TY - JOUR A1 - Debre, Maria Josepha A1 - Dijkstra, Hylke T1 - Are international organisations in decline? BT - an absolute and relative perspective on institutional change JF - Global policy N2 - Many international organisations (IOs) are currently challenged, yet are they also in decline? Despite much debate on the crisis of liberal international order, con-testation, loss of legitimacy, gridlock, pathologies and exiting member states, there is little research on IO decline. This article seeks to clarify this concept and argues that decline can be considered in absolute and relative terms. Absolute decline involves a decrease in the number of IOs and their authority, member-ship and output, whereas relative decline concerns a decrease in the centrality of IOs in international relations. Reviewing a wide range of indicators, this article argues that, whereas there is limited decline in absolute terms since 1945, there may well be important decline in relative terms. Relative decline is more difficult to measure, but to probe its significance this article presents data from speeches during the United Nations General Assembly General Debate. It shows that IOs were most often mentioned in 1996 and that there has been a decline since. These findings indicate that, whereas IOs might survive as institutions, they are decreasingly central to international relations. Y1 - 2022 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1111/1758-5899.13170 SN - 1758-5880 SN - 1758-5899 VL - 14 IS - 1 SP - 16 EP - 30 PB - Wiley-Blackwell CY - Oxford 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 - TY - CHAP A1 - Krieger, Heike A1 - Liese, Andrea ED - Krieger, Heike ED - Liese, Andrea T1 - Conclusion BT - turbulence, robustness, and value change T2 - Tracing value change in the international legal order N2 - Based on the previous findings in this book, Chapter 18 by Heike Krieger and Andrea Liese discusses the general dynamics of change or metamorphosis in the international legal order. They discern a mixed picture of an international order between metamorphosis—that is, a more fundamental transformation—of international law, norm change, turbulences, and robustness. They explain drivers of change and highlight factors such as national interests during the war on terror, changing long-term foreign policy beliefs, and the rise in populism and autocracy, before discussing the most common strategies the actors involved use. Other relevant factors include changes in the political environment, such as shocks and power shifts or the ambiguous role of fragmentation. Moreover, they identify factors that make legal norms robust, including the vital role of norm defenders and legal and institutional structures as stabilizing elements. Krieger and Liese conclude by cautioning that if the attacks on the international order continue at the current frequency and magnitude, a metamorphosis of international law will likely be unstoppable. KW - value change KW - legal change KW - norm robustness KW - norm dynamics KW - drivers for change KW - metamorphosis of international law Y1 - 2023 SN - 978-0-19-285583-1 SN - 978-0-19-266836-3 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780192855831.003.0018 SP - 319 EP - C18N113 PB - Oxford University Press CY - Oxford ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Andres, Maximilian T1 - Four essays on communication, cooperation, and text mining in experimental economics Y1 - 2023 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Giesen, Michael T1 - Framing gender-based violence in multi-level contexts BT - a networked approach to studying adoption of the Istanbul Convention JF - European journal of politics and gender N2 - International institutions are an essential driving force of contemporary policies to combat gender-based violence but remain toothless if political actors do not implement them in domestic policies. How can scholars conceptualise the transposition of international gender-based violence norms into domestic policies? I argue that discourse network analysis provides a powerful conceptual and methodological extension of critical frame analysis to understand how frames shape the meaning of gender-based violence norms in multi-level institutional contexts. Frames’ normative and cognitive network structure invites combining discourse network and frame analysis techniques that locate frames’ power in their ability to connect different institutional spheres temporally and spatially. I outline a multi-level research agenda that traces the framing processes of international norms and their domestic implementation through gender-based violence policies in the Council of Europe’s Istanbul Convention. This agenda includes avenues to study how complex transnational policy frameworks like the Istanbul Convention play out in domestic policy implementation. Y1 - 2023 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1332/251510821X16693059192022 SN - 2515-1088 SN - 2515-1096 VL - 6 IS - 1 SP - 76 EP - 91 PB - Bristol University Press CY - Bristol 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 - JOUR A1 - Dijkstra, Hylke A1 - Debre, Maria Josepha A1 - Heinkelmann-Wild, Tim T1 - Governance abhors a vacuum BT - the afterlives of major international organisations JF - The British journal of politics & international relations N2 - International organisations have become increasingly contested resulting in worries about their decline and termination. While international organisation termination is indeed a regular event in international relations, this article shows that other institutions carry the legacy of terminated international organisations. We develop the novel concept of international organisation afterlife and suggest indicators to systematically assess it. Our analysis of 26 major terminated international organisations reveals legal-institutional and asset continuity in 21 cases. To further illustrate this point, the article zooms in on the afterlife of the International Institute of Agriculture in the Food and Agriculture Organization, the International Refugee Organization in the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, and the Western European Union in the European Union. In these three cases, international organisation afterlife inspired and structured the design of their successor institutions. While specific international organisations might be terminated, international cooperation therefore often lives on in other institutions. KW - death KW - institutional theory KW - international organisations KW - termination Y1 - 2023 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1177/13691481231202642 SN - 1369-1481 SN - 1467-856X PB - Sage CY - London ER - TY - CHAP A1 - Quitzow, Rainer A1 - Bersalli, Germán A1 - Lilliestam, Johan A1 - Prontera, Andrea ED - Rayner, Tim ED - Szulecki, Kacper ED - Jordan, Andrew J. ED - Oberthür, Sebastian T1 - Green recovery BT - catalyst for an enhanced EU role in climate and energy policy? T2 - Handbook on European Union Climate Change Policy and Politics N2 - This chapter reviews how the European Union has fared in enabling a green recovery in the aftermath of the Covid-19 crisis, drawing comparisons to developments after the financial crisis. The chapter focuses on the European Commission and its evolving role in promoting decarbonisation efforts in its Member States, paying particular attention to its role in financing investments in low-carbon assets. It considers both the direct effects of green stimulus policies on decarbonisation in the EU and how these actions have shaped the capacities of the Commission as an actor in the field of climate and energy policy. The analysis reveals a significant expansion of the Commission’s role compared to the period following the financial crisis. EU-level measures have provided incentives for Member States to direct large volumes of financing towards investments in climate-friendly assets. Nevertheless, the ultimate impact will largely be shaped by implementation at the national level. KW - European Union KW - green recovery KW - climate finance KW - European Green Deal KW - just transition Y1 - 2023 SN - 978-1-78990-698-1 SN - 978-1-78990-697-4 U6 - https://doi.org/10.4337/9781789906981.00039 SP - 351 EP - 366 PB - Edward Elgar Publishing ER - TY - THES A1 - Teitscheid, Jana T1 - Information and communication technologies usage and the effects on the human mind N2 - The digitization has permeated almost all aspects of an individual’s life. In the work context as well as in the private sphere, one readily encounters and relies on Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs), such as Social Networking Sites (SNS), smartphones and so forth. By communicating with as well as obtaining information via such technologies, ICTs engage one’s mind as interaction happens. This interaction of ICTs and the human mind form the focal topic of this thesis. Within this thesis, the human mind is represented on behalf of a facilitated model comprising a perceptual, a cognitive and a motor subsystem. ICTs represent an external stimulus, which triggers the human mind's perceptual subsystem, the cognitive subsystem and eventually leads to a motoric response via the motor subsystem. The external stimulus causing this event chain is within this thesis an ICT. The digital environment and related ICTs are high attention environments offering large and easily accessible amounts of information. Not surprisingly, issues may arise, when the human mind deals with ICTs. Thus, the interplay between ICTs and the human mind entails downsides. This thesis investigates these downsides and in addition the ICT-based factors that cause these downsides. More specifically, the thesis investigates these two aspects as research questions in the context of SNSs as well as other ICTs (such as smartphones, e-learning etc.). Addressing the research questions, 8 articles are submitted within this thesis which address the topic with different methodologies, including quantitative, qualitative, mixed methods as well as systematic literature reviews. Article 1 investigates factors that lead to SNS fatigue and discontinuance intentions in a mixed-methods design. Article 2 explores if certain factors encountered on a newsfeed hamper sensemaking. Article 3 proposes a study design to explore the link between disorderly perceptions of a SNSs newsfeed and gender stereotype activations. Article 4 considers the interplay between users and algorithms via the newsfeed interface and the implications for relevance perceptions. Article 5 explores information acquisition, hampering factors and verification strategies of social media users. Article 6 systematically reviews addiction scales of various ICTs. Article 7 investigates click behavior in e-learning contexts and how this is linked to cultural and personality traits. Finally, article 8 offers a comprehensive overview of the antecedents and consequences of children’s smartphone usage. Within the specific context of SNSs, the thesis suggests that the cognitive tolls imposed on users’ minds cause adverse effects, such as impaired sensemaking, fatigue, stereotype activation as well as intentions to discontinue the service. Other ICTs lead to addiction, and i.e., smartphones evidence to cause cognitive impairments in children. Factors on the ICT side that promote these adverse effects are linked to specific features, such as the newsfeed for SNSs and entail overload or perceptions of disorder. The thesis adds theoretically to the understanding of downsides that arise from the interplay between human minds and ICTs. Especially, the context of SNSs is spotlighted and insights add to the growing body of literature on experiences and perceptions. For instance, one study’s result suggests that considering information organization is as important as merely decreasing overload perceptions from the users in countering adverse effects of SNS usage. Practically, the thesis emphasizes the importance of mindful interaction with ICTs. Future research is welcome to build on the exploratory investigations and may draw an even more holistic picture to enhance the interaction between ICTs and the human mind. N2 - Die Digitalisierung hat fast alle Aspekte unseres Lebens durchdrungen. Sowohl im beruflichen als auch im privaten Kontext sind wir auf Informations- und Kommunikationstechnologien (IKT) wie soziale Netzwerke (SNS), Smartphones usw. angewiesen. Während wir mittels solcher Technologien kommunizieren, Informationen erhalten und interagieren, beansprucht die IKT unseren Verstand. Diese Interaktion zwischen den Informationstechnologien und dem menschlichen Verstand als auch deren Auswirkungen ist dabei das zentrale Thema dieser Dissertation. Der menschliche Verstand wird dabei anhand eines vereinfachten Modells dargestellt, das ein wahrnehmendes, ein kognitives und ein motorisches Teilsystem umfasst. Informations- und Kommunikationstechnologien stellen einen externen Stimulus dar, der die Wahrnehmung des Verstandes und das kognitive Teilsystem anspricht und schließlich über das motorische Teilsystem zu einer motorischen Reaktion führt. Der externe Stimulus, der diese Ereigniskette auslöst, ist hier als Informations- und Kommunikationstechnologie dargestellt. Die digitale Umgebung und die damit verbundenen Informations- und Kommunikationstechnologien verlangen schon wegen des hohen Volumens der leicht zugänglichen Informationen ein hohes Maß an Aufmerksamkeit. Die in diesem Zusammenhang möglicherweise auftretenden Probleme sobald der menschliche Verstand mit IKT interagiert, überraschen insofern nicht. Die Wechselwirkung zwischen den IKT und dem menschlichen Verstand kann sich somit zu einem Nachteil auswirken. Die vorliegende Arbeit untersucht dieses Phänomen und darüber hinaus die IKT-gestützten Faktoren, die diese Nachteile begünstigen. Genauer gesagt stehen diese Untersuchungen im Kontext von SNS sowie anderen IKT (wie Smartphones, E-Learning usw.). Zur Beantwortung der Forschungsfragen werden in dieser Arbeit 8 Artikel vorgelegt, die das Thema mit unterschiedlichen Methoden beleuchten, darunter quantitative, qualitative und gemischte Methoden sowie systematische Literaturübersichten. Artikel 1 untersucht die Faktoren, die zur Ermüdung durch Nutzung von SNS und zu Abbruchabsichten führen, in einem Mixed-Methods-Design. Artikel 2 geht der Frage nach, ob bestimmte Faktoren, auf die man in einer Newsfeed stößt, die Sinnfindung behindern. Artikel 3 schlägt ein Studiendesign vor, um den Zusammenhang zwischen der wahrgenommenen Unordnung auf den Newsfeeds einer SNS und der Aktivierung von Geschlechterstereotypen zu untersuchen. Artikel 4 betrachtet das Zusammenspiel zwischen Nutzern und Algorithmen über die Newsfeed-Schnittstelle und die Auswirkungen auf deren Relevanzwahrnehmung. Artikel 5 untersucht die Informationsbeschaffung, hemmende Faktoren und Überprüfungsstrategien von Nutzern sozialer Medien. Artikel 6 gibt einen systematischen Überblick über Suchtskalen verschiedener Informations- und Kommunikationstechnologien. Artikel 7 untersucht das Klickverhalten in E-Learning-Kontexten und wie dieses mit kulturellen Ausprägungen und Persönlichkeitsmerkmalen zusammenhängt. Schließlich bietet der Artikel einen umfassenden Überblick über die begünstigenden Faktoren und Folgen der Smartphone-Nutzung von Kindern. Im spezifischen Kontext von SNSs legt die These nahe, dass die kognitiven Belastungen, die den Nutzern auferlegt werden, negative Auswirkungen haben, wie z.B. eine beeinträchtigte Sinnfindung, Müdigkeit, die Aktivierung von Stereotypen sowie die Absicht, den Service nicht weiter zu nutzen. Andere IKT führen zur Abhängigkeit, und z.B. Smartphones verursachen nachweislich kognitive Beeinträchtigungen bei Kindern. IKT-seitige Faktoren, die diese negativen Auswirkungen begünstigen, sind mit spezifischen Merkmalen verbunden, wie z.B. dem Newsfeed der SNS und machen sich durch Überlastung oder wahrgenommener Unordnung bemerkbar. Die Dissertation trägt theoretisch zum Verständnis der aufgezeigten Nachteile bei, die sich aus dem Zusammenspiel zwischen dem menschlichen Verstand und den IKT ergeben. Insbesondere wird der Kontext der SNS beleuchtet, und die Erkenntnisse ergänzen die sich erweiternde Literatur über Erfahrungen und Wahrnehmungen. In der Praxis unterstreicht die Arbeit die Bedeutung eines achtsamen Umgangs mit IKT. Ich begrüße zukünftige Forschung, die auf den explorativen Untersuchungen aufbaut, um ein noch ganzheitlicheres Bild zu zeichnen: Langfristig trägt diese hoffentlich zur Verbesserung der Interaktion zwischen IKT und dem menschlichen Verstand bei. KW - information and communication technologies KW - social networking sites KW - human mind KW - newsfeed Y1 - 2023 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Lundgren, Magnus A1 - Squatrito, Theresa A1 - Sommerer, Thomas A1 - Tallberg, Jonas T1 - Introducing the Intergovernmental Policy Output Dataset (IPOD) JF - The review of international organizations N2 - There is a growing recognition that international organizations (IOs) formulate and adopt policy in a wide range of areas. IOs have emerged as key venues for states seeking joint solutions to contemporary challenges such as climate change or COVID-19, and to establish frameworks to bolster trade, development, security, and more. In this capacity, IOs produce both extraordinary and routine policy output with a multitude of purposes, ranging from policies of historic significance like admitting new members to the more mundane tasks of administering IO staff. This article introduces the Intergovernmental Policy Output Dataset (IPOD), which covers close to 37,000 individual policy acts of 13 multi-issue IOs in the 1980–2015 period. The dataset fills a gap in the growing body of literature on the comparative study of IOs, providing researchers with a fine-grained perspective on the structure of IO policy output and data for comparisons across time, policy areas, and organizations. This article describes the construction and coverage of the dataset and identifies key temporal and cross-sectional patterns revealed by the data. In a concise illustration of the dataset’s utility, we apply models of punctuated equilibria in a comparative study of the relationship between institutional features and broad policy agenda dynamics. Overall, the Intergovernmental Policy Output Dataset offers a unique resource for researchers to analyze IO policy output in a granular manner and to explore questions of responsiveness, performance, and legitimacy of IOs. KW - international organizations KW - policy KW - policy agendas KW - decision-making Y1 - 2023 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1007/s11558-023-09492-6 SN - 1559-7431 SN - 1559-744X VL - 19 SP - 117 EP - 146 PB - Springer CY - Boston ER - TY - CHAP A1 - Krieger, Heike A1 - Liese, Andrea ED - Krieger, Heike ED - Liese, Andrea T1 - Introduction T2 - Tracing value change in the international legal order N2 - Can a metamorphosis of international law be identified while it is still underway? In Chapter 1, the Introduction, Krieger and Liese set the stage for the interdisciplinary assessment of the effects of the current crisis of the international legal order. They offer fundamental common values as a reference point and yardstick to systematically evaluate and analyse normative changes in international law. After explaining the benefits of interdisciplinary exchange and clarifying the basic concepts from the respective disciplinary perspectives, they develop the book’s conceptual framework for assessing and explaining value change in the international legal order. The Introduction also elaborates on the book’s research design and case selection and summarizes the aims and key contributions of each conceptual and empirical chapter. KW - value change KW - norm change KW - international legal order KW - interdisciplinarity KW - crisis KW - contestation KW - challenges for international law Y1 - 2023 SN - 978-0-19-285583-1 SN - 978-0-19-266836-3 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780192855831.003.0001 SP - 1 EP - 22 PB - Oxford University Press CY - Oxford ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Fleischer, Julia A1 - Wanckel, Camilla T1 - Job satisfaction and the digital transformation of the public sector BT - the mediating role of job autonomy JF - Review of Public Personnel Administration N2 - Worldwide, governments have introduced novel information and communication technologies (ICTs) for policy formulation and service delivery, radically changing the working environment of government employees. Following the debate on work stress and particularly on technostress, we argue that the use of ICTs triggers “digital overload” that decreases government employees’ job satisfaction via inhibiting their job autonomy. Contrary to prior research, we consider job autonomy as a consequence rather than a determinant of digital overload, because ICT-use accelerates work routines and interruptions and eventually diminishes employees’ freedom to decide how to work. Based on novel survey data from government employees in Germany, Italy, and Norway, our structural equation modeling (SEM) confirms a significant negative effect of digital overload on job autonomy. More importantly, job autonomy partially mediates the negative relationship between digital overload and job satisfaction, pointing to the importance of studying the micro-foundations of ICT-use in the public sector. KW - digital transformation KW - digital overload KW - job autonomy KW - job satisfaction KW - civil service survey Y1 - 2023 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1177/0734371X221148403 SN - 0734-371X SN - 1552-759X PB - Sage CY - London ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Ganghof, Steffen T1 - Justifying types of representative democracy BT - a response JF - Critical review of international social and political philosophy N2 - This article responds to critical reflections on my Beyond Presidentialism and Parliamentarism by Sarah Birch, Kevin J. Elliott, Claudia Landwehr and James L. Wilson. It discusses how different types of representative democracy, especially different forms of government (presidential, parliamentary or hybrid), can be justified. It clarifies, among other things, the distinction between procedural and process equality, the strengths of semi-parliamentary government, the potential instability of constitutional designs, and the difference that theories can make in actual processes of constitutional reform. KW - political equality KW - semi-parliamentarism KW - presidentialism KW - institutional design KW - executive personalism Y1 - 2023 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1080/13698230.2022.2159665 SN - 1369-8230 SN - 1743-8772 SP - 1 EP - 12 PB - Routledge CY - London ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Fleischer, Julia A1 - Pruin, Andree T1 - Organizational reputation in executive politics BT - citizen-oriented units in the German federal bureaucracy JF - International review of administrative sciences N2 - In recent years, governments have increased their efforts to strengthen the citizen-orientation in policy design. They have established temporary arenas as well as permanent units inside the machinery of government to integrate citizens into policy formulation, leading to a “laboratorization” of central government organizations. We argue that the evolution and role of these units herald new dynamics in the importance of organizational reputation for executive politics. These actors deviate from the classic palette of organizational units inside the machinery of government and thus require their own reputation vis-à-vis various audiences within and outside their parent organization. Based on a comparative case study of two of these units inside the German federal bureaucracy, we show how ambiguous expectations of their audiences challenge their organizational reputation. Both units resolve these tensions by balancing their weaker professional and procedural reputation with a stronger performative and moral reputation. We conclude that government units aiming to improve citizen orientation in policy design may benefit from engaging with citizens as their external audience to compensate for a weaker reputation in the eyes of their audiences inside the government organization. Points for practitioners: many governments have introduced novel means to strengthen citizen-centered policy design, which has led to an emergence of novel units inside central government that differ from traditional bureaucratic structures and procedures ; this study analyzes how these new units may build their organizational reputation vis-à-vis internal and external actors in government policymaking. ; we show that such units assert themselves primarily based on their performative and moral reputation. KW - citizen participation KW - government policymaking KW - organizational reputation Y1 - 0023 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1177/00208523221132228 SN - 0020-8523 SN - 1461-7226 PB - Sage CY - Los Angeles, Calif. ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Tsebelis, George A1 - Thies, Michael A1 - Cheibub, José Antonio A1 - Dixon, Rosalind A1 - Bogéa, Daniel A1 - Ganghof, Steffen T1 - Review symposium BT - beyond presidentialism and parliamentarism JF - European political science N2 - Steffen Ganghof’s Beyond Presidentialism and Parliamentarism: Democratic Design and the Separation of Powers (Oxford University Press, 2021) posits that “in a democracy, a constitutional separation of powers between the executive and the assembly may be desirable, but the constitutional concentration of executive power in a single human being is not” (Ganghof, 2021). To consider, examine and theorise about this, Ganghof urges engagement with semi-parliamentarism. As explained by Ganghof, legislative power is shared between two democratically legitimate sections of parliament in a semi-parliamentary system, but only one of those sections selects the government and can remove it in a no-confidence vote. Consequently, power is dispersed and not concentrated in the hands of any one person, which, Ganghof argues, can lead to an enhanced form of parliamentary democracy. In this book review symposium, George Tsebelis, Michael Thies, José Antonio Cheibub, Rosalind Dixon and Daniel Bogéa review Steffen Ganghof’s book and engage with the author about aspects of research design, case selection and theoretical argument. This symposium arose from an engaging and constructive discussion of the book at a seminar hosted by Texas A&M University in 2022. We thank Prof José Cheibub (Texas A&M) for organising that seminar and Dr Anna Fruhstorfer (University of Potsdam) for initiating this book review symposium. KW - semi-parliamentary government KW - presidentialism KW - parliamentary government KW - separation of powers KW - legislatures KW - executives KW - parliamentary democracy Y1 - 2023 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1057/s41304-023-00426-9 SN - 1680-4333 SN - 1682-0983 PB - Palgrave Macmillan CY - Basingstoke ER - TY - BOOK A1 - Tallberg, Jonas A1 - Bäckstrand, Karin A1 - Aart Scholte, Jan A1 - Sommerer, Thomas T1 - SNS Democracy Council 2023 BT - global governance: fit for purpose? N2 - Transboundary problems such as climate change, military conflicts, trade barriers, and refugee flows require increased collaboration across borders. This is to a large extent possible using existing international organizations. In such a case, however, they need to be considerably strengthened – while current trends take us in the opposite direction, according to the researchers in the SNS Democracy Council 2023. KW - democracy KW - globalization KW - international trade Y1 - 2023 UR - https://snsse.cdn.triggerfish.cloud/uploads/2023/04/sns-democracy-council-2023-global-governance--fit-for-purpose.pdf SN - 978-91-89754-06-5 PB - SNS Förlag CY - Stockholm ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Duit, Andreas A1 - Lim, Sijeong A1 - Sommerer, Thomas T1 - The state and the environment BT - environmental policy and performance in 37 countries 1970–2010 JF - Politics & policy N2 - The limitations and possibilities of the state in solving societal problems are perennial issues in the political and policy sciences and increasingly so in studies of environmental politics. With the aim of better understanding the role of the state in addressing environmental degradation through policy making, this article investigates the nexus between the environmental policy outputs and the environmental performance. Drawing on three theoretical perspectives on the state and market nexus in the environmental dilemma, we identify five distinct pathways. We then examine the extent to which these pathways are manifested in the real world. Our empirical investigation covers up to 37 countries for the period 1970–2010. While we see no global pattern of linkages between policy outputs and performance, our exploratory analysis finds evidence of policy effects, which suggest that the state can, under certain circumstances, improve the environment through policy making. KW - comparative environmental politics KW - ecological modernization KW - environmental degradation KW - environmental policy effects KW - environmental policy performance KW - national ecological footprint KW - policy output KW - regulation KW - state KW - treadmill of production KW - política ambiental comparada KW - modernización ecológica KW - huella ecológica KW - regulación estatal Y1 - 2023 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1111/polp.12561 SN - 1555-5623 SN - 1747-1346 VL - 51 IS - 6 SP - 1046 EP - 1068 PB - Wiley-Blackwell CY - Hoboken, NJ ER - TY - BOOK ED - Krieger, Heike ED - Liese, Andrea T1 - Tracing value change in the international legal order N2 - International law is constantly navigating the tension between preserving the status quo and adapting to new exigencies. But when and how do such adaptation processes give way to a more profound transformation, if not a crisis of international law? To address the question of how attacks on the international legal order are changing the value orientation of international law, this book brings together scholars of international law and international relations. By combining theoretical and methodological analyses with individual case studies, this book offers readers conceptualizations and tools to systematically examine value change and explore the drivers and mechanisms of these processes. These case studies scrutinize value change in the foundational norms of the post-1945 order and in norms representing the rise of the international legal order post-1990. They cover diverse issues: the prohibition of torture, the protection of women’s rights, the prohibition of the use of force, the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons, sustainability norms, and accountability for core international crimes. The challenges to each norm, the reactions by norm defenders, and the fate of each norm are also studied. Combined, the analyses show that while a few norms have remained surprisingly robust, several are changing, either in substance or in legal or social validity. The book concludes by integrating the conceptual and empirical insights from this interdisciplinary exchange to assess and explain the ambiguous nature of value change in international law beyond the extremes of mere progress or decline. KW - international legal order KW - international relations KW - value change KW - norm change KW - legal change KW - metamorphosis of international law KW - contestation KW - international law Y1 - 2023 SN - 978-0-19-285583-1 SN - 978-0-19-266836-3 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780192855831.001.0001 PB - Oxford University Press CY - Oxford ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Fleischer, Julia A1 - Buzogány, Aron T1 - Unboxing international public administrations BT - the politics of structural change in the UN system (1998–2019) JF - The American review of public administration N2 - Recent debates in international relations increasingly focus on bureaucratic apparatuses of international organizations and highlight their role, influence, and autonomy in global public policy. In this contribution we follow the recent call made by Moloney and Rosenbloom in this journal to make use of “public administrative theory and empirically based knowledge in analyzing the behavior of international and regional organizations” and offer a systematic analysis of the inner structures of these administrative bodies. Changes in these structures can reflect both the (re-)assignment of responsibilities, competencies, and expertise, but also the (re)allocation of resources, staff, and corresponding signalling of priorities. Based on organizational charts, we study structural changes within 46 international bureaucracies in the UN system. Tracing formal changes to all internal units over two decades, this contribution provides the first longitudinal assessment of structural change at the international level. We demonstrate that the inner structures of international bureaucracies in the UN system became more fragmented over time but also experienced considerable volatility with periods of structural growth and retrenchment. The analysis also suggests that IO's political features yield stronger explanatory power for explaining these structural changes than bureaucratic determinants. We conclude that the politics of structural change in international bureaucracies is a missing piece in the current debate on international public administrations that complements existing research perspectives by reiterating the importance of the political context of international bureaucracies as actors in global governance. KW - global public policy KW - international public administration KW - structural change Y1 - 2023 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1177/02750740221136488 SN - 0275-0740 SN - 1552-3357 VL - 53 IS - 1 SP - 23 EP - 35 PB - Sage CY - Thousand Oaks, Calif. ER - TY - RPRT A1 - Debre, Maria Josepha A1 - Sommerer, Thomas T1 - Weathering the storm? BT - the third wave of autocratization and international organization membership T2 - IGCC series on authoritarian regimes and international organizations N2 - Democratization scholars are currently debating if we are indeed witnessing a third wave of autocratization. While this has led to an extensive debate about the future of the liberal international order, we still know relatively little about the consequences of autocratization for international organizations (IOs). In this article, we explore to what extent autocratization has led to changes in the composition of IO membership. We propose three different ways of conceptualizing autocratization of IO membership. We argue that we should move away from a dichotomous understanding of regime type and regime change, but rather focus on composition of subregime types to understand current developments. We build on updated membership data for 73 IOs through 2020 to map membership configurations based on the V-Dem Electoral Democracy Index. Contrary to current debates on the crisis of the liberal order, we find that many IOs are not (yet) affected by broad autocratization of their membership that would endanger democratic majorities or overall democratic densities. However, we also observe the disappearance of formerly homogenous democratic clubs due to democratic backsliding in a number of European and Latin American IO member states, as well as a return of autocratic clubs in Southeast Asia and Southern Africa. These findings have important implications for the broader research agenda on international democracy promotion and human right protection as well as the study of legitimacy and the effectiveness of international organizations. Y1 - 2023 UR - https://ucigcc.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Debre-Sommerer-Working-Paper-11.21.23.pdf PB - UC Institute on Global Conflict and Cooperation CY - La Jolla, CA ER -