ORGANIZING FOR EU IMPLEMENTATION: THE EUROPEANIZATION OF GOVERNMENT MINISTRIES IN ESTONIA,POLAND, AND SLOVENIA

Do different levels of exposure to EU law implementation have consequences for the organization of national ministries? Previous accounts suggest that European integration has little influence on the ‘hardware’ of member state administrations. Data covering the organization of 21 ministries in Estonia, Poland, and Slovenia show the Europeanization effect to be more pronounced than might be expected. Ministries responsible for transposing many EU directives tend to institutionalize centralized oversight in legislative planning, review, and monitoring; ministries with few implementation responsibilities rarely make such adaptations. This effect holds when one controls for the impact of partisan preferences and organizational conventions. The results offer a counterpoint to the studies of old member states that find little EU effect on the organization of domestic ministries.     

A CASE OF PARTIAL CONVERGENCE: THE EUROPEANIZATION OF CENTRAL GOVERNMENT IN CENTRAL AND EASTERN EUROPE

This article compares the Europeanization of central government in four Central and Eastern European countries (CEECs): Estonia, Latvia, Poland, and Slovakia. Using a large N survey of ministerial civil servants, it finds that the Europeanization of central government is characterized by partial convergence. The scope of Europeanization is large and similar among CEECs, reaching widely and deeply into government ministries. Moreover, patterns of Europeanization are similar among CEECs: the same ministries form the ‘inner core’ and ‘outer circle’ of Europeanized ministries; only a small proportion of civil servants work full‐time on EU issues and routinely engage in activities that ‘project’ national policies at EU level. Compared to old member states, patterns of Europeanization show signs of convergence, while the scope of Europeanization is larger in CEECs.     

THE NATIONAL COORDINATION OF EU POLICY IN HUNGARY: PATTERNS OF CONTINUITY AND CHANGE

Although European Union (EU) membership generates similar functional pressures for national administrations, member states developed institutional arrangements that show marked cross‐country variation in the coordination of EU policy. This article examines and assesses the institutions and mechanisms established in Hungary for formulating policy positions on the domestic level. In line with the general features of central government, the system is highly centralized and hierarchical, and has been characterized by a comprehensive coordination ambition from its inception. The case confirms the primary importance of national institutional factors for shaping coordination systems, but also the relevance of more actor‐centered explanations for accounting for changes in the top decision‐making tier. At the same time, the Hungarian experience also draws attention to power relations within governing parties and prime ministerial involvement as important variables so far relatively neglected in the literature.     

GOVERNANCE FROM THE BOTTOM UP: COMPLEXITY AND DIVERGENCE IN COMPARATIVE PERSPECTIVE

This symposium article examines how the threefold governance framework of the symposium actually works across multiple policy sectors and multiple politically systems. It undertakes a comparative survey of governance‐related developments across three policy sectors: environment, education/higher education and forests. To control for differentiation in political structures, the article studies the policy sectors with respect to three political systems Canada, England and Germany, taking into account the role of the European Union, the federal systems and international actors. This broad macro comparative focus enables the authors to make one of the first empirical efforts to assess the presence and sweep of governance arrangements across both policy sectors and states; and to assess the degree of convergence around particular governance practices.     

EUROPEANIZATION AND BUREAUCRATIC AUTONOMY IN THE NEW MEMBER STATES: A CASE STUDY OF THE AGRICULTURAL PAYING AGENCY IN SLOVAKIA

The paper explores the impact of Europeanization on bureaucratic autonomy in the new EU member states using as a case study the Agricultural Paying Agency in Slovakia. The paper shows that Europeanization had limited sustained impact on the personal autonomy of senior officials; however, it requires and sustains the personal autonomy of an extensive cadre of mid‐level and junior civil servants. At the same time, it necessitates and continues to sustain significant change in the way agricultural subsidies are distributed, with a high level of autonomy in implementation and a lower, but still significant, measure of autonomy in policy‐making. These conclusions can also generally be supported by evidence from Lithuania and Poland. In addition, the coercive elements of Europeanization interacted with the temporarily high bureaucratic autonomy in Slovakia to ‘open’ non‐coercive channels of Europeanization of agricultural subsidies and beyond.     

NEGLECTED FACES OF EUROPEANIZATION: THE DIFFERENTIAL IMPACT OF THE EU ON THE DISMANTLING AND EXPANSION OF DOMESTIC POLICIES

The objective of this article is to clarify the extent and the conditions under which the European Union (EU) induces changes in the policy arrangements of its member states. For an accurate measurement of our dependent variable, we distinguish between EU-induced policy expansion and EU-induced policy dismantling. We argue that the extent to which European requirements lead to an expansion or dismantling of national policy arrangements is crucially affected by the respective governance logic underlying the regulatory activities at the European level, that is: (1) compliance with EU rules; (2) competition between national administrative systems to achieve EU requirements; and (3) communication between regulatory agents across national levels arranged in an EU legal or institutional framework. To illustrate our theoretical argument, we develop hypotheses on the likelihood and direction of national policy change under these three modes of governance, in addition, providing empirical examples from different policy areas.     

MANAGING NETWORKS IN THE PUBLIC SECTOR: A THEORETICAL STUDY OF MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES IN POLICY NETWORKS

Public policy usually develops in complex networks of public, quasi-public and private organizations. It is now generally accepted that these networks set limits to the governance capability of the administration. A good deal less is known about the opportunities which policy networks offer for tackling social and administrative problems. This article deals with the way network management enables government organizations to benefit from networks. Building on the theoretical concepts of‘networks’and‘games’, two forms of network management are identified: game management and network structuring. Four key aspects can be identified for both of these management forms: actors and their relations, resources, rules and perceptions. At the same time, criteria for the assessment and improvement of network management are examined. The article concludes with a consideration of the limits of network management.     

PRESENTATIONAL MANAGEMENT AND THE PURSUIT OF REGULATORY LEGITIMACY: A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF COMPETITION AND CONSUMER AGENCIES IN THE UNITED KINGDOM AND AUSTRALIA

Independent regulatory agencies, faced with multiple and often conflicting demands from regulatory stakeholders, yet operating at arm's length from government, may be under considerable pressure to demonstrate the legitimacy of their decisions and the regime they administer. This article considers how regulators employ presentational strategies to establish and maintain their legitimacy by documenting the findings of a comparative study of two independent agencies responsible for the regulation of trade practices in their respective jurisdictions: the UK Office of Fair Trading and the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission. Its findings demonstrate that presentational activities may be an important means by which regulators give concrete expression to their obligations of transparency, promote the effectiveness of the regime they administer, and publicly demonstrate how their work serves the community. The mass media is relied upon by both agencies as the primary vehicle through which they seek to communicate to their targeted audiences and the public at large, actively seeking to manage the ambivalence that infuses the regulatory enterprise.     

POWER AND INTERACTIVE POLICY‐MAKING: A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF POWER AND INFLUENCE IN 8 INTERACTIVE PROJECTS IN THE NETHERLANDS

A number of countries use forms of interactive policy‐making to increase the influence of citizens on decision making. Since there has also been an increase in citizen participation in The Netherlands over the last decade, in this paper, we provide a comparative analysis of 8 interactive projects initiated by the Dutch central government. The central aim of the paper is to understand processes of power in interactive policy‐making. We do so by raising two central questions: (1) how do power processes influence the setting‐up of a project, the negotiations within a project and the translation of the results of interactive projects into formal decision making circuits?; (2) to what extent and under what conditions do citizens and other stakeholders obtain influence in interactive projects, especially in defining problems, selecting solutions/instruments and realizing outcomes? Our findings show there is relatively little translation of the outcomes of the projects in regular decision making.     

ASSESSING POLICY DIVERGENCE: HOW TO INVESTIGATE THE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN A LAW AND A CORRESPONDING REGULATION

Policy designs are selected to achieve specific policy outcomes. The policy process, however, contains multiple junctures when a policy's design may diverge from its original intents. Despite this fact, few theoretically valid and methodologically reliable approaches exist to assess policy divergence as it occurs during the policy process. This article presents a method for assessing policy divergence during implementation with a comparative analysis of a legislative law and corresponding regulation. The case analysed is US organic food policy in the 1990 Organic Foods Production Act and 2002 National Organic Program regulation. The article draws theoretical leverage from Mazmanian and Sabatier's implementation framework and methodological leverage from the institutional analysis and development framework. The analysis indicates that the designs of both policies are fairly robust with relatively minor divergence. The conclusion discusses the gains and challenges in developing a comparative approach to studying policy designs and assessing policy divergence.     

DEMOCRACY, PARTICIPATION AND RESPONSIVENESS: A CASE STUDY OF RELATIONS BETWEEN THE IVORIAN COMMUNES AND THEIR CITIZENS

This study of the new Ivorian communes created in 1985 investigates the hypothesis that democratization of local government will lead to an improvement in governmental performance, particularly in its'responsiveness'dimension. It was found that although electoral participation had increased since 1985, other forms of popular engagement with the communes were low, and relationships of accountability and consultation between elected representatives and their electorates were also poorly developed. Responsiveness, defined as congruence between popular preferences and the actual policies and outputs of the communes, was generally low. It is concluded that whilst increased participation enhanced the capacity to be responsive, its impact was mediated through institutional and societal factors such as the role of the mayor, the electoral system, public expectations, continued financial and fiscal centralization and the inevitable limits on the resources and functions of the communes.     

GOVERNMENT FUNDING,EMPLOYMENT CONDITIONS,AND WORK ORGANIZATION IN NON‐PROFIT COMMUNITY SERVICES: A COMPARATIVE STUDY

The article provides a comparative exploration of New Public Management (NPM) funding models on the non‐profit sectors in the UK and Australia, and the implications for services, employment conditions, and worker commitment. A degree of convergence exists around the principles of NPM in the two case studies, creating employment regimes of low pay, casualization, and work intensification. Enhanced vulnerability to pay cuts in the UK, and insecurity in Australia are explained by national differences in exposure to recession, industrial relations institutions, and competition, leading to diminishing worker commitment and raising important concerns for policy‐makers as benefits gained from outsourcing to non‐profits are eroded.     

DOES THE EU STIFLE VOLUNTARY POLICY TRANSFER? A STUDY OF THE INTRODUCTION OF FREEDOM OF INFORMATION IN PORTUGAL AND IRELAND

Traditionally, policy transfer within Europe has taken place in the form of bilateral voluntary transfer within ‘families of nations’. The creation of binding international regimes, in particular the adoption of binding EU policies, has increased instances of multilaterally obligated transfer in Europe. However, very little research has been carried out on the interaction between these two types of transfers. This paper starts from the assumption that a binding EU policy of ambiguous nature and/or with a limited scope of application creates policy space for additional voluntary transfers in member states. Evidence on the implementation of the 1990 Access to Environmental Information Directive in Portugal and Ireland is used to illustrate that three different modes of combining voluntary and obligated transfers may be used. There is, however, no ideal solution since the three modes (hybridization, fragmentation and sub‐regimes) create different types of costs and benefits.     

POLICY CHANGE AND SOFT EUROPEANIZATION: THE TRANSFER OF THE OMBUDSMAN INSTITUTION TO GREECE,CYPRUS AND MALTA

The paper adopts a historical institutionalist approach to Europeanization and argues that policy change is facilitated by three factors. First, it is driven by ‘soft’ mechanisms of Europeanization such as policy transfer. The EU provides the framework for reform and functions as a platform of best practices. Policy transfer mechanisms are implemented in order for member states to pick and choose institutions. Second, domestic mediating factors such as policy preferences are as important as EU obligations. The introduction of the Ombudsman to Greece, Cyprus and Malta demonstrates that hard mechanisms of Europeanization (for example, directives) are not always necessary for change to occur. Soft mechanisms can be equally effective, as long as the political leadership prioritizes the reform. Third, policy change depends on time. Member states adjust their policies and institutions over time. The most common outcome of this adjustment is inertia or incremental change rather than convergence.     

ANALYSING POLITICAL CHOICE IN LOCAL GOVERNMENT: A COMPARATIVE CASE STUDY APPROACH

Despite the centralizing trends which have characterized the 1980s, local authorities have displayed considerable skill in their pursuit of policies designed to cope with effects of the government's grant abatements and other, legislative restrictions. Indeed, it is paradoxical that a continued diversity in response has characterized the strategies of various local authorities over the period. However, our theoretical understanding has often failed to keep pace with the reality of a still vibrant local government. Even those 'output' studies which identified the different influences at work invariably failed to explain why localities diverged in their responses. Similarly, the expository power of sophisticated intergovernmental relations (IGR) models has not fully accounted for such divergence. This research builds on the IGR model but explicitly acknowledges the importance of a 'localities effect' in shaping the application of the model in specific local authorities. This is facilitated by a comparative case study approach based on evidence from Glasgow and Liverpool.     

MANAGING CITIZENS' EXPECTATIONS OF PUBLIC SERVICE PERFORMANCE: EVIDENCE FROM OBSERVATION AND EXPERIMENTATION IN LOCAL GOVERNMENT

Citizens' expectations of public service performance influence their attitudes and behaviour towards services, including satisfaction, choice of service and political voice about them. However, there has been little research on what sets expectations. This paper assesses the effects of prior service performance and information about prior performance on two forms of citizen expectations, positive expectations of what performance will be and normative expectations of what performance should be. In an observational study, prior performance is positively related to expectations of what performance will be. Prior performance is positively related to high normative expectations but is unrelated to low normative expectations. The resilience of normative expectations suggests that poor performance will trigger dissatisfaction and citizen response rather than lowering expectations creating passive acceptance. In a field experiment, performance information effects are found for positive but not normative expectations. Providing information about excellent performance raises positive expectations and providing information about poor performance lowers positive expectations; negativity bias is evident with information about poor performance having a larger effect. Performance information that is credible to citizens can be used to manage citizens' positive expectations but their normative expectations are less amenable to influence by this route.     

BUILDING FOREIGN AFFAIRS CAPACITY IN THE EU: THE RECRUITMENT OF MEMBER STATE OFFICIALS TO THE EUROPEAN EXTERNAL ACTION SERVICE (EEAS)

The Treaty of Lisbon introduced common action capacities in the EU's external relations administration, notably the European External Action Service (EEAS). One essential capacity is staff resources. This article analyses to what extent and under what conditions the practice of staff recruitment to the EEAS is independent of government influence, and in particular the recruitment of officials temporarily assigned from EU member states. The data draw on interviews with officials from all 27 member states as well as the EEAS which is charged with the selection of national public servants to the EEAS. Key findings suggest substantial independence of recruitment to the EEAS, and this independence is facilitated under two particular conditions: (i) the supply of administrative capacities at EU level strengthens the capacity of the EEAS to nurture the independent recruitment of its personnel; and (ii) the recruitment of EEAS personnel is conditioned by pre‐existing organizational traditions, practices, and formats.