Search results for "Institutional design"
showing 9 items of 9 documents
Theoretical Approach: The Situation-Structural Model as an Analytical Tool to Explain Regionalism
2017
This chapter provides the analytical framework and guiding theory for this work. Muntschick develops an innovative situation-structural model to the analysis of regionalism that goes beyond Euro-centric and classic integration theories because it takes the impact of external actors explicitly into account. This—often neglected—aspect is of crucial importance in regions with mainly developing countries that show strong and asymmetric relations to extra-regional actors. Besides offering clear-cut definitions of regions and regionalism, Muntschick draws on insights from cooperation and regime theory in order to specify assumptions and deduce hypotheses about the emergence, institutional design…
Regional Security Cooperation and the SADC’s Organ for Politics, Defence and Security: A Picture of Mixed Performance
2017
This chapter provides a profound analysis of regional security cooperation in the SADC and focusses on the institutionalisation and performance of the organisation’s central conflict management institution, the Organ for Politics, Defence and Security (OPDS). By clarifying the regional security complex in every detail, Muntschick highlights the countries’ common demand for institutionalised regional security cooperation and reflects on the conflicting interstate interests on the institutional design of the SADC’s central security organ. External actors play no significant role, but a lack of compromise between the leading military powers, South Africa and Zimbabwe, is initially responsible …
Demokratisches Institutionendesign in der Priorisierung und Rationierung von Gesundheitsleistungen
2012
Decisions on priority setting and rationing in health care have both informational and distributional aspects, which is why they require expert knowledge and specialised bodies on the one hand and democratic consent on the other hand. The paper presents normative criteria for the evaluation and empirical categories for the description and comparison of respective bodies. As procedural decisions always have implications for resulting distributional decisions, the bodies charged with priority setting and rationing decisions must be subject to democratic institutional design. (As supplied by publisher).
Reconciling credibility and accountability: how expert bodies achieve credibility through accountability processes
2018
Arguments about the legitimate role of expert bodies in Europe often centre on the following question: Does their independence help to make policies credible or should they be made democratically accountable to principals and stakeholders? This article claims this is a false dichotomy. It does so by arguing theoretically that credibility can be achieved through accountability processes. Then, drawing on exemplary case studies, this article identifies distinctive accountability processes for ensuring credibility: revisable competencies, deliberation over institutional design, and engagement in public justification. Credibility and accountability are thus not conflicting, but co-constitutive …
Introduction: Research Interest and Research Questions
2017
This chapter explores the theoretical and empirical puzzles of regionalism in the Global South on the example of the Southern African Development Community (SADC). The SADC is one of the most realistic and promising examples of the new regionalism and shows constant dynamics in a number of policy areas. The main research interest of this much-needed analysis is to explain the emergence, institutional design and performance of regionalism in the SADC from a political science perspective. In order to provide innovative research, the analytical focus is on the role and influence of regional key countries and, particularly, external actors. Moreover, this chapter offers a comprehensive overview…
The Southern African Power Pool: An Electrifying Project with Untapped Potential
2017
This chapter turns to infrastructure and gives an outstanding analysis of regional electricity cooperation in the SADC within the framework of the Southern African Power Pool (SAPP). The author illustrates the regional power imbalances in terms of national electricity generation and consumption which fuel the SADC countries’ demand for a regional electricity market and an interconnected regional power grid. It becomes clear that the SAPP’s institutional design is strongly influenced by South Africa as the hub of the existing power network and largest electricity producer. Influence by external actors is supportive of regional electricity cooperation since the EU provides funding for the SAP…
The Protocol on Trade and the Creation of the Southern African Development Community Free Trade Area
2017
The author offers a much-needed analysis of regional economic integration in the SADC and explains the successful establishment of the SADC Free Trade Area. He outlines the demand for regional market integration in the SADC’s member states from a structural perspective in consideration of intra-regional economic interdependence and trade relations. Against this background, this chapter provides an explanation of the specific provisions of the SADC Protocol on Trade that determined the institutional design of the free trade area. In this respect, Muntschick highlights the key role of South Africa as the regional economic hegemon. Finally, this chapter evaluates the performance of the SADC Fr…
Delegation and Institutional Design in Health-Care Rationing
2011
The delegation of decision-making powers to nonmajoritarian, independent agencies has become a significant phenomenon in more and more policy areas. One of these is the health-care sector, where decisions on the range of services covered within public systems have, in most developed countries, been delegated to specialized bodies. This article offers an analytical framework that seeks to grasp the empirical variety and complexity of delegative processes and appointed institutions. The framework is used to describe decision-making processes and institutions in six countries: Austria, Germany, Norway, Sweden, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom. We find that, although constrained by preexisti…
Theoretical foundations of empirical measures of freedom: a research challenge to liberal economists
2004
In this essay we ground the theoretical foundations of an empirical measure of the degree of freedom perceived by individuals on the Millian view of affirmation and development of individuality. We then discuss the implications of such a measure for policy and institutional design.