Probation Officer Training, Promotional Culture and the Public Sphere

Recent writing on the professions has given little consideration to the state's potential for threatening a professional formation. This paper argues that the reorganization of probation officer training in England and Wales is an instance of stateled de-professionalization. The process of problematizing the issue and the steps taken to try and mobilize public endorsement for radical policy change are traced, as are the counter-moves of groups attempting to maintain the existing training arrangements. This illuminates two aspects of contemporary public debate in the UK. First, it demonstrates the impact of the requirement that public sector organizations and occupations show 'enterprise' by successful self-promotion. Second, the episode is located within Habermas's concept of the public sphere, in which participation itself – let alone any possibility of achieving the desired outcome – now appears to depend upon relative resources and on attracting the attention of influential news media     

'Arm's Length but Hands On'. Mapping the New Governance: The Department of National Heritage and Cultural Politics in Britain

This article uses the Department of National Heritage (DNH) founded in 1992 to illustrate the current debate over changing governance in Britain (such as the hollow core and self-steering networks) given the development of small, central policy-oriented ministries supervising a penumbra of policy networks. The article argues that the DNH has at its disposal a number of power resources – ministerial activism, policy review and guidance, systematic review, and finance – which enable it to give a determined steer to its autonomous networks. The implication of this is that real structural change should not obscure the resources at the disposal of the centre in their relationship with their policy networks: government is not just another organization.     

Scottish devolution: identity and impact and the case of community care for the elderly

This article examines the emergent identity and impact of devolution in Scotland. Using the case of community care for the elderly, a model is set out for capturing the different interpretive perspectives evident in relation to a particular policy area in 1999–2001. The political story of the 'free personal care' issue, in which the Scottish Executive were unexpectedly forced into adopting a markedly different policy from the rest of the UK, is examined in some detail. Setting the episode in a broader context, four discursive thematics are identified in relation to the policy case. A model is demonstrated for examining different aspects of devolution including constitutional level and sub-system aspects of post-devolution governance. Conclusions are drawn as to the meaning which should be ascribed to the discourse associated with devolution and community care for the elderly.     

At the Commission's Discretion: Cartelbusting and Fining Infringements Under the EU's Restrictive Practices Policy

Although the last decade has seen an increased interest from political science in many aspects of EU competition policy the issue of cartelbusting has been almost totally neglected. This is a curious situation given that this remains by far the major aspect of the European Commission's activities in the competition arena. By merging the available, albeit extremely limited, public administration and policy studies literature with the legal literature the article endeavours to begin to redress the balance by examining the EU's restrictive practices policy. It pays particular attention to the European Commission and its Directorate General responsible for com-petition policy (DGIV) and their activities in their enduring war against cartels. At its core this article analyses the Commission's quasi-judicial authority in relation to cartel arrangements, identifies the extent to which the decision-making process is open to substantial degrees of administrative discretion within DGIV and makes specific reference to its policy on fining infringements.     

Before and after Dayton: The UN and NATO in the former Yugoslavia

Business managers name Africa's political instability as a key obstacle to economic development, but many companies continue to invest in Africa. The article explains this apparent contradiction by looking at the case of Shell in Nigeria. Nigeria experiences serious political instability, yet Shell is expanding its investment in the country. This article deals with sources of firm-specific political instability that have affected Shell in Nigeria in the past and attempts to explain why a specific corporation such as Shell may want to make investments in the country despite political instability. The examination of three different angles of Shell's activity, which forms the core of this paper, reveals that political instability does not hinder Shell from operating in Nigeria. Firstly, the international perspective illuminates in what way Nigeria may be more attractive to Shell than other countries. Profits in Nigeria appear to be higher than elsewhere, while Shell occupies a dominant market position unrivalled in most other countries. Secondly, the structural perspective illuminates the interconnectedness of Shell with state structures in Nigeria that may tie the company to Nigeria. Shell established a first mover advantage in the 1950s, since Nigeria was a British colony until 1960 and British oil companies were given preferential treatment. After independence, Shell managed to penetrate state structures which helped to hedge political risk in the country. Thirdly, the strategic perspective explores how Shell's strategic approaches may make political instability less significant to Shell. This article concludes that Shell has adopted to political instability. The conclusion that political instability can be conducive to business is significant since one expects political instability to be inherently harmful to business.     

The European Union's role in networks on removal of fossil fuel subsidies and disclosure of climate change information

This article deals with newly emerging international collaborative initiatives around two issues connected to climate change: removal of fossil fuel subsidies and improving climate information disclosure practices in the business sector. While networked initiatives on the gradual removal of fossil fuel subsidies and a multi-actor network on disclosure of climate change information do not explicitly mobilize collective actions around climate change, they supplement and reinforce a wide array of other transnational initiatives and partnerships around climate change mitigation efforts. Analysed networks equip transnational policy processes around the climate change issue, initially formed by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change's member states, with new policy tools to mitigate human-induced climate change and hugely expand the membership of policy-making at the international level. Newly emerging transnational networks in the area of fossil fuel subsidies removal and improving climate change information disclosure practices in the corporate world also strive for harmonization of policy methods and instruments across international boundaries. The experience of the European Union (EU) in promoting climate change actions among its member states and in sustaining collaboration with private actors can serve as an exemplary and learning tool for transnational policy networks across continents. And the size of the EU's market together with its governance structure provides it with a common legitimate voice at the international arena for climate change decision-making.     

Transforming Administrative Policy

Administrative policies and practices may evolve and change slowly and incrementally or they may be transformed intentionally. Intentional efforts to change administrative policy by transforming the structure, processes, or personnel of public sector organizations define an active administrative policy. Ideally, an active administrative policy takes as given that the organizational form to be used is open to choice, that administrative goals are clear, that a tight coupling exists between ends and means, that different organizational forms have different effects, and that there are criteria that may be used to assess those effects. This article focuses on the fulfilment of these preconditions in the three national contexts – Norway, Sweden and the United States of America – in order to determine the relevance of a transformative perspective for understanding the process of administrative change. We examine what impact constraints like polity features, historical-institutional traditions and external pressure, particularly through popular international administrative doctrines like New Public Management ideas and financial crises, have on the possibilities to enhance an active national administrative policy.     

THE FUTURE OF POLICE AUTHORITIES: MEMBERS VIEWS

Part of the argument about police accountability concerns the role of police authorities, their membership and powers. The Conservative, Alliance and Labour Parties have developed policies which are broadly retentionist – leave things as they are – reformist – change the membership – and radical – empower police authorities to determine policy. The evidence suggests that police authority members' views, though broadly consistent with their party policies nationally, differ in some important respects. Conservatives are increasingly unhappy about the statutory co-option of magistrates. Alliance members appear not to favour an increase in the proportion of nonelected members. And many Labour councillors entertain doubts about the control model.     

THE EDUCATION OF THE TREASURY: THE MEDIUMTERM FINANCIAL STRATEGY 1980–84

The first Thatcher government introduced an innovatory macro-economic plan – the medium-term financial strategy (MTFs) – in March 1980. It was the most notable example of how the Government sought to change the direction of post-war policy. This article traces the origins and formulation of the strategy, noting that it was Treasury-imposed, and monetarist in orientation. During its implementation however it was substantially modified. The phrase 'pragmatism and continuity' best describes this process. Aspects of macro-economic policy are introduced to develop this theme. There is clear evidence that the Treasury was 'educated' by the problems encountered: the objectives of the MTFS were not uniquely achievable simply because they were deliberately limited in scope. Nevertheless, the strategy has survived as a policy framework and freed from its monetarist dogma remains a useful means of co-ordinating objectives.     

Swedish Counterterrorism Policy: An Intersection Between Prevention and Mitigation?

The aim of this article is to analyze how and why Swedish counterterrorism policy has changed since 2001. It raises the issue of how counterterrorism interacts with other factors on the governmental agenda, which priorities are made, and how these can be understood. Although much empirical evidence on the real political influence of emergent interagency networks is still lacking in the case of Sweden, an attempt is made here to analyze the importance of focusing events. In the light of the Swedish national strategy for counterterrorism, the article analyzes the content of annual reports from the Swedish Security Service. The article also explores linkages between the counterterrorism and crisis management literatures, and argues that the reassuring overtones in Swedish counterterrorism policy of late can be understood not only as the result of changes in threat perception and policy, but also in institutional change.     

MODELLING BUREAUCRACY: THE CASE OF THE AUSTRALIAN FEDERAL BUDGET SECTOR 1982-1992

A substantial literature exists on the economic analysis of bureaucracy, which includes formal models of bureaucratic behaviour by Niskanen (1971) and Dunleavy (1991). This article develops hypotheses from those models about changes in size of bureaux over time and tests them against data on the Australian federal budget sector in 1982–83 and 1991–92. The models predict that bureaucrats usually will be able to influence the size or structure of their bureaux in line with their personal preferences. However, the Australian data suggest that the extent of such influence may be less than is assumed in either model and that the preferences of politicians are more influential than the models allow. One conclusion is that, if bureaucracy is to be modelled, a principal-agent approach will have more to offer than the neo-classical maximizing framework adopted by Niskanen in particular. A further conclusion, at odds with those of Niskanen and weakening his case for wholesale privatization, is that bureaucratic dysfunctions may be amenable to reform of the political and bureaucratic rules and systems.     

Between willing and reluctant entrapment: CEE countries in NATO's non-European missions

The article focuses on Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries' experiences related to Afghanistan, Iraq and Libya, three non-European theatres of Western military operations, in predominantly Muslim lands, in the decade between 2001 and 2011. CEE countries readily became involved in two of these foreign missions (Afghanistan and Iraq) because of their deep ties to Western politico-economic structures, without direct security interests compelling them to do so, but not without normative convictions regarding what were seen by them as virtues of the two missions. In Libya, however, they were reluctant to join the Western intervention. In light of this, the article is interested in examining how political elites within the region relate to the generally constrained security policy agency that they have. A key argument advanced is that such agency may be located in how external hegemony is mediated in elite discourses of threat and legitimacy construction. This as well as the three case studies outlined in the article show that the seeming changes in CEE countries' behaviour in fact boil down to a simple set of rules guiding their behaviour. Having identified this “algorithm” as an implicit pattern of CEE foreign policy behaviour, originating in the intra-alliance security dilemma within the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO), the article formulates its conclusions about the alliance policy of these countries largely within a neorealist framework.     

Jihadism in Western Europe After the Invasion of Iraq: Tracing Motivational Influences from the Iraq War on Jihadist Terrorism in Western Europe

Abstract

This article investigates the importance of the invasion and occupation of Iraq as motivation for recent acts of jihadist terrorism in Western Europe. It analyses the mass casualty terrorist attack attributed to a group of Islamist militants in Madrid on 11 March 2004, and the killing of a Dutch filmmaker on the streets of Amsterdam by an Al Qaeda–inspired terrorist network. The first case has been assumed to be mainly motivated by the Iraq war, whereas the other case has been perceived as an act by an individual, motivated by domestic factors in Holland. The article situates these acts of terrorism within the theory of so-called spillover effects from armed conflicts to international terrorism. It argues that the Iraq war was a significant motivational factor for the terrorists in both cases, but that the terrorists linked the Iraq issue with perceived injustices against Muslims in Europe and globally.     

POLICY TERMINATION: THE CASE OF TERM LIMITS IN MICHIGAN

This article tests a theoretical framework by examining a case study of term limits in the Michigan legislature. The Michigan case tests the “fit” of Daniels's seven generalizations about policy and organizational termination. The goal of this paper is to extend the discussion of termination policy to the issue of term limits and formulate an agenda for future research that can develop a better understanding of term limits based on the concept of termination.     

EXPLAINING RADICAL POLICY CHANGE: THE CASE OF CLIMATE CHANGE AND ENERGY POLICY UNDER THE BRITISH LABOUR GOVERNMENT 2006–10

An innovative framework combining the ‘multiple streams’ (MS) and ‘punctuated equilibrium’ (PE) models of agenda‐setting is used to explain the transformation of UK climate change and energy policy under the Labour Government between 2006 and 2010. The coupling of the problem, politics and policy streams by policy entrepreneurs (MS), and changes in policy image and institutional venues (PE), were critical in opening a policy window, disrupting the existing policy monopoly and enabling radical policy initiatives. The case study suggests two revisions to the models: (1) policy windows can remain open far longer than either model typically predicts; and (2) party politics, especially where party competition generates a ‘competitive consensus’, can be important for both initiating and prolonging policy change in parliamentary systems. An important factor typically overlooked by both models is the significant policy entrepreneurship role that government ministers can play, particularly when an issue becomes part of their ‘narrative identity’.     

POLITICAL DISCOURSE AND PATH SHAPING IN PUBLIC POLICY: COMPARING PENSION REFORMS IN GREECE AND ITALY

Which factors account for successful policy reform and what role does discourse play in the process? This article examines this empirical puzzle with reference to the issue of Greek reform failure. A matched comparison with Italy in the area of pensions reveals the salience of path shaping and the use of political discourse in narrowing down reform options and facilitating change. The Greek case of limited public information, incoherent preparation of the problem, and inner‐circle decision‐making, is contrasted with the Italian government's information‐sharing and consensus‐building campaign for the establishment of a pro‐reformist discourse. Findings confirm the salience of institutional conditions but suggest that pure institutionalist accounts premised on rational choice thinking and the power of veto players should be complemented with more agency‐driven accounts of public policy.     

Russian nationalists in the Komi Republic: a case study of the Frontier of the North

The article examines some generic traits of the “new” Russian ethnic nationalism, namely, de-ideologization of the nationalist milieu and its inclination for civic activism. It results from a case study of the Frontier of the North (FN – Syktyvkar), an ideologically ambivalent organization that combines dual Russian/Komi ethnic nationalism, anti-migration sentiments, white racism, and fragments of other ideologies. The article demonstrates that, unlike nationalists of the previous generation, FN is not hostile to public authorities and is ready to cooperate with them. FN’s grassroots activism, as well as sports and healthy recreational activities, attracts young people. The organization tackles the most acute social problems, often neglected by everyone else, and has become a working civil society institution. The authors argue that these tactics win the “new” nationalists sympathy among ordinary people and makes the groups politically stronger and more influential than the previous nationalist generation. However, state anti-extremist policy hampers the advancement of nationalists into mainstream politics.     

Norm Entrepreneurs and Atlanticist Foreign Policy in Central and Eastern Europe: The Missionary Zeal of Recent Converts

The article discusses the role of norms in the foreign policy making of Central and East European states in the 2000s. It deconstructs the normative foundations of the so-called ‘Atlanticist’ orientation of Central and East European states, going beyond the standard ‘neorealist’ notion whereupon strategic and security concerns lead small states to align with superpowers. The case studies of the Czech and Slovak republics demonstrate that norms, such as human rights and democracy, have an autonomous and traceable effect on state behaviour. More specifically, we argue that norms have translated themselves into policy outcomes via the agency of influential ‘norm entrepreneurs’, such as ex-dissidents and their associates.     

The development of policy actors involved in the Bologna reform in Ukraine

The Bologna Process is an international policy project for the convergence of higher education structures in the European Higher Education Area. Most of the literature on Bologna represents studies that focus on the implementation implications of the reforms. The focus on the reform process, particularly in relation to the development process of Bologna policy actors, has been under-represented in the literature. This article investigates the process of the development of the main policy actors involved in the Bologna reform in the case of Ukraine. The timeframe includes the pre-history of Bologna since Ukrainian independence in 1991 until after the introduction of the relevant policy changes in 2003, and through to the issue of 2014 Law on Higher Education. Empirical data were collected through interviews with higher education actors in Ukraine and policy document search. Both types of data were thematically analyzed. The analysis in this article is informed by the policy learning theory and demonstrates the interconnection between path-dependency and change in the development of policy actors in the Bologna reform in Ukraine. This article shows that the old clusters of higher education actors, and the pre-Bologna relationships amongst some of them have been reproduced during the Bologna reform. At the same time, such a reproduction of the old during the reform was only partial as the Bologna Process has also been altering the relationships among some actors to an extent.     

A DETHRONED KING? THE LIMITS OF STATE INFRASTRUCTURAL POWER IN FRANCE

Since the 1980s in Western Europe, centralized states' control over subnational territories has been deeply affected by processes of Europeanization and regionalization. These changes have raised the issue of state territorial restructuring in a particular fashion: what capacity have formerly centralized states retained to steer and control subnational territories? The article draws on Mann's concept of infrastructural power, which refers to the state's capacity to exercise control and implement political decisions over the national territory. The article applies the two main operationalizations of the concept, namely the capability of the state to exercise control and the weight of the state in the subnational territories. Empirically, the article focuses on the French state in two policy sectors (education and housing). Although France is a most likely case, this article challenges this expectation, and shows the limits of the French state's infrastructural power over the subnational territories since the late 1980s.