Acquiring Political Craft: Training Grounds for Top Officials in the German Core Executive

Political craft is an essential qualification of senior officials in the German Federal ministerial administration. The emphasis on political craft as a vital complement to administrative-technical competence reflects a policy-making system that is characterized by multi-party government, an assertive Parliament, a strong opposition, influential Lander , and growing informalization. In fostering political craft, three institutions play a key role: (i) the Chancellery; (ii) the political support units to the executive leadership; and (iii) the parliamentary parties in the Bundestag, which employ Federal ministerial officials on temporary leave. The centrality of these institutions in Federal policy-making makes them into outstanding training grounds for future top officials.     

Staasbildung oder Staatszerfall? Zum Formwandel Kriegerischer Gewalt in der Weltgesellschaft

The nexus between warfare and statebuilding that historians have stressed for European history, seemingly does not apply for the history of warfare after 1945. Instead, numerous political scientists hint to an ongoing depolitization of contemporary warfare and interpret civil wars as “state failure”. This analysis of war development after 1945 shows along the distinction of five realtypes that neither the thesis of a depoliticisation can be supported by the material presented, nor is the system of states endangered by the outcome of intrastate warfare. The problems of state-building, it seems, might rather be caused by economic decline and an increase of internationalisation.     

Leveraging Administrative Data to Better Serve Children and Families

The challenge of complex social issues drives the need for data systems that can connect information across multiple service delivery systems. Integrated data systems provide significant value for needs assessment, program planning, policy decision making, and collective impact evaluation across a range of social issues. This case study describes a mature county‐based integrated data system. The case study has three aims: (1) to highlight the value of integrated data systems to research, (2) to outline common challenges that such initiatives face, and (3) to present several ongoing considerations for the field that could inform policy recommendations to facilitate the use of integrated data. The authors present examples from the experience of developing this integrated data system, including involvement in the design and evaluation of the first county‐level social impact bond. The case study highlights the benefits and limitations of integrated data use in research and the potential to advance evidence‐based social decision making.