TY - CHAP A1 - Bogumil, Jörg A1 - Kuhlmann, Sabine ED - Ladner, Andreas ED - Sager, Fritz T1 - The politics of administrative reforms T2 - Handbook on the politics of public administration N2 - Administrative reforms refer to conscious decisions about institution building and institutional change that are taken at the end of political processes and can be conceived as the attempt by politico-administrative actors to change the institutional order (polity) within which they make and implement decisions. In this paper we proceed from the assumption that the role of politics, the constellation of political actors and arenas vary according to the scope and objectives of administrative reforms. Depending on whether they refer to changes between organizational units/levels/sectors ('external institutional policy') or to an internal reorganization ('internal institutional policy'), different actor strategies, patterns of conflict and power constellations can be expected. As external administrative reforms are aimed at changing functional and/or territorial jurisdictions and thus always involve external actors, larger resistance, heavier political conflicts and generally more politicization are likely to occur than in the case of internal administrative reforms. Yet, for internal reforms, too, actor coalitions which support or block institutional changes, promotors, leaders, and moderators have revealed to shape processes and outcomes. Against this background, this chapter examines the influence of politics on various types of administrative reforms making a distinction between external and internal institutional policies. We analyse the role of politico-administrative actors, their strategies and influence on the formulation, trajectories and outcomes of administrative reforms. Our major focus will be on reforms in the multi-level system on the one hand and on (Post-) NPM reforms on the other as two major international trends. Drawing on reform experiences in different European countries, the chapter will reveal to what extent actors' interests and influences have triggered and shaped administrative reforms and which difference these have made for the reform outcome. KW - administrative reforms KW - institutional policy KW - actor constellations KW - micro-politics KW - managerial reforms KW - territorial reforms Y1 - 2022 SN - 978-1-83910-943-0 SN - 978-1-83910-944-7 U6 - https://doi.org/10.4337/9781839109447.00018 SP - 125 EP - 137 PB - Edward Elgar Publishing CY - Cheltenham, UK ER - TY - CHAP A1 - Kuhlmann, Sabine ED - Goldfinch, Shaun F. T1 - From Weberian bureaucracy to digital government? BT - trajectories of administrative reform in Germany T2 - Handbook of public administration reform N2 - Over the past decades, the traditional profile of the German administrative system has significantly been reshaped and remoulded through reforms and transformations. Manifold modernization efforts have been undertaken to adjust administrative structures and procedures to increasing challenges and pressures. In this chapter, the attempt is made to outline major institutional reform paths in Germany from Weberian bureaucracy to most recent reforms towards a digital transformation of public administration. We will show to what extent the German administrative system has moved away from the classical Weberian bureaucracy to a hybrid system where elements of the ‘old’ model and new reform paradigms such as the NPM and digital government are hybridized, labelled the Neo Weberian State. The question will be addressed as to what extent this shift has taken shape and which hurdles and path-dependencies can be identified to explain partial persistence and continuity over time. KW - neo weberian state KW - digitalization KW - new public management KW - territorial reforms KW - intergovernmental reforms KW - Germany Y1 - 2023 SN - 978-1-80037-674-8 SN - 978-1-80037-673-1 U6 - https://doi.org/10.4337/9781800376748.00016 SP - 207 EP - 226 PB - Edward Elgar Publishing CY - Cheltenham, UK ER - TY - THES A1 - Ems, Svenja T1 - Die Kreisgebietsreform im Freistaat Sachsen BT - Auswirkungen des territorialen Neuzuschnitts auf die Wahrnehmung des kommunalpolitischen Ehrenamts N2 - Als Folge der demografischen Entwicklungen und der finanziellen Engpässe vieler Bundesländer kommt es seit einigen Jahren in den meisten Flächenländern der Bundesrepublik Deutschland erneut zu tiefgreifenden Verwaltungsreformen auf kommunaler Ebene. Mit Hilfe von Verwaltungsstruktur-, Funktional- und Kreisgebietsreformen wird versucht, die Verwaltungseffektivität zu erhöhen sowie die kreislichen Aufgaben- und Territorialstrukturen an die veränderten Rahmenbedingungen anzupassen. Nach Auffassung vieler Reformer kann die angestrebte Effektivitätssteigerung, die insbesondere zu Kostenersparnissen und Synergieeffekten führen soll, v. a. durch eine deutliche Vergrößerung der Verwaltungsräume erreicht werden. Neben dem Ziel, die Leistungsfähigkeit der lokalen Verwaltungsstrukturen zu erhöhen, das zumeist im Mittelpunkt der Reformvorhaben steht, gilt es jedoch gleichermaßen, die Legitimität lokalen Handelns durch Demokratie und bürgerschaftliche Teilhabe zu erhalten. Der Gesetzgeber steht daher vor der Aufgabe, beide Zielvorstellungen in einem Reformprozess zu berücksichtigen und die Größe der administrativen Einheiten so zu gestalten, dass in ihnen ein ausgewogenes Verhältnis zwischen Effizienz und Bürgernähe entsteht. Ausgehend von dieser Problematik werden jene Thesen und Annahmen aufgegriffen, die im Zusammenhang mit dem Urteil des LVerfG M-V vom 26. Juli 2007 im Kontext von Effizienz und Partizipation stehen, und auf die Kreisgebietsreform im Freistaat Sachsen übertragen. Konkret werden die Auswirkungen des territorialen Neuzuschnitts der sächsischen Landkreise auf die Wahrnehmung des kommunalpolitischen Ehrenamts erstmals auch durch eine breite Empirie untersucht. T3 - KWI-Arbeitshefte - 24 KW - Kreisgebietsreform KW - kommunales Ehrenamt KW - Sachsen KW - territorial reforms KW - honorary office KW - Saxony KW - Partizipation KW - participation KW - Verwaltungsreform KW - administrative reform Y1 - 2016 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-89890 SN - 978-3-86956-366-4 SN - 1616-8127 SN - 2191-6713 PB - Universitätsverlag Potsdam CY - Potsdam ER - TY - CHAP A1 - Kuhlmann, Sabine A1 - Marienfeldt, Justine ED - Teles, Filipe T1 - Comparing local government systems and reforms in Europe BT - from new public management to digital era governance? T2 - Handbook on local and regional governance N2 - The study of subnational and local government systems and reforms has become an increasingly salient topic in comparative public administration. In many European countries, policy implementation, the execution of public tasks and the delivery of services to citizens are largely carried out by local governments, which, at the same time, have been subjected to multiple reforms and sometimes comprehensive institutional re-organizations. This chapter discusses analytical key concepts and outcomes of the comparative study of local governments and local government reforms. It outlines frameworks and analytical tools to capture the variety of institutional settings and developments at the local level of government. It provides an introduction into crucial comparative dimensions, such as functional, territorial and political profiles of local governments, and analyses current reform approaches and outcomes based on recent empirical findings. Finally, the chapter addresses salient issues to be taken up in future comparative studies about local government. KW - comparative public administration KW - local government systems KW - digitalization KW - territorial reforms KW - decentralization KW - (post) new public management Y1 - 2023 SN - 978-1-80037-119-4 SN - 978-1-80037-120-0 U6 - https://doi.org/10.4337/9781800371200.00033 SP - 313 EP - 329 PB - Edward Elgar Publishing CY - Cheltenham, UK ER -