Beyond crisis management? The role of Citizen Initiatives for Global Solidarity in humanitarian aid: the case of Lesvos

Abstract

In recent years, what has been called citizen initiatives for global solidarity (CIGS) have grown considerably in numbers across Europe and beyond. Lately, CIGS have also received attention as they are responding to humanitarian crisis across the world. In Europe during 2015, citizens were heavily involved in catering for incoming refugees, putting up loosely organised voluntary-based initiatives. CIGS popped up in places such as Lesvos, which is the focus of our research. Humanitarian CIGS are quick in their response to needs on the ground, are quickly governed by rules and regulations as well as overall ideas about crisis management, and come to work either with or in opposition to other actors. We examine two examples of CIGS positioned at the margins of the humanitarian aid machinery in Lesvos. Through a lens of power and resistance, we discuss how they resisted paradigmatic ideas of crisis management and instead called for a different interpretation of how to think about and do crisis management.     

FRAGMENTED OR CONNECTIVE PROFESSIONALISM? STRATEGIES FOR PROFESSIONALIZING THE WORK OF STRATEGISTS AND OTHER (ORGANIZATIONAL) PROFESSIONALS

Many professionals, especially organizational ones (managers, controllers, strategists), face difficulties in organizing their professional fields. Work ambiguities and dependencies on outsiders make it difficult to set homogeneous standards and shelter occupational domains. Professionalism tends to be fragmented. It is questionable, however, whether professionalization is a matter of either enforced regulation or fragmented regulatory forms. More connective forms of professional control might enable groups to establish professional domains, despite ambiguities and dependencies. In order to understand professionalization dynamics in public domains and the relevance of connective professionalism, we study the development of one particular field, strategists in government. We show that the professionalization of Dutch strategists is fragmented: strategists are a varied and mobile group; they have different ideas about work; they depend on many other actors and factors. We also show that strategists opt for either more enforced forms of professionalism, or less professional control. Finally, we show how they might establish connective professionalism. By enacting embedded work spaces, strategists can reconfigure their work. This is also relevant for other (organizational) professionals.     

Perhaps this time it's different: ideas and interests in shaping international responses to financial crises

The experience of the recent two decades of financial crises shows that donor countries and international financial institutions (IFIs) can respond to a crisis in a peripheral open economy by either of two crisis management strategies: either they can impose harsh conditionality to fix the domestic economy and prevent future moral hazard problems, or they can provide last-resort credit to restore market confidence. In some cases, the crisis management strategy changes as the crisis evolves. What are the factors that determine the choice of key donor countries and IFIs? This article traces the processes by which the USA and the International Monetary Fund designed the crisis management strategy in respect to the Asian crisis, and how Germany and the European Central Bank designed the response to the eurozone crisis, in order to understand how ideas regarding the causes and solutions of a financial crisis interact with the interests of key donor countries. The article argues that in both cases ideas and interests are mutually constituted, but in each case the mechanism that linked ideas and interests was different: whereas in the Asian case US interests led to policy innovation and experimentation and to a change in the crisis management strategy, in the European case ideas played a greater role in shaping German interests. The article explains this difference on the basis of the lessons learned by IFIs from the Asian crisis, which were then implemented in the eurozone case.     

MANAGING EUROPE FROM AN IRISH PERSPECTIVE: CRITICAL JUNCTURES AND THE INCREASING FORMALIZATION OF THE CORE EXECUTIVE IN IRELAND

This article analyses the management of European Union (EU) business by the Irish core executive. More specifically, it investigates the demands placed by EU membership on the Irish system of public administration and how the system has responded to these demands. Employing an institutionalist analytical framework, the article maps the formal and informal organizational and procedural devices or structures used to manage EU affairs in Ireland, as well as dissecting the key relationships that govern this management process and the role of the domestic agents actively involved in the EU’s governance structure, the cadre or boundary managers. The article also explores in a dynamic way the development of the capacity for the management of EU affairs in Ireland over time. Using the concepts of path dependence and critical junctures, we illuminate how key system‐management decisions became locked‐in over time and we isolate the triggers for significant adaptational change, be they domestic or external. Adaptation to EU business in Ireland was path‐dependent and consisted of gradual incremental adjustment. This system of flexible adaptation generally served Ireland well as the EU’s policy regime expanded and evolved, but in response to the shock rejection of the Nice Treaty by the electorate in 2001, significant formalization of the Irish system occurred with the establishment of new processes and rules for managing relations between the core executive and the EU.     

Knowledge sharing and lesson learning: consultants' perspectives on the international sharing of political marketing strategy

Political marketing consultants who offer specialist skills and experience in political marketing – polling, strategy, voter profiling, segmentation, micro-targeting, voter-responsive product design – travel around the world sharing ideas from one campaign to the next, raising concerns that these unelected advisors wield global power; that political products will become all the same, and political leaders are prevented from offering an appropriate vision geared to the needs of their individual country. Whilst previous literature on political consultancy generally debated whether such global activities represented Americanisation or globalisation this article presents new qualitative interview data with consultants that suggest alternative perspectives. Political marketing strategy and tools are shared, but not just from the USA but between all countries, and they are adapted to suit the particular situation of each country, or indeed, each election. Politics is truly being marketised all over the world but each election remains a unique exercise.     

History,memory and nation building in the post-Soviet colonial space

This is an article on Bolshevik nationalities policy and ethnic engineering, asking who, in fact, decided which populations belonged together as ethnic groups (narodnost') and thus had the right of national self-determination, and how the level of autonomy was determined for each ethnic unit. Scholars have dealt with Russian and Soviet nationalities issues for decades already, but they have turned their attention mainly to the larger nationalities (at the level of SSR, and to a lesser degree the levels of ASSR and autonomous oblast). I argue that the lower levels of national territorial autonomy in the Soviet Union (national okrug, raion, volost', and selsovet) are worthy of greater academic attention, at least from the ethnological point of view. Having this kind of low-level territorial autonomy has often been a question of to be or not to be for the small ethnic groups concerned, and hence the subject is connected with the question of preservation of cultural and linguistic diversity in Russia.     

THE IDEA BROKERS: THE IMPACT OF THINK TANKS ON BRITISH GOVERNMENT

Although there are few think tanks in Britain they have been credited with considerable influence on government policies since the late 1970s. This article charts their recent history, distinguishing between larger, 'establishment' bodies like the Policy Studies Institute and smaller, more politically partisan bodies such as the Centre for Policy Studies; generally the latter have enjoyed greater influence. It identifies the distinctive characteristics of these bodies–their ideological orientation, their concentration on élite opinion formers, their short to medium-term horizons, their emphasis on originality and publicity. Think tanks face tactical dilemmas when pressing their views on Britain's comparatively closed system of government, in particular their choice between insider and outsider forms of persuasion; the tension between proximity to ministers and intellectual autonomy; and their advantages to politicians as deniable sources that can float new ideas, which can be counter-balanced by politicians' fluctuating appetite for radical ideas. As a case study the article examines the relations enjoyed by the Institute of Economic Affairs and the Centre for Policy Studies with Mrs Thatcher's government, and particularly the evolution of a potent network of influence embracing ministers, special advisers and backbenchers. Finally it considers the dangers of an overemphasis on novelty at the expense of feasibility, and the danger of burnout in the smaller think tanks dangers mitigated by the continuous turnover that operates in the world of think tanks.     

From a discipline without a subject to a subject without a discipline.

This article suggests an approach to the classical issues of the public administration theory, through the so-called new institutionalism. It argues that public policies could be taken by public administration theory as a new object of study, which this theory has gradually lost in the past. Nevertheless, whether the policy sciences can be useful1 or not to develop public administration as a discipline depends on the theoretical bridge offered by the new institutional approach. To propose how and why is the main objective of this article, based on the Mexican academic debate.     

REINVENTING EXCELLENCE OR HOW BESTSELLERS THWART THE SEARCH FOR LESSONS TO TRANSFORM THE PUBLIC SECTOR

What makes a best-seller in the study of public management? In the 1980s there was Tom Peters and Robert Waterman (1982), In Search of Excellence. In the 1990s there is David Osborne and Ted Gaebler (1992), Reinventing Government. Throughout this period managing the public sector remained a live issue, many books of great interest and merit were published on the topic, but none had an equivalent impact. Earlier contributions to this symposium have discussed the practical application and strengths and weakness of Reinventing Government. This article discusses two other books both of which could make an important contribution to improving public sector management: Gareth Morgan (1993), Imginization and Robert E. Lane (1991), The Market Experience. The discussion has two objectives: to show the relevance of each book and to identify the distinguishing characteristics of a best-seller.     

INTRODUCTION: EXPLOITING IT IN PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION - TOWARDS THE INFORMATION POLITY?

This introduction to the theme issue on Towards the Information Polity? Public Administration in the information age presents the case for the systematic academic investigation of the changing relationships which characterize the ‘information polity’. This perspective on the information polity focuses on the significance of new kinds of informational resources and flows in government, and their interaction with broad directions of reform in contemporary public administration, including the new public management. It is argued that, whereas the literature of business strategy has emphasized the economic logic by which ‘informatization’ encourages organizational transformation, the articles in this issue demonstrate the importance of wider cultural, organizational and political factors to understanding processes of informatization and the changing nature of the emergent ‘information polity’.     

Rehabilitating the Importance of the Non-cognitive: An Interview with Michèle Lamont

In spring of 2006, Michèle Lamont, Professor of Sociology and African and African-American Studies at Harvard University, was invited to give a lecture for the New Sociological Imagination Lecture Series, organized by the New School for Social Research. This lecture concerned her book Cream Rising: How Peer Review Finds and Defines Excellence in the Social Sciences and the Humanities, which is to be published by Harvard University Press in 2008. Drawing on 81 interviews with panelists serving on five multidisciplinary fellowship competitions in the social sciences and the humanities, the book analyzes (1) the meaning panelists give to academic excellence—including whether they believe in it or not; (2) how excellence is recognized (both through formal criteria of evaluation, such as originality and significance, but also through more evanescent signals such as the display of cultural capital and the proper use of theory); (3) how excellence is combined with other criteria pertaining to interdisciplinarity and diversity (geographic, institutional, disciplinary, racial, and gender diversity) to push proposals over the proverbial line or to promote or criticize proposals. In her talk, she analyzed the customary rules that panelists say they follow, and which allow them to believe that the evaluation process is fair, and that Cream Rises. In the interview below, we asked her to discuss how procedural fairness actually operates in panels and reflect on many other aspects of the phenomenon that she analyzes.     

Do consultancies compromise academic research and ethics? A case study of Burma/Myanmar*

This paper contributes to ongoing debates about interactions between the political science discipline and policymaking communities by analysing the role played by scholars who work as consultants for governments, non-governmental organizations, and international aid agencies in conflict-affected and post-conflict societies. It argues that although consultancies permit scholars to engage with policy communities and provide convenient access for data collection, they also present methodological constraints and can complicate and compromise research ethics due to the inherent tensions linking the two different realms with their differing norms, agendas, and goals. The findings are based on the author’s decades of field experience in Myanmar, a country which has recently received much attention from the international community, on interviews with nine PhD candidates or PhD holders who have been employed as consultants for aid agencies in Myanmar and Southeast Asia, and analysis of secondary sources on countries with similar situations.     

Management of the kidnap risk

Abstract

Paradoxically, Britain, where kidnapping is rare, has been a pioneer in kidnap insurance, prevention, and negotiation, largely due to the experience of Lloyd's of London in underwriting every kind of risk worldwide. The premium income of Lloyd's for kidnap insurance has grown from $150,000 in 1970 to $50 million in 1976. As with fire risks, with kidnap risks Lloyd's found that it saved money both for the underwriters and their clients if they sent specialist consultants to advise on reducing the risk and, in the event of a kidnap, to advise on negotiation. A firm at Lloyd's founded such a consultancy (Control Risks Ltd.) which has now expanded to meet a rising demand, not only from insured clients, but also from an increasing number of uninsured clients who engage them on a consultancy fee basis. This article examines the growing attractiveness of kidnapping as a high‐yield low‐risk crime (whether for political dividends or criminal gain); describes how kidnaps are organized; advises on the various means of protection against it; and discusses the acts of contingency planning and crisis management if a kidnap occurs.     

MANAGING FINANCIAL STRINGENCY IN THE PUBLIC SECTOR

This article contributes to the debate about the most effective ways to manage the effects of financial stringency in the public sector. It tentatively draws ideas for further research from three action research studies conducted longitudinally over several years in different contexts and sectors and at different organization levels within the public sector. Our contribution focuses on the management of the early stages of stringency. We conclude that in stringent times, particularly in the short-term, intra-organizational conflict is likely to increase; organizational climates to become more cautious and reactive; and management to become more centralized, controlling and to take what is termed the efficiency rather than the effectiveness option. To these factors is added the resistance to change inherent in professional bureaucracies. Managers in public sector organizations experiencing harsher environments need to be helped to plan strategically for implementation in the particular context in which they find themselves.     

ONE AND MANY - THE OFFICE OF SECRETARY OF STATE

This article seeks to explain the nature of the office of Secretary of State in the United Kingdom, and how these arrangements have come about. It traces the office from its mediaeval origins, and finds the explanation partly in the development of Tudor government, and partly in the politics of the eighteenth century. It then traces the modem development of this doctrine and some of the ramifications to which it has given rise. Fourteen out of the twenty-two members of the British Cabinet hold the same office. Yet simultaneously they are described by fourteen different titles. The office that they share is that of 'Secretary of State': their various titles are the 'Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs', the 'Secretary of State for the Home Department' and so on. The purpose of this article is to explain these curious arrangements, which rival in complexity the Athanasian doctrine of the Trinity, and to show how they have come about.     

AMBIGUITY IN POLICY LESSONS: THE AGENCIFICATION EXPERIENCE

The policy transfer literature identifies the importance of context in shaping policy selection. However, countries with distinctly different contexts are pursuing the agencification of the public sector. Why? The solution to this puzzle lies in the ambiguity associated with public management ideas, which allows policy adopters room to interpret management doctrines and experience. The result is that public management ideas that carry the same identifying label can mask variation in the understanding of the policy, the motivation for adoption and in implementation outcomes. The process of interpretation allows policy‐makers in different contexts to: (1) adopt superficially similar policy concepts; (2) overlook negative experiential learning that contradicts the policy doctrine; and (3) adopt policies unsuitable to the national context.     

A million little ways: racism and everyday performances of blackness in Buenos Aires

In spite of the reality of racism in Argentina, dominant Argentine society holds class as the most important factor in explaining social inequalities. I analyze everyday performances of blackness in Buenos Aires, Argentina and how these both corroborate with and contest dominant ideas about race. Even attitudes and behaviors that appear to uphold the racial hierarchy are, often upon deeper analysis, complex mechanisms of negotiation within a racist society. These performances range from very casual encounters on the street to literal interpretations including an audition for a TV commercial. I detail incidents of blacks who counter racist assumptions through their performance of identity as well as how racism influences and shapes these performances among Africans and Afro-descendants. The ethnographic evidence I gathered from my own exchanges as well as those of my research consultants challenges the notion of Argentina as a nation devoid of antiblack racism.     

PUBLIC SECTOR REFORM IN DUTCH HIGHER EDUCATION: THE ORGANIZATIONAL TRANSFORMATION OF THE UNIVERSITY

During the past few decades traditional state‐centred governing arrangements have been critiqued and replaced by alternative modes of governance. Higher education is one of the public sectors where such shifts in governance have been seen. As a consequence of the reshuffling of authority and responsibilities across the different levels in Dutch higher education, universities as organizations have become important foci of attention in the system’s coordination. The main question addressed in this article is to what extent we can speak of an organizational transformation of Dutch universities. Based on conceptual ideas from researchers such as Greenwood and Hinings (1996), Ferlie et al. (1996) , and Brunsson and Sahlin‐Andersson (2000) , we use a framework that focuses attention on the concepts of the construction of identity, hierarchy and rationality to systematically analyse the various aspects of transformations of professional organizations.     

BEWARE OF MANAGERS NOT BEARING GIFTS: HOW MANAGEMENT CAPACITY AUGMENTS THE IMPACT OF MANAGERIAL NETWORKING

Networks and managing in the network have been central concerns of public management scholars for years ( Provan and Milward 1991 ; O’Toole 1997 ; Agranoff and McGuire 2003 ; Herranz 2008 ). The literature has investigated the extent of networks ( Hall and O’Toole 2004 ), the appropriate way to measure networks and networking behaviour ( McGuire 2002 ; Meier and O’Toole 2005 ), and the role that networking plays in improving organizational performance ( O’Toole and Meier 2003 ). Although there are qualifications in the literature to the rosy scenario that managing in the network is always a good thing ( O’Toole and Meier 2004 ), and although the benefits of managerial networking show diminishing returns ( Hicklin et al. 2008 ), there has not been much investigation of the factors that enhance or detract from networking's impact on performance. This study examines the interactive relationship between management capacity and managerial networking using a panel of several hundred public organizations over an 8‐year period. The empirical results show that managerial capacity does interact with networking and enhances the positive impact of networking over an array of performance indicators. At the same time, building managerial capacity is a central management choice, and that decision has ramifications for organizations that are not always positive. The paper concludes with the managerial implications of the strategic choice to build management capacity.     

Modernism's Legacy: Dialogue,Objectivity, and Justice in Mark Bevir's Democratic Governance

This article looks at Mark Bevir's ideas on the changing nature of the modern state, as expressed in his book, ‘Democratic Governance’. In the book, the author argues that recent developments in the theory and practice of politics have their intellectual roots in wider trends in the academic study of society and politics. In particular, he argues, the rise in what he and others have called ‘the new governance’ – that is, the shift in Britain and elsewhere away from centralised policy making and implementation by state institutions toward policy networks in which the state is merely one actor among many – has emerged as a direct consequence of the rise of ahistorical, universalist social science methodologies.