Search results for "Public Administration"
showing 10 items of 1623 documents
Balancing Roles of Representation in the European Commission
2008
Representation is one essential dimension of executive governance. This article has a dual ambition: The first is to outline an institutional perspective on representation that may explore and explain the everyday balancing act of representation among government officials. The second ambition is to empirically illuminate dynamics of representation among crucial test-bed inside the European Commission, that of temporary officials. Temporary Commission officials offer a valuable laboratory for exploring the fine balancing act of representation. Based on survey and interview data on temporary Commission officials, this study supports an institutional perspective on representation in two ways. …
A method for the territorial organization of socio-sanitary services
1983
The need for a profound change in the health service has recently led to the development of a national sanitary plan, which the Italian government has submitted to the political and social forces as a midterm strategy for the transformation of the health service.
Social Media as Public Sphere: A Stakeholder Perspective
2016
Purpose This paper aims to examine major stakeholders’ communication preferences in eParticipation initiatives and discuss how this affects the public sphere. Despite the potential of social media, it has proven difficult to get people actively involved in the decision-making processes. There is a need for more research on how stakeholders manage and use social media to communicate. Design/methodology/approach The study was conducted as a qualitative case study. Data sources include interviews, social media content, document analysis and field notes. Findings Communication preferences of stakeholders vary according to their salience level. Stakeholders with higher salience are less likely …
Procedure and Debate in the British Parliamentary Culture
2016
Haapala illuminates the relationship between procedure and debate in the British parliamentary culture that was formed during the nineteenth century. While emphasising the constitutional shift to parliamentary government after the passing of the 1832 Reform Act, the chapter demonstrates its effects on the parliamentary culture with a special focus on the increasing role of debate and the attempts to reform House of Commons’ procedures. As well as drawing attention to the publicity of parliamentary proceedings and professionalisation of political journalism, Haapala uses rhetorical treatises and manuals to show the common attitudes towards parliamentary debate before and after the institutio…
State, Politics and the Legitimacy of Religious Peacebuilders
2016
In this chapter, Steen-Johnsen shows how the failure of religious leaders to challenge the political strategies of the Ethiopian regime affects their legitimacy as spokespersons for peace. Steen-Johnsen shows how this makes the religious leaders appear as accomplices of the state among groups that they try to address with their message of peace. Steen-Johnsen acknowledges that conflicts which appear religious almost always have political dimensions. She shows how retorting to toothless messages of coexistence and appearing alongside government officials, the Ethiopian religious leaders lose legitimacy as spokespersons for peace. Steen-Johnsen suggests considering how relationships between s…
Are Citizens Significant Users of Government Financial Information?
2006
This article reports on the use that the public makes of the budgetary and financial reporting produced by Spanish local authorities. The authors show financial reporting influences voting behaviour. Although citizens cannot decide how much tax they have to pay or the volume or quality of the services, they can control public management when it comes to election time. Accounting information can reflect the results of public policies and consequently serve as a vehicle for communicating the economic effects of political management. The authors make a strong case for more ‘popular’ financial reporting so that government accounts can be understood and properly used by non-specialists.
Squaring the welfare circle and government ideology: Greece and Spain in the 1990s
1999
This article examines the “squaring the welfare circle” thesis and its usefulness to our understanding of welfare developments in Greece and Spain in the 1990s. The welfare state in both Greece and Spain was expanded considerably in the early 1980s by the newly elected socialist governments, only to hit the buffers of diminishing resources and rising demands in the late 1980s as well as the hostile neo-liberal welfare ideology. The process of welfare expansion was halted in the 1990s, labour market deregulation was encouraged and containment of welfare expenditure became the dominant aim of government policies. This article concentrates on the actual policies of governments in the 1990s rat…
Local Government Reforms in Latvia, 1990-2003: Transition to a Democratic Society
2004
This case study of Latvian local governments focuses on the qualitative aspects of reform legislation passed and implemented between 1990 and 2003 as the best available measures of changes made. Special attention is given to historical influences and inherited Soviet practices, the uncertain and conflicting value systems of reformers, and a gradual shift to concerns about the services provided. Power relationships are examined, together with the funding of local governments and minority relations. It is anticipated that in 2005 Latvia will adopt new elected regional development boards to work with the EU and other external institutions, leading to more democratic and cooperative modes of go…
BUILDING FOREIGN AFFAIRS CAPACITY IN THE EU: THE RECRUITMENT OF MEMBER STATE OFFICIALS TO THE EUROPEAN EXTERNAL ACTION SERVICE (EEAS)
2013
The Treaty of Lisbon introduced common action capacities in the EU's external relations administration, notably the European External Action Service (EEAS). One essential capacity is staff resources. This article analyses to what extent and under what conditions the practice of staff recruitment to the EEAS is independent of government influence, and in particular the recruitment of officials temporarily assigned from EU member states. The data draw on interviews with officials from all 27 member states as well as the EEAS which is charged with the selection of national public servants to the EEAS. Key findings suggest substantial independence of recruitment to the EEAS, and this independen…
Developments in financial information by local entities in europe
2010
In recent years, most Organisation for Economic and Cooperation Development (OECD) countries have brought in important reforms into their public accounting systems with the objective of both improving public service management and increasing the transparency and accountability of governments. Reforms of government accounting share a common direction towards the implementation of accrual-based accounting systems. In this context, this paper presents the situation of local government accounting systems in European countries with the aim of showing the degree of uniformity/ heterogeneity that currently exists among the countries considered and why differences persist nowadays, trying to classi…