TRANSLATING AGENCY REFORM THROUGH DURABLE RHETORICAL STYLES: COMPARING OFFICIAL AGENCY TALK ACROSS CONSENSUS AND ADVERSARIAL CONTEXTS

This article directs attention to the role of ideational variables in shaping public management reform initiatives. It considers the contribution of both endogenous rhetorical styles and exogenous international fashions in explaining official agency talk in consensus and adversarial contexts. Departing from an earlier observation that convergence in talk across contexts is more likely than convergence in practice ( Pollitt 2001 ), this article demonstrates that symbolic convergence is also limited. It is found that agency talk is primarily a consequence of national styles of speaking, rather than the limited adoptions of a common international story. Secondly, the article demonstrates that rhetorical theories can enrich the concept of translation by providing tools for making explicit the rules through which international fashions are mediated in national contexts. It is found that financial officials have been responsible for the introduction of the similar (Anglo‐Saxon) stories that have achieved consensus in political administrative contexts, but that this has not brought about cultural homogenization.     

Institutionalising electoral uncertainty and authoritarian regime survival

Authoritarian incumbents routinely use democratic emulation as a strategy to extend their tenure in power. Yet, there is also evidence that multiparty competition makes electoral authoritarianism more vulnerable to failure. Proceeding from the assumption that the outcomes of authoritarian electoral openings are inherently uncertain, it is argued in this article that the institutionalisation of elections determines whether electoral authoritarianism promotes stability or vulnerability. By ‘institutionalisation’, it is meant the ability of authoritarian regimes to reduce uncertainty over outcomes as they regularly hold multiparty elections. Using discrete-time event-history models for competing risks, the effects of sequences of multiparty elections on patterns of regime survival and failure in 262 authoritarian regimes from 1946 to 2010 are assessed, conditioned on their degree of competitiveness. The findings suggest that the institutionalisation of electoral uncertainty enhances authoritarian regime survival. However, for competitive electoral authoritarian regimes this entails substantial risk. The first three elections substantially increase the probability of democratisation, with the danger subsequently diminishing. This suggests that convoking multiparty competition is a risky game with potentially high rewards for autocrats who manage to institutionalise elections. Yet, only a small number of authoritarian regimes survive as competitive beyond the first few elections, suggesting that truly competitive authoritarianism is hard to institutionalise. The study thus finds that the question of whether elections are dangerous or stabilising for authoritarianism is dependent on differences between the ability of competitive and hegemonic forms of electoral authoritarianism to reduce electoral uncertainty.     

MANAGERIAL GOALS IN A PERFORMANCE‐DRIVEN SYSTEM: THEORY AND EMPIRICAL TESTS IN HIGHER EDUCATION

Factors influencing managerial goals and decision‐making processes have been debated for decades among public administration scholars. Previous literature has explained goal setting through theories of performance gaps, bureaucratic control, and isomorphic rationality. However, there exists no direct empirical test of these theories to determine which theoretical expectation may have more or less weight with managers when setting organizational goals. Using an original survey of university presidents, this study tests how public managers prioritize competing performance goals. Findings suggest that the goal setting decisions of these public managers is primarily driven by political control mechanisms.     

A Realist View of Hindu Law

Abstract. Hindu law represents one of the least known, yet most sophisticated traditions of legal theory and jurisprudence in world history. Hindu jurisprudential texts contain elaborate and careful philosophical reflections on the nature of law and religion. The nature of Hindu law as a tradition has been subject to some debate and some misunderstanding both within and especially outside of specialist circles. The present essay utilizes the familiar framework of legal realism to describe the fundamental concepts of law and legal procedure in Hindu jurisprudence. Questions about the place of natural law theory and legal positivism in relation to Hindu law are also considered.     

A COMPARISON OF TWO PROSECUTION POLICIES IN CASES OF INTIMATE PARTNER VIOLENCE: MANDATORY CASE FILING VERSUS FOLLOWING THE VICTIM'S LEAD*

Research Summary This study capitalized on differences in domestic violence prosecution policies between two boroughs of New York City. In Brooklyn, arrest cases generally are filed, but in the Bronx, cases typically are not filed when the victim does not want to proceed. We sampled 272 intimate partner cases declined by the Bronx prosecutor and 211 similar cases filed by the Brooklyn prosecutor. The Brooklyn policy is more costly, and most cases ultimately were dismissed. After 6 months, rearrest rates did not differ significantly between the two boroughs, although victims offered qualified support for the universal filing policy. Policy Implications Prosecutors face conflicting pressures when victims do not support prosecution. Victim empowerment and resource conservation favor declining such cases, but sending a message of zero tolerance favors filing. Our results support an intermediate policy of filing most cases but dropping them sooner to give victims a voice while avoiding heavy investments in cases headed for dismissal.     

Enduring Continuity and Endless Change in the British Civil Service

The British Civil Service has often been criticised. The most recent censure was from Ed Straw. In 'The dead generalist', an article for the think tank Demos, he attacked the Civil Service for its unchanging nature and its corresponding failure to meet the challenges of the twenty-first century. Jon Davis's article demonstrates that change is a constant for officialdom, that Mr Straw has some of his facts wrong, and that very similar criticism was made nearly half a century ago, though all the while agreeing that all is not well (and possibly can never be perfect) in Whitehall.