The Influence of Resistance to Change on Public-Sector Reform Implementation: The Case of Italian Municipalities’ Internal Control System

The present research tries to contribute to the academic debate on public management reform adoption, focusing on the reasons for the discrepancies between actual and formal changes and using resistance to change as theoretical basis. The study hypothesizes that high levels of individual and organizational resistance to change may be associated to the formal implementation of public management reforms. The research results allow to confirm the hypothesis when large-size municipalities are considered, while when considering medium-size entities a definite evidence of a relation between resistance to change and the formal implementation of the reforms does not emerge.     

How to Make the Mix Matter: A Case Study of Post-Transformational Leadership in Hybrid Public Management

The purpose of this article is to explain how public managers can influence the mix of institutional logics in a process of organizational change. To do this, the concept of post-transformational leadership is related to institutional logics. The article is based on a case study of the Danish Crime Prevention Council. The study shows how post-transformative leaders are urged to move from strategies of collaboration to strategies of manipulation, hypocrisy, and the hijacking of institutional logics.     

Governance of a public sector joint venture: the control challenges of dominated owners

Local governments increasingly choose to provide a wide range of services through cooperation with other local governments. Providing complex services through intergovernmental units creates collaboration risks and collective action dilemmas that need to be mitigated. Based on a longitudinal case study, an investigation is made into the dynamic processes in the governance of a public sector joint venture (JV) and the control challenges of dominated owners. The findings illustrate that the approach to mitigating collective action dilemmas is far less rational than that prescribed by the normative literature, resulting in control challenges at later stages in the relationship. Limitations in the assessment of collaboration risks are explained by drawing on resource dependence theory (RDT) arguments. Dynamic processes in the JV relationship create the need to adjust the governance system. However, adaptability is constrained by power asymmetry and control complexity.     

海洋话语与国际秩序转变

国际关系的演进表明,海洋话语转变是国际秩序转变的重要风向标。文章对海洋话语进行了概念分析,并将其细分成海洋硬话语与海洋软话语,明确其包涵因素和互动关系。战争、谈判、国际会议、条约及协定等是国家争取战略主导权、在国际权力格局中占据优势的重要手段,可作为海洋话语与国际秩序之间的互动机理。海洋话语与国际秩序转变主要经历了欧洲主导时期和美国主导时期,且美国主导时期延续至今。在“百年未有之大变局”时代,海洋世界多极化趋势显著,海陆联动明显,“泛海洋时代”到来;海洋话语的话语主体、结构设计、海缘范畴及议题领域等均在经历多维嬗变,国际海洋新秩序建构的可能性和必要性在不断提升。中国需把握好角色定位与策略选择,优化中国海洋战略,树立新海洋安全观,踏实构建海洋话语,在国际海洋新秩序的构建中发挥积极引领作用。     

论当代西方国家的宪法变迁

西方国家从20世纪80年代开始所推行的行政改革导致这些国家的宪法在未经修改的情况下发生了巨大变迁。在民主制度方面,代议民主制转变为代议制民主、行政民主、社会民主并存的多重民主制。在人权制度方面,人权的核心内容由生存权演变为发展权,人权的义务主体从国家扩展到自治的社团。在权力制衡制度方面,国家层面的权力制衡转变为国家层面的权力制衡和国家与社会之间的权力制衡相结合的双重权力制衡机制。     

实证主义经济宪法学的基本结构——一个基于文献综述的研究

实证主义经济宪法学的研究包括了对制宪程序及其影响因素的经济研究和对宪法规则产生的经济影响的研究两个部分。前者包括:第一,静态经济研究,主要是对影响制宪程序的因素的研究,在制宪的经济背景,个体的利益衡量、偏好、价值观、意识形态,社会的风俗、习惯、社会规范和诸如利益集团、社会组织、供以参考的其他国家的宪政制度等。第二,动态经济研究,主要包括对显性宪法变迁的经济研究和对隐性宪法变迁的经济研究。后者包括研究宪法权利的经济影响和研究统治结构的经济影响。     

变更罪名实证研究

以最高法院示范性案例中的全部变更罪名案例为样本进行实证研究,可以发现其中存在几对实然关系。变更罪名未必都有失公正也不必然体现实体公正,择轻变更未必都有利于被告,合法的变更未必是合理的变更,变更罪名给法律适用带来的不确定性根植于现行法律和法理之中。对其进行法律解释学和犯罪定义学分析,将有助于对变更罪名现象的解读和限制。     

全面建成小康社会的“制度密码”——庆祝中国共产党成立100周年

2020年是实现全面精准脱贫和全面建成小康社会的收官之年,是中国共产党实现第一个百年奋斗目标的关键之年,也是执政党兑现向人民做出的庄严承诺之年。脱贫攻坚是执政党治国理政的头等大事,民生发展彰显制度体系和治理体系的强劲优势,全面建成小康社会是实现中华民族伟大复兴的坚实基础。制度体系是全面建成小康社会的根本支撑,需要构建精...     

Erzählungen des Kindes‐ und Erwachsenenschutzes: Eine Anwendung und Erweiterung des Narrative Policy Frameworks

The Child and Adult Protection Authorities (KESB) have been the subject of controversial discussion since their establishment in 2013. The reform of the Guardianship Law provided for an institutional shift away from local guardianship authorities to regional specialist authorities. This article uses the Narrative Policy Framework (NPF) to examine the history of today’s controversy, simultaneously proposing an analytic strengthening of said framework. Previous NPF studies summarize policy actors into opponents and proponents. As a result, we do not know whether different actors use different narratives. We therefore separate the expert from the MP discourse. The analysis shows that the experts' arguments for a new institutional arrangement and a person‐oriented narrative dominated, which put the fundamental rights of the persons affected by guardianship measures up front. The study contributes to the understanding of the current controversy, in which a person‐oriented narrative seems to be dominant again, directed against the new authorities.     

The Effects of Blaming Others for Legislative Inaction on Individual and Collective Evaluations

Legislators commonly blame others for gridlock. We posit that legislators may engage in this type of rhetoric to minimize the individual reputational risks associated with legislative inaction or to boost the relative standing of their party. In a series of six survey experiments, we find that blaming others for inaction undermines voters’ evaluations of individual legislators who engage in this rhetorical strategy. This effect is particularly pronounced among out-partisans and independents. However, blaming rhetoric can also enhance the standing of the blamer’s party relative to the opposing party across all groups (including out-partisans), in large part by undermining the reputations of these other actors. Ultimately, we show that when an individual legislator engages in blaming rhetoric, the immediate net electoral effects are null. This suggests that coordinated efforts by a party to blame opponents may improve the party’s relative standing, while imposing few costs on those engaged in blaming.