, I draw on novel data from a global survey among ministry officials of 121 countries. The survey captures ministry officials' assessments of international bureaucracies' features and their behavior with respect to international bureaucracies' policy advice. The overall sample comprises the bureaucracies of nine global and nine regional international organizations in eight thematic areas in the policy fields of agriculture and finance. The overall finding of this study is that international bureaucracies' performance and their role as policy advisors and expert authorities as perceived by ministry officials are highly context-specific and relational. These features vary not only across international bureaucracies but much more intra-organizationally across the different thematic areas that an international bureaucracy addresses, i.e. across different thematic contexts. As far as to the relational nature of international bureaucracies' features, the study generally finds strong variation across the assessments by ministry officials from different countries and across thematic areas. Hence, the findings highlight that it is likewise important to study international bureaucracies via the perspective of their stakeholders and to take account of the different thematic areas and contexts in which international bureaucracies operate. The study contributes to current research on international bureaucracies in various ways. First, it directly surveys one important type of domestic stakeholders, namely national ministry officials, as to how they evaluate certain aspects of international bureaucracies instead of deriving them from their structural features, policy documents or assessments by their staff. Furthermore, the study empirically tests a range of theoretical hypotheses derived from the literature on international bureaucracies' influence, as well as related literature. Second, the study advances methods of assessing international bureaucracies through a large-N, cross-national expert survey among ministry officials. A survey of this type of stakeholder and of this scope is - to my knowledge - unprecedented. Yet, as argued above, their perspectives are equally important for assessing and explaining international bureaucracies' influence. Third, the study adapts common theories of international bureaucracies' policy influence and expert authority to the assessments by ministry officials. In so doing, it tests hypotheses that are rooted in both rationalist and constructivist accounts and combines perspectives on international bureaucracies from both International Relations and Public Administration. Empirically supporting and challenging these hypotheses further complements the theoretical understanding of the determinants of international bureaucracies' influence among national bureaucracies from both rationalist and constructivist perspectives. Overall, this study advances our understanding of international bureaucracies by systematically taking into account ministry officials' perspectives in order to determine under which conditions international bureaucracies are perceived to perform well and are able to have an effect as policy advisors and expert authorities among national bureaucracies. Thereby, the study helps to specify to what extent international bureaucracies - as global governance actors - are able to permeate domestic governance via ministry officials and, thus, contribute to the question of why some international bureaucracies play a greater role and are ultimately able to have more influence than others.}, language = {en} } @phdthesis{Nasery2019, author = {Nasery, Mustafa}, title = {The success and failure of civil service reforms in Afghanistan}, doi = {10.25932/publishup-44473}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-444738}, school = {Universit{\"a}t Potsdam}, pages = {viii, 258}, year = {2019}, abstract = {The Government will create a motivated, merit-based, performance-driven, and professional civil service that is resistant to temptations of corruption and which provides efficient, effective and transparent public services that do not force customers to pay bribes. — (GoIRA, 2006, p. 106) We were in a black hole! We had an empty glass and had nothing from our side to fill it with! Thus, we accepted anything anybody offered; that is how our glass was filled; that is how we reformed our civil service. — (Former Advisor to IARCSC, personal communication, August 2015) How and under what conditions were the post-Taleban Civil Service Reforms of Afghanistan initiated? What were the main components of the reforms? What were their objectives and to which extent were they achieved? Who were the leading domestic and foreign actors involved in the process? Finally, what specific factors influenced the success and failure Afghanistan's Civil Service Reforms since 2002? Guided by such fundamental questions, this research studies the wicked process of reforming the Afghan civil service in an environment where a variety of contextual, programmatic, and external factors affected the design and implementation of reforms that were entirely funded and technically assisted by the international community. Focusing on the core components of reforms—recruitment, remuneration, and appraisal of civil servants—the qualitative study provides a detailed picture of the pre-reform civil service and its major human resources developments in the past. Following discussions on the content and purposes of the main reform programs, it will then analyze the extent of changes in policies and practices by examining the outputs and effects of these reforms. Moreover, the study defines the specific factors that led the reforms toward a situation where most of the intended objectives remain unachieved. Doing so, it explores and explains how an overwhelming influence of international actors with conflicting interests, large-scale corruption, political interference, networks of patronage, institutionalized nepotism, culturally accepted cronyism and widespread ethnic favoritism created a very complex environment and prevented the reforms from transforming Afghanistan's patrimonial civil service into a professional civil service, which is driven by performance and merit.}, language = {en} } @phdthesis{Janetschek2016, author = {Janetschek, Hannah}, title = {Water development programs in India}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-401337}, school = {Universit{\"a}t Potsdam}, pages = {279}, year = {2016}, abstract = {In the past decades, development cooperation (DC) led by conventional bi- and multilateral donors has been joined by a large number of small, private or public-private donors. This pluralism of actors raises questions as to whether or not these new donors are able to implement projects more or less effectively than their conventional counterparts. In contrast to their predecessors, the new donors have committed themselves to be more pragmatic, innovative and flexible in their development cooperation measures. However, they are also criticized for weakening the function of local civil society and have the reputation of being an intransparent and often controversial alternative to public services. With additional financial resources and their new approach to development, the new donors have been described in the literature as playing a controversial role in transforming development cooperation. This dissertation compares the effectiveness of initiatives by new and conventional donors with regard to the provision of public goods and services to the poor in the water and sanitation sector in India. India is an emerging country but it is experiencing high poverty rates and poor water supply in predominantly rural areas. It lends itself for analyzing this research theme as it is currently being confronted by a large number of actors and approaches that aim to find solutions for these challenges . In the theoretical framework of this dissertation, four governance configurations are derived from the interaction of varying actor types with regard to hierarchical and non-hierarchical steering of their interactions. These four governance configurations differ in decision-making responsibilities, accountability and delegation of tasks or direction of information flow. The assumption on actor relationships and steering is supplemented by possible alternative explanations in the empirical investigation, such as resource availability, the inheritance of structures and institutions from previous projects in a project context, gaining acceptance through beneficiaries (local legitimacy) as a door opener, and asymmetries of power in the project context. Case study evidence from seven projects reveals that the actors' relationship is important for successful project delivery. Additionally, the results show that there is a systematic difference between conventional and new donors. Projects led by conventional donors were consistently more successful, due to an actor relationship that placed the responsibility in the hands of the recipient actors and benefited from the trust and reputation of a long-term cooperation. The trust and reputation of conventional donors always went along with a back-up from federal level and trickled down as reputation also at local level implementation. Furthermore, charismatic leaders, as well as the acquired structures and institutions of predecessor projects, also proved to be a positive influencing factor for successful project implementation. Despite the mixed results of the seven case studies, central recommendations for action can be derived for the various actors involved in development cooperation. For example, new donors could fulfill a supplementary function with conventional donors by developing innovative project approaches through pilot studies and then implementing them as a supplement to the projects of conventional donors on the ground. In return, conventional donors would have to make room the new donors by integrating their approaches into already programs in order to promote donor harmonization. It is also important to identify and occupy niches for activities and to promote harmonization among donors on state and federal sides. The empirical results demonstrate the need for a harmonization strategy of different donor types in order to prevent duplication, over-experimentation and the failure of development programs. A transformation to successful and sustainable development cooperation can only be achieved through more coordination processes and national self-responsibility.}, language = {en} } @article{FuertesJantzKlenketal.2014, author = {Fuertes, Vanesa and Jantz, Bastian and Klenk, Tanja and McQuaid, Ronald}, title = {Between cooperation and competition: The organisation of employment service delivery in the UK and Germany}, series = {International journal of social welfare}, volume = {23}, journal = {International journal of social welfare}, publisher = {Wiley-Blackwell}, address = {Hoboken}, issn = {1369-6866}, doi = {10.1111/ijsw.12100}, pages = {S71 -- S86}, year = {2014}, abstract = {The increased emphasis on labour market activation in many European countries has led to new forms of governance in recent decades. Primarily through qualitative data and document analysis, this article compares the restructuring of labour market service delivery in the UK and Germany. The comparison suggests the emergence of complex governance arrangements that seek to balance public regulation and accountability with the creation of room for market competition. As a result, we can observe in both countries a greater use of markets, but also of rules. While in both countries the relationships between different providers of labour market services can best be described as a mixture of cooperation and competition, differences exist in terms of instruments and the comprehensiveness of coordination initiatives. The findings suggest that the distinctions between governance models may be more important in theory than in practice, although the combinations of theoretical forms vary in different circumstances.}, language = {en} } @phdthesis{Dahlsten2014, author = {Dahlsten, Ulf}, title = {World market governance}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus-70168}, school = {Universit{\"a}t Potsdam}, year = {2014}, abstract = {Democratic capitalism or liberal democracy, as the successful marriage of convenience between market liberalism and democracy sometimes is called, is in trouble. The market economy system has become global and there is a growing mismatch with the territoriality of the nation-states. The functional global networks and inter-governmental order can no longer keep pace with the rapid development of the global market economy and regulatory capture is all too common. Concepts like de-globalization, self-regulation, and global government are floated in the debate. The alternatives are analysed and found to be improper, inadequate or plainly impossible. The proposed route is instead to accept that the global market economy has developed into an independent fundamental societal system that needs its own governance. The suggestion is World Market Governance based on the Rule of Law in order to shape the fitness environment for the global market economy and strengthen the nation-states so that they can regain the sovereignty to decide upon the social and cultural conditions in each country. Elements in the proposed Rule of Law are international legislation decided by an Assembly supported by a Council, and an independent Judiciary. Existing international organisations would function as executors. The need for broad sustained demand for regulations in the common interest is identified.}, language = {en} } @misc{Schnitger2011, type = {Master Thesis}, author = {Schnitger, Moritz}, title = {Pflegekonferenzen als geeignetes Instrument zur Optimierung des deutschen Pflegemarktes? : Steuerungspotential lokaler Politiknetzwerke im Rahmen von Wohlfahrtsm{\"a}rkten}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus-52567}, school = {Universit{\"a}t Potsdam}, year = {2011}, abstract = {Lokale Politiknetzwerke werden sowohl in der {\"o}ffentlichen Sozialstaatsdebatte als auch in der sozialwissenschaftlichen Forschung als vielversprechende Instrumente zur Optimierung von Wohlfahrtsm{\"a}rkten propagiert. So auch in der Diskussion um den deutschen Pflegemarkt und seine Steuerungsdefizite. Im Gegensatz zu den mit dem Steuerungsinstrument Pflegekonferenz verkn{\"u}pften Erwartungen, sind dessen genaues Steuerungspotential und m{\"o}gliche Erkl{\"a}rungsfaktoren bisher jedoch nicht systematisch untersucht worden. Den methodologischen Kern dieser Arbeit bilden eine strukturelle Politikfeldanalyse des deutschen Pflegemarktes in Kombination mit einer empirischen Einzelfallstudie zu den Steuerungsleistungen einer Pflegekonferenz. Grundlage ist ein spezifisches Analyseraster auf Basis des akteurzentrierten Institutionalismus, welches die Aufmerksamkeit in der Analyse der Erkl{\"a}rungsfaktoren auf die Kombination der Koordinationsinstrumente Markt und Netzwerk sowie die Ausgestaltung des institutionellen Rahmens durch Gesetzgebung und Selbstverwaltung lenken soll. Im Rahmen der empirischen Erhebung konnten kaum direkte und nur wenige indirekte Steuerungsleistungen nachgewiesen werden. Als Ergebnis der Analyse l{\"a}sst sich festhalten, dass lokale Politiknetzwerke im Umfeld des deutschen Pflegemarktes grunds{\"a}tzlich mit erheblichen Herausforderungen hinsichtlich ihrer Steuerungsfunktion zu k{\"a}mpfen haben. Dies l{\"a}sst sich zum einen darauf zur{\"u}ckf{\"u}hren, dass ein gemeinsames Steuerungsinteresse der Akteure nur in wenigen Bereichen vorhanden ist, da die Grundbedingung der Interdependenz selten gegeben ist und auch nur sehr eingeschr{\"a}nkt innerhalb von Pflegekonferenzen entwickelt werden kann. Zum anderen sind die steuerungsrelevanten Handlungsressourcen oftmals lokal nicht verf{\"u}gbar, wodurch erschwerend die Steuerungsm{\"o}glichkeiten eingeschr{\"a}nkt werden. Je nach Steuerungsbereich sind diese Faktoren jedoch verschieden ausgepr{\"a}gt, sodass sich unterschiedliche Steuerungspotentiale ergeben.}, language = {de} } @misc{Sperfeld2006, type = {Master Thesis}, author = {Sperfeld, Robert}, title = {Decentralisation and establishment of local government in Lesotho}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus-10867}, school = {Universit{\"a}t Potsdam}, year = {2006}, abstract = {This diploma thesis deals with the process of political and administrative decentralisation in the Kingdom of Lesotho. Although decentralization in itself does not automatically lead to development it became an integral part of reform processes in many developing countries. Governments and international donors consider efficient decentralized political and administrative structures as essential elements of "good governance" and a prerequisite for structural poverty alleviation. This paper seeks to analyse how the given decentralization strategy and its implementation is affecting different features of good governance in the case of Lesotho. The results of the analysis confirm that the decentralisation process significantly improved political participation of the local population. However, the second objective of enhancing efficiency through decentralisation was not achieved. To the contrary, in the institutional design of the newly created local authorities and in the civil service recruitment policy efficiency considerations did not matter. Additionally, the created mechanisms for political participation generate relevant costs. Thus it is impossible to judge unambiguously on the contribution of decentralisation to the achievement of good governance. Different subtargets of good governance are influenced contrarily. Consequently, the adequacy of the concept of good governance as a guiding concept for decentralisation policies can be questioned. The assessment of the success of decentralisation policies requires a normative framework that takes into account the relations between both participation and efficiency. Despite the partly reduced administrative efficiency the author's overall impression of the decentralisation process in Lesotho is positive. The establishment of democratically legitimised and participatory local governments justifies certain additional expenditure. However, mistakes in the design and the implementation of the decentralisation strategy would have been avoidable.}, subject = {Dezentralisation}, language = {en} }