In this special issue, recent public sector reforms in South Africa, Denmark, Belgium, Mexico, Singapore and Denmark are analysed. Reforms in the public sector are by and large explained as a chronological development from traditional bureaucracy, via New Public Management to New Public Governance. This is also the way the many administrative reforms in the Dutch public sector are often explained. |
Bestuurskunde
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Thema-artikel |
De blik naar buiten: bestuurlijke verbouwingen in het buitenland |
Trefwoorden | bestuurlijke hervormingen, bestuurlijke ontwikkeling, internationale vergelijking, New Public Management, New Public Governance |
Auteurs | Prof. dr. Joop Koppenjan en Dr. Willemijn Dicke |
Samenvatting |
Thema-artikel |
Strategische planning en fusies in Vlaamse gemeentenEen essay over Vlaamse ervaringen met New Public Management-hervormingen |
Trefwoorden | new public management, local government, strategic planning, municipal mergers, Flemish municipalities |
Auteurs | Bert George PhD |
Samenvatting |
In the past years, Flemish municipalities have been confronted with a plethora of new public management reforms. The two probably most salient reforms include the introduction of a strategic planning system entitled the policy and management cycle (PMC) as well as the provision of financial incentives for municipalities that undertake a merger. These reforms are not unique to the Flemish context. Indeed, similar reforms took place in the Netherlands, where policy and management instruments (PMI) – a strategic planning system – were introduced in the eighties and municipal mergers have been part of the political agenda for several decades. But similar reforms also took place in, for instance, the United Kingdom (i.e. the best value regime in 1999) as well as Denmark (i.e. the municipal mergers in 2007). In this essay, these Flemish reforms are critically evaluated, taking into account following question: which public values are triggered through these reforms, and what might this imply for the Flemish and Dutch local public sector? This essay uses new public governance principles such as strategic thinking and the learning organisation to answer this question. |
Thema-artikel |
Voortvarend in verbouwenHoe Denemarken efficiënt drastische beleidswijzigingen realiseert (maar niet per se heel effectief blijkt) |
Trefwoorden | Comparative public administration, Public reform, Reform implementation, Decentralisation, Civil service |
Auteurs | Eline van Schaik MSc |
Samenvatting |
In international comparative research, a dominant image often emerges of Denmark as a frontrunner in innovative governance, gaining top results in international rankings. |
Thema-artikel |
Voorbij Public Administration en New Public ManagementZuid-Afrika op zoek naar een nieuwe inrichting van publieke voorzieningen |
Trefwoorden | new public management, networked governance, learning governance, service provision |
Auteurs | Prof. dr. Hans Bossert en Prof. dr. Martijn van der Steen |
Samenvatting |
South Africa underwent an unprecedented transition in 1994. The country changed from the Apartheid regime into a system founded on the principles of the rule of law and equal treatment for all. Along with this political regime change, a wide range of social rights were included in the Constitution, which grants al citizens a constitutional right to a wide range of social services. Moreover, the system of governance and organisation of services was designed according to the latest insights from the then emerging new public management paradigm. Now, twenty years later, the system is crumbling; many of the basic services are not properly provided to citizens. Partly, this is a consequence of a basic absence of integrity in parts of the political class and in elements of the civil service. However, as we illustrate in a case analysis of the Water Boards in the Western Cape Province, the problem is also a consequence of the design of the system of governance. The combination of unlimited constitutional access to services and a stringent regime of new public management principles in the organisation of service provision has led to a serious crisis of performance. Therefore, the solution for the problem may be to redesign the system according to other governance principles, such as learning governance and networked governance. |
Thema-artikel |
Bestuur in een low-trust contextDe vicieuze cirkels in de hervorming van de Mexicaanse overheid |
Trefwoorden | low trust, vicious circles, administrative reforms, authoritarian legacies, Mexico |
Auteurs | Dr. Rik Peeters |
Samenvatting |
Since the late eighties, Mexico has experienced profound economic modernisation and political democratisation. However, the corresponding administrative reforms have lagged: professionalisation of the public sector, improvement of public service delivery and development of modern management principles are plagued by a lack of coherence, implementation, and continuity. This can be traced back to several historically rooted and structural characteristics of Mexican public administration, which reproduce vicious circles of low trust and dysfunction. For example, (1) the extreme spoils system maintains a culture of distrust towards civil servants; (2) Mexico’s weak state capacity is a consequence of a lack of collective action, but also further undermines citizens’ trust in government; (3) strong labour unions are a response to poor labour rights, but also uphold a system of capture and confrontation; and (4) corruption is inevitable if cooperation depends on personal loyalties. |
Thema-artikel |
‘Macho-meritocratie’ SingaporeVijf lessen uit het genadeloze streven naar ambtelijke excellentie |
Trefwoorden | Singapore, public service excellence, Performance, comparative public administration |
Auteurs | Prof. dr. Zeger van der Wal |
Samenvatting |
Singapore and the Netherlands are small, export- and trade-dependent countries that perform excellently in many areas, such as good governance and integrity, policy effectiveness, liveability, innovation, and e-government. At the same time there are clear differences in political culture and history: Singapore has a more authoritarian governance style including limitations in press freedom, freedom of speech, and political activism. Within these contrasting contexts, both countries have introduced and implemented similar public management reforms since the 1990s. The aim of these reforms is to maintain public service excellence in a dynamic environment but the countries make contrasting choices in achieving this aim. This article describes how administrative excellence is organised and pursued in Singapore and identifies five lessons for the Netherlands: (1) Use positive narratives about government often; (2) be nuanced about capping top-level remuneration; (3) enhance the attractiveness of government as an employer; (4) invest in life-long learning; (5) be an authoritative expert amidst horizontalisation hypes. |
Kroniek |
Recensie van Uri Rosenthal, Waarnemer, adviseur, beslisser |
Auteurs | Prof. mr. dr. Hans de Bruijn |
Kroniek |
Recensie van: Mark van Twist, Woorden wisselen |
Auteurs | Prof. dr. Roel in ’t Veld |
Vanuit de VB |
Juryrapport Van Poelje Jaarprijs 2017 |
Vrij artikel |
Transparantie in de EU-RaadOnvermijdelijk en onmisbaar? Onverzadelijk en onuitvoerbaar? |
Trefwoorden | transparency, Council of the EU, access to documents, democratic legitimacy |
Auteurs | Dr. Maarten Hillebrandt |
Samenvatting |
The democratic deficit is generally observed to be one of the largest challenges facing the European Union. This is in spite of the fact that the member states introduced transparency in 1992 to address this legitimacy problem. This article asks why, after several decades, the transparency policy has still not delivered on its promise. In doing so, it bases itself on new empirical data that was collected in the context of a recently presented dissertation (Hillebrandt, 2017), while drawing a strict distinction between the empirical policy change question and the normative desirability question. From a longitudinal comparative analysis, a differentiated empirical image arises. On the one hand, a clear enhancement of legislative transparency can be discerned; on the other hand, a plurality of transparency-evasive practices has emerged in the area of non-legislative decision-making. This equivocal image supports contrasting normative responses, according to which transparency is respectively cast as an indispensable ideal, a fiction, or a solution in search of a problem. |
Dissertatie |
Framing coastal squeeze: Understanding the integration of mega-nourishment schemes into the Dutch coastal management solutions repertoireAn interpretive analysis of coastal management processes |
Auteurs | Ewert Johannes Aukes |
Dissertatie |
Worlds between wordsThe politics of intra-European movement discourses |
Auteurs | Mark M.A.C. van Ostaijen |
Dissertatie |
From conflict to cooperationExploring post-conflict interactions between police and citizens |
Auteurs | Sara Stronks |