Agents of past principals: The lasting effects of incumbents on the political ideology of bureaucrats

Understanding representation is central to politics. Numerous studies assess under which conditions politicians share citizens’ ideological preferences. However, under which conditions bureaucrats share citizens’ ideological preferences has not been systematically studied. Yet, bureaucratic preferences shape policy outcomes. Our paper thus studies why bureaucrats are more right or left-wing than citizens in some countries and points of time, yet not others. We theorize that political ideologies of past incumbents shape this variation. Incumbents can select ideologically aligned bureaucrats and socialize bureaucrats into ideological preferences; moreover, prospective bureaucrats may self-select into ideologically aligned governments. As bureaucratic tenure exceeds political tenure, this politicization has lasting effects. Survey data from 87 countries supports this argument: bureaucrats are more left-leaning than citizens in countries with longer prior rule by economically left-wing governments, and more right-wing in countries with more authoritarian pasts. This suggests that incumbents continue to shape the ideological preferences of bureaucrats after leaving office.     

Bureaucratic Stagnation Versus the New Hope of the President of the Republic of Indonesia Joko Widodo

The process of bureaucratic services that is slow and complicated, is an administration malpractice even up to bureaucratic stagnation. An interesting phenomenon is done by the populist government leader Joko Widodo, the President of the Republic oflndonesia, when serving as the Governor of Jakarta to carry out supervision by way of ＂blusukan＂. This method attracted the attention of one of the richest men from the United States, the founder of ＂Facebook＂--Mark Zuckerberg. When he came to Indonesia to meet Joko Widodo in October 2014, he was invited by Joko Widodo to perform ＂blusukan＂ to Tanah Abang market. ＂Blusukan＂ is a surveillance method to the field on the right target and directly provide solutions to any problems that are found. The blusukan inspired him with the making of various policies such as health cards, smart cards, and others. The method of direct supervision on the fields is a quite powerful way to cut off the stagnation of bureaucracy. Joko Widodo who has started his steps as the President of the Republic of Indonesia, gives new hope to the people through the mental revolution and Trisakti doctrine policies in order to improve the welfare of the people toward the great Indonesia.     

Ministry of Fear: The 1947 National Security Act in Historical and Institutional Context

The Bush administration's plan for a new Department of Homeland Security is often described as the most comprehensive effort at institutional reform since the 1947 National Security Act (NSA). Unfortunately, many of the references to the NSA are misleading. This study surveys the debates that culminated in the passage of the NSA, then traces the evolution of the key agencies created by the NSA from 1947 to 1991. The author considers why so little institutional reform took place during the period between the end of the Cold War and the attacks of September 11, 2001, and then offers some points of reference for the evolving debate about post-9/11 reform of the national security bureaucracy. He concludes that the president and Congress risk weakening, rather than strengthening, U.S. national security if they create a Department of Homeland Security but leave in place an institutional infrastructure that was designed for a different time and a different set of problems.     

Brazil's South–South development cooperation: Principles and experiences of the domestic bureaucracy

How did Brazilian bureaucrats view President Lula's approach to the provision of development assistance in the context of South–South cooperation (SSC)? How did they see their own bureaucracy's role, as a provider of such assistance? This paper addresses these questions within the broad context of Brazil's development assistance program. The analysis begins with an elaboration of the internal legal and political structure supporting the country's provision of development assistance. Then, it addresses the research questions by drawing on original material obtained from 54 interviews, conducted in Brasilia, with diplomats and public servants from 25 federal ministries and institutions directly involved with implementing technical cooperation agreements. Evidence leads to three main observations: (a) the bureaucracies' limited autonomy vis‐à‐vis the Presidency's command of the Brazilian development assistance program; (b) great convergence in the worldviews and principled values upheld by public servants and diplomats in regard to Brazilian foreign policy; and (c) the existence of interbureaucracy complaints and struggles related to the operational side of agreement implementation. These findings are relevant for understanding the inner workings of Brazilian SSC, as well as in comparison to other national bureaucracies' involvement in the conceptualization and implementation of South–South knowledge transfers.     

论中国公务员的职业化发展方向

在新公共管理思潮推动下,在建设服务型政府和提升国家竞争力的促动下,中国公务员改革已经成为政府行政改革的重要方面.发达国家的公务员制度基本上形成了既有各自特色又有共性的职业化体系,这为中国公务员职业化之路提供了借鉴.公务员职业化是国家实施依法治国的必然要求,是防止腐败的有效举措,是政府提高效率的主要途径,也是响应公共部门人力资源管理与开发的必然要求,所以中国公务员必须向职业化方向发展.     

理性官僚制：公共精神的嵌入

官僚制存在不同的历史形态,传统官僚制、理性官僚制和嵌入公共精神的理性官僚制。韦伯的理性官僚制建构在政治与行政二分法的逻辑基础上,存在着与生俱来的困境———效率诉求与民主理念的冲突。突破官僚制、实现公共精神的嵌入需要技术基础的改善和制度规则的改进。     

论统治视角中的官僚制

官僚制理论是由马克斯·韦伯提出并作出了深入研究的问题。在韦伯之前 ,虽然也有人对这个问题作出研究 ,但只是在他这里 ,官僚制理论才第一次作为一个系统的理论而存在。在韦伯之后 ,官僚制的问题是 2 0世纪学术思想研究中最为引人注目的问题 ,几乎所有 2 0世纪著名的思想家们都对这个问题发表过意见。但是 ,所有谈到这个问题的人 ,无论是持肯定的态度还是采用批判的眼光 ,基本上都是对官僚制作出了统治的理解。这就是官僚制理论和实践出现全面危机的根源。当前 ,一场全球性的行政改革运动正在进行 ,要想真正有所建树 ,当务之急是走出统治的视角     

大学组织文化的社会性别逻辑——对一所研究型大学的案例分析

长期以来，大学组织文化的性别化特质并未受到关注。本研究通过进入一所研究型大学进行性别考察后发现：男性气质的组织文化与性别阶层化现象在以工科为主导的T大学非常明晰，大学组织制度表面上平等与中立，其背后却隐藏着性别化的逻辑，复制甚至强化了原有的社会性别关系。     

Machinery of government and standards in public service: teaching new dogs old tricks

Abstract

For much of the last thirty years the main leitmotif animating Civil Service reform in the UK has been that efficiency and effectiveness in public services can be achieved by adapting management methods and practices derived from commercial enterprise. In the process of making the dreams and schemes of that plural singularity we have come to call ‘managerialism’ operational though, something valuable appears to have been lost, and that something is the Civil Service as a unified ‘constitutional bureaucracy’. In this article I explore some of the unfortunate governmental and administrative consequences of these managerially minded reforms. In particular, I seek to highlight the continuing relevance of what have been routinely characterized as outmoded and anachronistic machineries of government, and to stress the importance of the increasingly forgotten core business of public administration: the running of a state and of a constitution.