Under what conditions does bureaucracy matter in the making of global public policies?

Abstract This study investigates how configurations of bureaucratic autonomy, policy complexity and political contestation allow international public administrations (IPAs) to influence policymaking within international organizations. A fuzzy‐set Qualitative Comparative Analysis of 17 policy decisio...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inGovernance (Oxford) Vol. 36; no. 4; pp. 1313 - 1333
Main Authors Ege, Jörn, Bauer, Michael W., Wagner, Nora, Thomann, Eva
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Oxford Blackwell Publishing Ltd 01.10.2023
Subjects
Autonomy
Bureaucracy
Comparative analysis
Fuzzy sets
International organizations
Policy making
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Summary:Abstract This study investigates how configurations of bureaucratic autonomy, policy complexity and political contestation allow international public administrations (IPAs) to influence policymaking within international organizations. A fuzzy‐set Qualitative Comparative Analysis of 17 policy decisions in four organizations (FAO, WHO, ILO, UNESCO) shows that all IPAs studied can be influential in favorable contexts. When policies are both contested and complex, even IPAs lacking autonomy can influence policy. If either complexity or contestation is absent, however, it is the variant of autonomy of will that helps the IPA exploit procedural strategies of influence. Low autonomy of will, among other factors, explains why IPAs cannot exert influence. Conversely, the variant of autonomy of action appears largely irrelevant. The study provides new insights into the role of bureaucracy beyond the state, exemplifying how research of bureaucratic influence can yield more systematic results in various empirical settings.
ISSN:0952-1895
1468-0491
DOI:10.1111/gove.12741