Governance-An International Journal of Policy Administration and Institutions最新文献

State capacity is widely recognized as a prerequisite for the successful fostering of economic and political development and is considered key to understanding change and enduring differences in development across countries. Yet, despite its influence, there are several aspects of the exercise of state power that are still in need of explanation. Such aspects typically relate to unexpected variation in outcomes within and/or across polities and policies. To better understand these outcomes, this paper argues that we must recognize the ways in which the modern state is not only a physical and organizational entity but also a politically constructed—and highly contested— idea of how political order should be organized. Against this backdrop, the paper introduces a new dimension of state capacity: ideational reach—defined as the ability to engender loyalty to the idea of the state as the primary source of authority among the population.

Scholars have documented a steep decline in Americans' trust in the bureaucracy. This trend is problematic because it threatens the legitimacy of democratic policymaking by public sector agencies. We hypothesize that the participation of the bureaucracy's elected political principals in agency policy decision-making increases public confidence in the regulatory process. To test this argument, we implement a vignette-based survey experiment with roughly 1350 people in a politically divided U.S. state. The experimental evidence demonstrates that, even when controlling for partisanship, public confidence in state agency policymaking increases when legislators and the governor are actively engaged in the process. To some, these results may be surprising: how could the participation of elected government actors—who, themselves, are often held in such low esteem—boost public confidence? Others may view the findings as a normative rationale for further structural design reforms that encourage the involvement of elected representatives in agency rulemaking.

This paper examines how companies respond to global economic shocks by seeking political connections. Using company-level data, the study explores how exposure to increased trade competition—specifically, rising Chinese imports—affects U.S. firms' lobbying strategies. The findings reveal that companies facing greater economic pressures are more likely to hire politically connected lobbyists, particularly in industries more exposed to trade. These findings indicate that, during periods of economic instability, firms actively pursue political influence as a strategy to manage uncertainty and safeguard their interests.

This article shows, for the first time, gendered patterns in the organization and composition of collegial executive institutions below the level of the cabinet. Drawing on an original dataset of ministerial cabinet committees since the 1990s, we investigate how ministerial supply, gendered norms, and ideology affect committee priorities, women's presence, and access to power in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom. Committee priorities remain predominantly masculine, despite the increasing supply of women in all cases, but women's presence strengthens with increasing ministerial supply. However, women are regularly excluded from masculine committees and influential chairing positions on such committees. Ideology indirectly affects gendered priorities, presence and power through its effect on supply. These findings demonstrate the persistence and strength of gender as an entrenched feature of institutional design in executive politics and provide a basis for further research into how gender impacts collegiality and collective decision-making.

This paper begins by charting the trajectory of Malta's political, policy and institutional innovation in relation to environmental issues since the Islands gained independence in 1964. It examines the growth of the Maltese environmental movement post-independence and the creation of governing institutions in response to public concern and international momentum. It then provides an analysis of the current situation in terms of issues, attitudes and narratives, particularly in relation to the construction and transport sectors. The paper reviews international practices and challenges in terms of environmental policy integration and democratic innovations, as well as positive experiences from the Maltese context. It concludes with some reflections, drawing on the roles of knowledge, public reason and social trust in environmental governance. This paper may be especially relevant to the study of governing institutions operating under conditions of intense pressure and the clientelist politics typical of small, densely-populated jurisdictions.