Climate change, economic crises, migration, and terrorism are among the many problems that challenge public governance in modern societies. Many of these problems are spanning political and administrative units; horizontally, vertically, and both. This makes public governance particularly challenging and turbulent. Since public governance mainly takes place through public organizations, like international organizations, ministries, and regulatory agencies, this book examines what difference organizational factors make in the governance process. The volume launches a general organizational approach to public governance. It outlines key theoretical dimensions that cut across governance structures and processes horizontally as well as vertically, thus paving the way for integrating separate empirical analyses into a coherent theoretical whole. Moreover, the organizational (independent) variables outlined in this book represent classical dimensions in the organization literature that are generic in character. This allows for generalizations across time and space. The volume also examines (organizational) design implications: By building systematic knowledge on how organizational factors shape governance processes on the one hand, and how organizational factors themselves might be deliberately changed on the other, the book offers a knowledge base for organizational design.

Climate change, economic crises, migration, and terrorism are among the many problems that challenge public governance in modern societies. Many of these problems are spanning political and administrative units; horizontally, vertically, and both. This makes public governance particularly challenging and turbulent. Since public governance mainly takes place through public organizations, like international organizations, ministries, and regulatory agencies, this book examines what difference organizational factors make in the governance process. The volume launches a general organizational approach to public governance. It outlines key theoretical dimensions that cut across governance structures and processes horizontally as well as vertically, thus paving the way for integrating separate empirical analyses into a coherent theoretical whole. Moreover, the organizational (independent) variables outlined in this book represent classical dimensions in the organization literature that are generic in character. This allows for generalizations across time and space. The volume also examines (organizational) design implications: By building systematic knowledge on how organizational factors shape governance processes on the one hand, and how organizational factors themselves might be deliberately changed on the other, the book offers a knowledge base for organizational design.

This Handbook introduces the institutions, organisations and policy processes that make up EU public administration, including those that typically operate beneath the surface, and critically reviews the state of the art in research. Paying close attention to the multi-level nature of EU governance, it is a vital resource for graduate and postgraduate students in the disciplines of European studies, political science and EU law. This title contains one or more Open Access chapters.

Public-sector organizations are fundamentally different from their private-sector counterparts. They are part of the society’s political organizations and are major political actors. They are multifunctional, follow a political leadership and the majority do not operate in an external market. In an era of rapid reform, reorganization and modernization of the public sector, this book offers a timely and illuminating introduction to the public-sector organization that recognizes its unique values, interests, knowledge and power base. Drawing on both instrumental and institutional perspectives within organization theory, as well as democratic theory and empirical studies of decision-making, the book addresses five central aspects of the public-sector organization: ■ goals, values and motivation ■ leadership and steering ■ reform and change ■ effects, learning and implications ■ understanding and design The book challenges conventional economic analysis of the public sector, arguing instead for a political-democratic approach and a new prescriptive organization theory. A rich resource of both theory and practice, Organization Theory and the Public Sector: Instrument, Culture and Myth is essential reading for anybody studying the public sector. This second edition of the book contains a range of new and updated themes, examples and references.

This comprehensive Encyclopedia is an essential reference text for students, scholars and practitioners in public management. Offering a broad and inter-cultural perspective on public management as a field of practice and science, it covers all the most relevant and contemporary terms and concepts, comprising 78 entries written by nearly 100 leading international scholars.

Ebook available in Open Access: oapen.org/search?identifier=1006705 Strategies and priorities for the public sector in Europe The public sector in our society has over the past two decades undergone substantial changes, as has the academic field studying Public Administration (PA). In the next twenty years major shifts are further expected to occur in the way futures are anticipated and different cultures are integrated. Practice will be handled in a relevant way, and more disciplines will be engaging in the field of Public Administration. The prominent scholars contributing to this book put forward research strategies and focus on priorities in the field of Public Administration. The volume will also give guidance on how to redesign teaching programmes in the field. This book will provide useful insights to compare and contrast European PA with PA in Europe, and with developments in other parts of the world. Contributors: Geert Bouckaert (KU Leuven), Werner Jann (University of Potsdam), Jana Bertels (University of Potsdam), Paul Joyce (University of Birmingham), Meelis Kitsing (Estonian Business School, Tallinn), Thurid Hustedt (Hertie School of Governance, Berlin), Tiina Randma-Liiv (Tallinn University of Technology), Martin Burgi (Ludwig Maximilians University of Munich), Philippe Bezès (Science Po Paris; CNRS), Salvador Parrado (Spanish Distance Learning University (UNED), Madrid), Mark Bovens (Utrecht University; WRR), Roel Jennissen (WRR), Godfried Engbersen (Erasmus University Rotterdam), Meike Bokhorst (WRR), Bogdana Neamtu (Babes Bolyai University, Cluj-Napoca), Christopher Pollitt (KU Leuven), Edoardo Ongaro (Open University UK, Milton Keynes), Raffaella Saporito (Bocconi University, Milan), Per Laegreid (University of Bergen), Marcel Karré (Erasmus University Rotterdam), Thomas Schillemans (Utrecht University), Martijn Van de Steen (Nederlandse School voor Openbaar Bestuur), Zeger van de Wal (National University of Singapore), Michael Bauer (University of Speyer), Stefan Becker (University of Speyer), Jean-Michel Eymeri-Douzans (Université de Toulouse), Filipe Teles (University of Aveiro), Denita Cepiku (Tor Vergata University of Rome), Marco Meneguzzo (Tor Vergata University of Rome), Külli Sarapuu (Tallinn University of Technology), Leno Saarniit (Tallinn University of Technology), Gyorgy Hajnal (Corvinus University of Budapest; Centre for Social Research of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences).

The thoroughly revised and updated Handbook on Theories of Governance brings together leading scholars in the field to summarise and assess the diversity of governance theories. The Handbook advances a deeper theoretical understanding of governance processes, illuminating the interdisciplinary foundations of the field.

Redefining EU Membership examines the issue of Membership within the European Union (EU) today by focusing on differentiation in and outside the EU. The Treaty on European Union unequivocally declares that the contracting parties are the Member States of the EU. However, a closer examination casts some doubt of the unitary status of Member States, or at least suggests that the concept requires nuancing. Whilst diversity, and to some extent differentiation, have been part and parcel of the European integration process since its inception, Redefining EU Membership proposes that, considering several developments, a new reflection on membership within the EU and on differentiation in and outside the EU is required. The volume's contributions are organized around four aspects of the tensions faced by the concept of a unitary and formal EU membership: first, an examination of key policy areas which have already witnessed various forms of differentiated integration; second, an analysis of 'special statuses' within the EU; third, important examples of non-Member States in which EU law is applied (with and without their participation in the EU's decision-making process); and fourth, the situation of states under accession or secession procedures which obliges them to accept EU norms and policies even prior to/after formal membership. These analyses are complemented by a reflection on the concept of membership in itself. In a context in which EU enlargement appears likely, the provided analysis reflects on the need to expand and introduce several kinds of membership to the EU in the future.

This Research Agenda provides a broad and comprehensive overview of the field of multilevel governance. Illustrating theoretical and normative approaches and identifying prevailing gaps in research, it offers a cutting-edge agenda for future investigations.

This volume highlights and builds on many of the complements and alternatives to rationality that March articulated: a technology of foolishness, garbage can models of decision making, a logic of appropriateness, organizational learning, and a variety of models of chance and luck.