Administrative Styles in the OECD: Bureaucratic Policy-Making beyond Formal Rules

As we know from comparative public policy, bureaucracies contribute to a considerable degree to the contents and the ways of policy-making. One important driver of administrative policy-making are their specific “styles” or “cultures”. “Administrative styles” are understood here as the standard operating procedures and routines that characterize the behavior and activities of administrative bodies in initiating, drafting and implementing policy. In this article, we convey the concept of Administrative Styles to the level of International Organizations (IOs) and apply it to the Organization for Economic Development and Co-Operation (OECD). The article proceeds in three steps: First, the concept of administrative styles is introduced and refined. Drawing on expert interviews with OECD staff, we secondly show that consideration of OECD administrative styles significantly advances the literature’s understanding of the organization. Finally, we give an outlook on new research avenues and the relevance of our findings for the study of International Public Administrations (IPAs) more generally.     

Big change,little change? Punctuation,increments and multi-layer institutional change for English local authorities under austerity

This paper draws on new institutionalist theories to consider how we might characterise the process and outcomes of change occurring in English local government as a result of the UK’s austerity policies. It uses national and local empirical data to argue that changes are best understood as multi-layer processes, whereby radical ‘punctuated’ shifts in national funding can be mitigated to incremental adjustments in service delivery at a local level. However, the paper also suggests that the incremental appearance of change may be temporary, and that diminishing institutional resilience and emergent discursive shifts potentially prefigure a paradigm change in local governance.     

The Design and Execution of Performance Management Systems at State Level: A Comparative Analysis of Italy and Malaysia

This comparative study analyses the experience of Italy and Malaysia in the design and execution of performance management systems at the state level. The article investigates how performance management systems have changed over the past decades, the motivations behind their metamorphoses, their common elements across the two countries, and what accounts for the respective progress. It also investigates the role that the institutional framework plays in making performance management systems robust. The study presents policy recommendations on how governments can create more robust performance management systems for enhanced accountability and transparency in an age of resource constraint.     

Public Administration Research in Contemporary Russia: An Analysis of Journal Publications, 2010–2014

This study examines the latest tendencies in Russian research on public administration (2010–14) as it appears in Russian academic journals. The study considers the subjects of articles, their methodological features, and the characteristics of contributors. Revealing problems in public administration research in Russia contributes both to the development of Russian science and to the ongoing international discussion regarding the need for better research on public administration and state policy. By drawing attention to the shortcomings and weaknesses of Russian public administration research, the study is meant to advance the current discussion on ways to strengthen the quality of policy research around the world.     

The role of the pristavstvo institution in the context of Russian imperial policies in the Kazakh Steppe in the nineteenth century

The institution of pristavstvo was introduced in the Kazakh Steppe in the first decade of the nineteenth century. This institution had different meanings and functions, from an individually held position (e.g., a pristav to the khān of the Junior Horde in 1820; the pristavs who accompanied the Kazakh delegation to Saint Petersburg in the first half of the nineteenth century) to an administrative-territorial structure (e.g., the pristavstvo of the Senior Horde; the Mangyshlak and Zaisan pristavstvos). Though the political structure of the Russian empire had included institutions analogous to the pristavstvo, it was not a conventional component of the Russian administrative system. Studying the features of the pristavstvo institution in the territory of Kazakhstan and analysing the transformation of the pristav's function provide new insights on how the multi-ethnic Russian empire was managed. They will also help scholars to better understand the forms and methods the Russian authorities employed to manage their nomadic populations.     

隐私的历史考察和思考

隐私是一个动态、发展的概念,其内容不是一成不变的,而是随着社会政治、经济、文化的发展和人们隐私意识的提高,其内涵不断丰富,外延不断扩展。政治上,公私领域的划分是其存在和发展的前提;经济上,生产力和科学技术的发展为其存在和发展提供了物质基础;心理上,人们对本能、自我保护和自我实现的需要为其存在和发展创造了动力;文化上,不同的文化传统使其存在和发展更具多样性。隐私是一种事实状态,不等同于隐私权的客体,更不等同于隐私权。     

论和谐侦查的语境

和谐侦查是指权力机关在办理案件过程中,依照法律和社会许容度进行的专门调查工作和有关的强制性措施。侦查语境指的是侦查存在和运行的外部环境。和谐侦查的实现应以相关语境为依托,汲取语境的合理内核,相辅相成。其现实语境应涵盖以人为本的政治语境,正义实现的法律语境,探求真实的哲学语境。和谐侦查的构建没有现成的经验可供借鉴,因此,侦查所应有的各项理性规则与程序,侦查所面临的评价标准等等,仍待进一步实践和探索。     

侦查虚拟化初探

虚拟化是信息技术得到高度发展的产物,它在许多领域中都得到了不同程度的应用。同样,虚拟化也应当在犯罪侦查中得到应用,由于现实条件已经具备,在侦查中完全可以不同程度地实现虚拟化：可以建立虚拟现场,进行现场“复勘”并进行虚拟重建;利用各种信息平台,展开网上虚拟侦查;建立侦查智能决策支持系统（IDSS）,实现决策虚拟化。目前,侦查虚拟化仅仅停留在理念推广阶段,尚未全面展开实践。     

秘密侦查与侦查不公开之辨

侦查不公开与秘密侦查是有本质区别的。侦查不公开即为侦查过程中所知悉的情况不得向外泄露,其法理基础在于保证诉讼活动的顺利进行、贯彻无罪推定、保障公正审判和保护相关当事人的法益,域外各国都严格控制侦查不公开性。秘密侦查与侦查不公开在性质、要求保密的主体和客体上都是不同的。侦查应坚持适度公开,着重考虑是否会影响实体真实发现诉讼目的的实现、是否会对犯罪嫌疑人的名誉造成不应有的损害、是否会影响公正审判。     

中国古代秘密侦查方法析评

秘密侦查方法具有其特殊功能,为世界各国所普遍采用。我国古代便产生了广泛而深入的各种秘密侦查方法,其中包括以“侯”侦探,逆用犯罪人;设告密箱;跟踪盯梢和狱内侦查等。古代秘密侦查方法具有其合理内核,也为现代秘密侦查方法提供了相当的启示,如善用现代科技,促进秘密侦查方法的完善;面对我国秘密侦查立法的困境,从秘密侦查启动条件、启动主体、秘密侦查适用对象、实施程序、秘密侦查所获取资料的线索以及证据价值、违法秘密侦查的后果等方面完善我国缺失的秘密侦查立法;根据主体、客体、程序和是否穷尽等要素合理适用秘密侦查手段。