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 - 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 - 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 - BOOK A1 - Bogumil, Jörg A1 - Kuhlmann, Sabine A1 - Heuberger, Moritz A1 - Marienfeldt, Justine T1 - Bürgernahe Verwaltung digital? I-Kfz und digitaler Kombiantrag BT - Elternleistung im Praxistest T3 - FES Diskurs Y1 - 2022 UR - https://library.fes.de/pdf-files/a-p-b/19351.pdf SN - 978-3-98628-187-8 PB - Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung CY - Bonn ER - TY - BOOK A1 - Kuhlmann, Sabine A1 - Dumas, Benoît Paul A1 - Heuberger, Moritz T1 - The capacity of local governments in Europe BT - autonomy,responsibilities and reforms N2 - This book compares local self-government in Europe. It examines local institutional structures, autonomy, and capacities in six selected countries - France, Italy, Sweden, Hungary, Poland, and the United Kingdom - each of which represents a typical model of European local government. Within Europe, an overall trend towards more local government capacities and autonomy can be identified, but there are also some counter tendencies to this trend and major differences regarding local politico-administrative settings, functional responsibilities, and resources. The book demonstrates that a certain degree of local financial autonomy and fiscal discretion is necessary for effective service provision. Furthermore, a robust local organization, viable territorial structures, a professional public service, strong local leadership, and well-functioning tools of democratic participation are key aspects for local governments to effectively fulfill their tasks and ensure political accountability. The book will appeal to students and scholars of Public Administration and Public Management, as well as practitioners and policy-makers at different levels of government, in public enterprises, and in NGOs. KW - local government KW - public sector reform KW - Europe KW - local autonomy KW - self-governance KW - new public management Y1 - 2022 SN - 978-3-031-07961-0 SN - 978-3-031-07962-7 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-07962-7 SP - 7 EP - 55 PB - Palgrave Macmillan CY - Cham ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Kuhlmann, Sabine A1 - Bogumil, Jörg T1 - Administrative Reforms in the Multilevel System BT - Reshuffling Tasks and Territories JF - Public Administration in Germany N2 - The chapter analyses recent reforms in the multilevel system of the Länder, specifically territorial, functional and structural reforms, which represent three of the most crucial and closely interconnected reform trajectories at the subnational level. It sheds light on the variety of reform approaches pursued in the different Länder and also highlights some factors that account for these differences. The transfer of state functions to local governments is addressed as well as the restructuring of Länder administrations (e.g. abolishment of the meso level of the Länder administration and of single-purpose state agencies) and the rescaling of territorial boundaries at county and municipal levels, including a brief review of the recently failed (territorial) reforms in Eastern Germany. Y1 - 2021 SN - 978-3-030-53696-1 SN - 978-3-030-53697-8 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-53697-8_16 SP - 271 EP - 289 PB - Palgrave Macmillan CY - Cham ER - TY - CHAP A1 - Kuhlmann, Sabine ED - Callanan, Mark ED - Loughlin, John T1 - Managerial reforms from a comparative perspective BT - european subnational governments in the post-new public management era T2 - A research agenda for regional and local government N2 - This chapter analyses managerial reforms at the subnational level of government from a comparative perspective and outlines possible routes for future comparative research. It examines reforms of the external relationships between local governments and private service providers, which were aimed at transforming the organizational macro-setting of local service provision, the task portfolio and functional profile of local governments. The chapter then moves to scrutinizing internal managerial reforms concerned with the modernization of organization and processes and the improvement of management capacities inside local administrations meant to strengthen performance, output- and consumer-orientation in local service delivery. The country sample includes the United Kingdom (England), Sweden, and Germany that represent three distinct types of administrative culture and local government in Europe. Y1 - 2021 SN - 978-1-83910-663-7 SN - 978-1-83910-664-4 U6 - https://doi.org/10.4337/9781839106644.00013 SP - 111 EP - 132 PB - Edward Elgar Publishing CY - Cheltenham, UK ER - TY - BOOK A1 - Kuhlmann, Sabine A1 - Heuberger, Moritz A1 - Dumas, Benoît Paul ED - Fleischer, Julia ED - Kuhlmann, Sabine T1 - Kommunale Handlungsfähigkeit im europäischen Vergleich. Autonomie, Aufgaben und Reformen T3 - Modernisierung des öffentlichen Sektors N2 - Angesichts neuer globaler Herausforderungen gehört eine starke kommunale Ebene zu den Grundvoraussetzungen gesellschaftlicher Problemlösungsfähigkeit. Die Stärkung kommunaler Selbstverwaltung ist daher ein wichtiges institutionen- und verwaltungspolitisches Zukunftsthema, zu welchem die vorliegende Studie einen Beitrag leisten möchte. Y1 - 2021 SN - 978-3-7489-2330-5 SN - 978-3-8487-7946-8 U6 - https://doi.org/10.5771/9783748923305 SN - 0945-1072 VL - 48 IS - 1 SP - 9 EP - 124 PB - Nomos CY - Baden-Baden ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Kuhlmann, Sabine A1 - Veit, Sylvia T1 - The Federal Ministerial Bureaucracy, the Legislative Process and Better Regulation JF - Public Administration in Germany N2 - Over the last decades, Better Regulation has become a major reform topic at the federal and—in some cases—also at the Länder level. Although the debate about improving regulatory quality and reducing unnecessary burdens created by bureaucracy and red tape date back to the 1960s and 1970s, the introduction by law in 2006 of a new independent institutionalised body for regulatory control at the federal level of government has brought a new quality to the discourse and practice of Better Regulation in Germany. This chapter introduces the basic features of the legislative process at the federal level in Germany, addresses the issue of Better Regulation and outlines the role of the National Regulatory Control Council (Nationaler Normenkontrollrat—NKR) as a ‘watchdog’ for compliance costs, red tape and regulatory impacts. Y1 - 2021 SN - 978-3-030-53696-1 SN - 978-3-030-53697-8 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-53697-8_20 SP - 357 EP - 373 PB - Palgrave Macmillan CY - Cham ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Kuhlmann, Sabine A1 - Hellstrom, Mikael A1 - Ramberg, Ulf A1 - Reiter, Renate T1 - Tracing divergence in crisis governance BT - responses to the COVID-19 pandemic in France, Germany and Sweden compared JF - International review of administrative sciences : an international journal of comparative public administration N2 - This cross-country comparison of administrative responses to the COVID-19 pandemic in France, Germany and Sweden is aimed at exploring how institutional contexts and administrative cultures have shaped strategies of problem-solving and governance modes during the pandemic, and to what extent the crisis has been used for opportunity management. The article shows that in France, the central government reacted determinedly and hierarchically, with tough containment measures. By contrast, the response in Germany was characterized by an initial bottom-up approach that gave way to remarkable federal unity in the further course of the crisis, followed again by a return to regional variance and local discretion. In Sweden, there was a continuation of 'normal governance' and a strategy of relying on voluntary compliance largely based on recommendations and less - as in Germany and France - on a strategy of imposing legally binding regulations. The comparative analysis also reveals that relevant stakeholders in all three countries have used the crisis as an opportunity for changes in the institutional settings and administrative procedures. Points for practitioners COVID-19 has shown that national political and administrative standard operating procedures in preparation for crises are, at best, partially helpful. Notwithstanding the fact that dealing with the unpredictable is a necessary part of crisis management, a need to further improve the institutional preparedness for pandemic crises in all three countries examined here has also become clear. This should be done particularly by way of shifting resources to the health and care sectors, strengthening the decentralized management of health emergencies, stocking and/or self-producing protection material, assessing the effects of crisis measures, and opening the scientific discourse to broader arenas of experts. KW - administrative culture KW - containment KW - crisis KW - governance KW - multi-level system KW - policy advice KW - public health KW - window of opportunity Y1 - 2021 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1177/0020852320979359 SN - 0020-8523 SN - 1461-7226 VL - 87 IS - 3 SP - 556 EP - 575 PB - Sage Publ. CY - London ER -