Conceptualising the policy engagement of interest groups: Involvement,access and prominence

While much progress has been made in empirically mapping and analysing a variety of interest group activities in the last decade, less attention has been devoted to conceptual work that clearly defines and distinguishes different forms of policy engagement. This article contributes to this endeavour by developing a theoretical framework that explicitly links currently available measures of the policy engagement of groups to the distinct concepts of group involvement, access and prominence. It argues that greater conceptual clarity will lead to better accumulation of knowledge in the sub‐field and a better understanding of the role of interest groups in political systems.     

COLLECTIVE ACTION IN PRISONS: PROTESTS,DISTURBANCES, AND RIOTS*

This study assesses competing explanations of inmate collective action using data from a nationwide sample of 317 adult maximum-and medium-security state prisons. Most previous studies have relied on data from only those prisons that have experienced riots. Hence, the conditions thought to cause collective outbursts may be equally present in prisons that did not experience such action. The current design allows for a comparison of riot and nonriot prisons. Additionally, this study examines the forces that generate other forms of collective action in prison, such as minor disturbances and inmate work stoppages. The results show that the variables under the administrative-control theory heading, but not the inmate-balance theory heading, help account for these events. Some consideration is given to the possibility that these two theories are complementary explanations.     

TOWARDS STANDARDS FOR THE PUBLICATION OF PERFORMANCE INDICATORS IN THE PUBLIC SECTOR: THE CASE OF SCHOOLS

Since the 1990s, the media and public authorities in many developed countries have published data on the quality of public services such as schools, hospitals and police. In the education sector the publication of performance indicators and league tables generated considerable debate. In this article, the policy context of this development in the education sector is analysed in conjunction with the problems associated with the public reporting of school performance indicators. This is followed by a discussion of the need for an accepted set of publication standards. The aim of this article is to initiate a debate about whether international consensus can be reached on the content of such a set of standards, and whether a particular set of standards, developed in the Dutch context, is applicable in and relevant to other countries. These Dutch standards have been applied to a variety of English, American and Dutch publications. The results of the analysis suggest that if the Dutch standards were applied, school performance publications could be significantly improved.     

Does Governance Matter — And If So,How? Process,Performance, and Outcomes

This article explores the connection between political process, performance, and outcomes. It lays out a set of key analytic distinctions (exogenous versus endogenous effects, micro versus macro level effects and influences, design and chance, and structures versus people) and then looks at conceptual problems in defining governmental outcomes, performance, and process. It gives extended attention to the criteria of effective governance and to the complex relationship of performance, values, and effectiveness, with emphasis on the prospects for improving governmental performance by manipulating modes of governance.     

Civil Servants and Policymakers: Neutral or Responsive Competence?

Competence is a frequently used but complex concept. This article explores various recent uses of the concept, with particular attention to political conditions favoring an emphasis on neutrality or responsiveness. We close with a brief comparative analysis of the quest for responsiveness in administration.     

Urban Land-Use and Building Control in The Netherlands: Flexible Decisions in a Rigid System

In the Netherlands, the system of rules concerning land-use and building at first sight seems rigid. A closer look, however, discloses a remarkable amount of flexibility partly authorized by 'hidden' legal possibilities. In assessing applications for building permits officials generally rely primarily not on the rules of building ordinances but on professional norms of good construction practice. A case-study of land-use planning shows a decision-process characterized by coalition-building which produces plans that are constantly changed to meet shifting external political and economic constraints. Such practices tend to endanger the normative goals of legal certainty and public accountability. To characterize the decision-processes involved as 'rule-application' or 'rule-enforcement' is not adequate. Firstly, because it tends to reduce the complex working of a rule to the imposition of pre-existing legal standards. Secondly, because the structure of the actors and their relationships is far more complex than a dichotomy of the 'regulator' and 'the regulated' suggests.