SV Studying Public Governance
Political struggle and power.
Government action or inaction in response to public problems.
- interrelated decisions taken by a political actor or group of actors. It contains goals and the
means of achieving those goals in a specific situation
- government action/inaction in response to public problems, decisions.
- Outcome in government over who gets what. Power dynamics, winners/losers.
L1 Introduction
Resource curse: countries with a lot of natural resources tend to have lower GPD’s.
Policy-Admin-Communication: Policy decisions -> communicated to the public (citizens,
public administrators -> citizens and policy administrations take action.
Divide between private and public policy: Means through which power is exercised.
Private and public are assumed to be mutually exclusive.
- Private policy ( realm): outside the government’s control of regulation and coercion.
government does not have influence and power in the ‘home’ of citizens. Liberty and
freedom. But for example, domestic violence is an exception.
- Public policy (realm): within government’s control.
Public Policy:
- Reactive: made in response to some problem/ or a solution looking for a problem
- Meant to solve a problem
- made in ‘public interest’ (not always the case of course)
- Made by the government
- Interpreted and implemented by public and private actors (perception of the problem
may vary)
Differences in scope of public policy
1. Sectors. not limited to a single measure or program but to the whole range of
policies, laws, programs, and measures within a specific policy field.
2. Sub-fields. policies and activities in a specific sub-theme (e.g. water or clean air
policy under environmental policy).
3. Distinct policy issues or targets. One law can contain several policy targets (e.g.
clean air policy may have several targets; urban air, car exhaust emissions).
4. Policy instruments. specify how a specific activity will be regulated. (e.g. ban
immigration/set quotas).
,L2. Public administration and public governance
Definitions of Public Administration (PA)
- Political: Everything that the government does. Policy and administration. PA is a stage in
the policy cycle. PA plays a role in the implementation of policies.
- Legal: Law in action. Execution of public law. (No law no administration).
- Legal: Administrative law: law of when, how, and where actions can be taken.
- Managerial: PA as a whole of organizations and activities aimed at the management of
society.
- Managerial: Government in action, managing public affairs. Cooperative management. PA
is the executive function.
- Policy and administration science as a field of study:
PA in the Netherlands
The rise of Dutch Public Administration during the post-World-War II period is due to:
- Post WW2: growth in welfare (welfare state) and massive reconstruction -> the need for a
scientific approach to guide policy-making -> more policies. Reconstruction after the war
(growth in international government associations USA). After the war, normative questions
came up: what should the government do to make the lives of the citizens better?
Political philosophy -> became more political practices
Laswell:
- A more multi-disciplinary approach to political structures. Involvement of different
disciplines.
- More problem-solving oriented
- Explicitly normative
Government: institutions and political processes through which public policies are made.
From government to -> governance:
The state being the central, in control -> to multiple smaller centers. -> multiple networks,
cooperation between different organizations.
- Blurring the boundaries between the state and the private sector.
- Networks, inter-organizational efforts at solving a problem.
- Governance: collective coordination of individual action. (hierarchical and non-hierarchical
modes). The coordination of the interactions between private sector, public sector and civil
society.
Controversy governance: governments could stimulate learning from controversies while
mitigating situations of enduring, paralyzing conflict.
Public governance in the Netherlands: Deliberation and compromise
Politics: exercise of power in a society/over specific policy decisions. Who gets what, when
and how (Laswell).
, Context of policy:
- Environment shapes which policies reach the agenda, which alternatives are
considered, and what is considered politically viable.
In a stable environment: institutional structures.
In a dynamic environment: crises, party in power.
Related aspects to consider:
1. Social context: Demographics of a population. How the population is divided
(gender-transition, aging, race and ethnicity, segregation between groups = social
cleavages).
2. Politics: which political parties and which interest groups are in power -> policies
made to be in favor of those groups. Ideological divides in the country.
3. Structural environment: institutional structure can determine the efficiency and
effectiveness of policymaking. Stable vs dynamic environment. Federal vs unitary
(quicker) governing structure. Separation vs unity of powers. Democrative vs
non-democrative.
4. Economic environment: more options in a strong economy vs weak economy.
Strong economy -> lower unemployment -> less expenditure on welfare benefits.
Shift from information economy -> information and services economy (e.g. industrial
revolution)
Resource based economy (primary exports) -> lower ToT (resource curse)
5. Cultural context: difference values, beliefs and attitudes (trust in government).
Political struggle and power.
Government action or inaction in response to public problems.
- interrelated decisions taken by a political actor or group of actors. It contains goals and the
means of achieving those goals in a specific situation
- government action/inaction in response to public problems, decisions.
- Outcome in government over who gets what. Power dynamics, winners/losers.
L1 Introduction
Resource curse: countries with a lot of natural resources tend to have lower GPD’s.
Policy-Admin-Communication: Policy decisions -> communicated to the public (citizens,
public administrators -> citizens and policy administrations take action.
Divide between private and public policy: Means through which power is exercised.
Private and public are assumed to be mutually exclusive.
- Private policy ( realm): outside the government’s control of regulation and coercion.
government does not have influence and power in the ‘home’ of citizens. Liberty and
freedom. But for example, domestic violence is an exception.
- Public policy (realm): within government’s control.
Public Policy:
- Reactive: made in response to some problem/ or a solution looking for a problem
- Meant to solve a problem
- made in ‘public interest’ (not always the case of course)
- Made by the government
- Interpreted and implemented by public and private actors (perception of the problem
may vary)
Differences in scope of public policy
1. Sectors. not limited to a single measure or program but to the whole range of
policies, laws, programs, and measures within a specific policy field.
2. Sub-fields. policies and activities in a specific sub-theme (e.g. water or clean air
policy under environmental policy).
3. Distinct policy issues or targets. One law can contain several policy targets (e.g.
clean air policy may have several targets; urban air, car exhaust emissions).
4. Policy instruments. specify how a specific activity will be regulated. (e.g. ban
immigration/set quotas).
,L2. Public administration and public governance
Definitions of Public Administration (PA)
- Political: Everything that the government does. Policy and administration. PA is a stage in
the policy cycle. PA plays a role in the implementation of policies.
- Legal: Law in action. Execution of public law. (No law no administration).
- Legal: Administrative law: law of when, how, and where actions can be taken.
- Managerial: PA as a whole of organizations and activities aimed at the management of
society.
- Managerial: Government in action, managing public affairs. Cooperative management. PA
is the executive function.
- Policy and administration science as a field of study:
PA in the Netherlands
The rise of Dutch Public Administration during the post-World-War II period is due to:
- Post WW2: growth in welfare (welfare state) and massive reconstruction -> the need for a
scientific approach to guide policy-making -> more policies. Reconstruction after the war
(growth in international government associations USA). After the war, normative questions
came up: what should the government do to make the lives of the citizens better?
Political philosophy -> became more political practices
Laswell:
- A more multi-disciplinary approach to political structures. Involvement of different
disciplines.
- More problem-solving oriented
- Explicitly normative
Government: institutions and political processes through which public policies are made.
From government to -> governance:
The state being the central, in control -> to multiple smaller centers. -> multiple networks,
cooperation between different organizations.
- Blurring the boundaries between the state and the private sector.
- Networks, inter-organizational efforts at solving a problem.
- Governance: collective coordination of individual action. (hierarchical and non-hierarchical
modes). The coordination of the interactions between private sector, public sector and civil
society.
Controversy governance: governments could stimulate learning from controversies while
mitigating situations of enduring, paralyzing conflict.
Public governance in the Netherlands: Deliberation and compromise
Politics: exercise of power in a society/over specific policy decisions. Who gets what, when
and how (Laswell).
, Context of policy:
- Environment shapes which policies reach the agenda, which alternatives are
considered, and what is considered politically viable.
In a stable environment: institutional structures.
In a dynamic environment: crises, party in power.
Related aspects to consider:
1. Social context: Demographics of a population. How the population is divided
(gender-transition, aging, race and ethnicity, segregation between groups = social
cleavages).
2. Politics: which political parties and which interest groups are in power -> policies
made to be in favor of those groups. Ideological divides in the country.
3. Structural environment: institutional structure can determine the efficiency and
effectiveness of policymaking. Stable vs dynamic environment. Federal vs unitary
(quicker) governing structure. Separation vs unity of powers. Democrative vs
non-democrative.
4. Economic environment: more options in a strong economy vs weak economy.
Strong economy -> lower unemployment -> less expenditure on welfare benefits.
Shift from information economy -> information and services economy (e.g. industrial
revolution)
Resource based economy (primary exports) -> lower ToT (resource curse)
5. Cultural context: difference values, beliefs and attitudes (trust in government).
