The Palgrave Handbook of the Public Servant 3030299791, 9783030299798
The Palgrave Handbook of the Public Servant examines what it means to be a public servant in today’s world(s) where glob
153 98 25MB
English Pages 1761 [1701] Year 2021
Contents
About the Editors
Contributors
Part I: Introduction to the Palgrave Handbook of the Public Servant
Introduction
1 Purpose: What This Book Is About
2 Genesis of the Book
3 Why Do We Need This Book?
4 Themes and Questions
4.1 Identity
4.2 Authority
4.3 Capability
5 How To Use This Book
References
Part II: Understanding Public Servants from a Global Perspective
Understanding Public Servants from a Global Perspective: An Introduction
1 Who Are Public Servants?
2 The Scope of the Public Service
3 How Are They Recruited?
4 The Compensation of Public Servants
5 The Status of Women in the Public Service
6 Conclusion
7 Cross-References
References
A Typology of the Latin American Civil Servant: Patronage Appointee, Technocrat, Loyalist, or Careerist
1 Introduction
2 Latin American Civil Servants: State Capacities or Administrative Tradition?
2.1 State Capacities
2.2 Administrative Tradition
3 Types of Civil Servants
3.1 Typology
3.2 Patronage Appointees
3.3 Technocrats
3.4 Partisan Loyalists
3.5 Careerists
4 Conclusions
5 Cross-References
References
Government Employment Practices in East Asia: A Case Study of Merit-Based Recruitment and Selection of Civil Servants in Japan...
1 Introduction
2 A Brief Introduction to the Government Employment System in Japan and Korea
3 Recruitment and Selection in Japan
4 Recruitment and Selection in Korea
5 Conclusion and Issues for Further Development
6 Cross-References
References
Contemporary Issues in Civil Service Management in South Asia: Principles and Practice in India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh
1 Introduction
2 Historizing the Civil Services in South Asia
3 Social-Cultural Foundations
4 Political Regime-Bureaucracy Nexus
5 Structure and Classification
6 Recruitment and Selection
7 Career Management
7.1 Career Advancement
7.2 Performance Appraisal
7.3 Job Rotation
7.4 Training and Development
8 Ethics and Integrity
9 Summary and Conclusion
10 Cross-References
References
Representative Bureaucracy in Canada: Multiculturalism in the Public Service
1 Introduction
2 Representative Bureaucracy and Canada
3 Canadian Multiculturalism and Representative Democracy
4 Progress in Canadian Representative Bureaucracy
4.1 Data Analysis
4.2 Representation of Visible Minorities in the Canadian Public Service
4.3 Improving the Outcomes for Visible Minorities
5 Conclusion
5.1 Future of Employment Equity/Legislated Employment Equity Program in Canada
6 Cross-References
References
Part III: The Philosophical Foundations for Public Servants: There and Back Again
The Theory of the Public Servant: Which Past Informs the Present? An Introduction
1 Cross-References
References
Deep Thinkers and Their Influence on the Conception of the Public Servant: Reconciling Philosophical Roots
1 ``Public´´ and Its Modern Contexts
2 The Twentieth Century ``Modernizations´´
3 Weber, Li Bai (Li Po) and Confucius: Crafting a Universal Philosophy of a Public Servant
4 Consequences of Assuming Universal (Western) Values in Public Servant Behavior
5 The Importance of the Public Square and Its Place in the World of the Public Servant
6 Cross-References
References
From the Ottoman Legacy to Modern Public Management Systems: Evidence from Turkey, Kosova, and Kazakhstan
1 Introduction
2 Contesting the Conventionality of Comparative Public Administration
2.1 Normative and Pragmatic Views from the Literature
2.2 Non-Western/Global PA: An Emerging ``Doctrine´´?
2.3 The ``Second World´´ Category: Evidence of Alternative PA Legacies
2.4 Theoretical Framing
3 Research Scope and Strategy
3.1 Specific Objectives
3.2 Research Approach
4 Context-Specific Practices of Public Management
4.1 The Case of Turkey: From Secularism to Faith-Based Indigenous Governance
4.2 The Case of Kosova: A Nexus of Pro-Americanism and EU Governance Prescriptions
4.3 The Case of Kazakhstan: Lesson-Learning from Russian, Chinese and Anglo-Saxon Models
5 Discussion and Conclusion
6 Cross-References
References
Bolivar and Liberation from Spain: The Historical Development of the Public Servant in Colombia
1 Introduction
2 1750-1810: From Colonialism to Independence
2.1 Colonial Administration, Elites, and Colonial Society
2.2 Territorial Administration: Forms and Complexities
2.3 Positions in Colonial Public Administration
2.4 Pre-independence Realities
3 1810-1830: Bolivar and the Republican Processes
3.1 Bolivar Project
3.2 Struggles in Heaven and the End of Bolivar´s Dream
4 1830-1886: Configuration of Territories and Public Functions
4.1 The Republic and Political Parties After Bolivar
4.2 The Inconclusive Administrative Structure Fight: Unitary Versus Federal
5 Conclusion
6 Cross-References
References
Public Servants in Modern India: Who Are They?
1 Introduction
2 The Difference Between Civil Servants and Public Servants
3 The Case of the Undocumented Public Servants: Why Does It Matter?
4 Conclusion
5 Cross-References
References
Part IV: Values and Motivation
Values and Motivation: An Introduction
1 Introduction
2 Conclusion
3 Cross-References
References
Deconstructing NPM: Public Service Values in a Global Public Administration
1 Deconstructing New Public Management
2 Public Values Shift
3 Global Values Revolution
4 Implications for the Future of Public Service
5 Conclusion
References
Public Service Motivation and Its Implications for Public Service
1 Introduction
2 What Is Public Service Motivation?
2.1 Predisposition, Beliefs, Values, Attitudes, and/or Orientations
2.2 Self-Interest and Prosocial Motivation Can Be Mixed
2.3 Potential Causes and Consequences of Public Service Motivation
3 Service and Sector Dynamics of Public Service Motivation
3.1 A Fit with the Values of the Organization
3.2 Attraction, Selection, and Attrition
3.3 Public-Private Sector Differences
3.4 Socialization During Education and After Labor Market Entry
3.5 Service or Sector? Service Orientation Regardless of Sector Status
3.6 Public Service Impact in Different Contexts
4 Implications for Public Service Delivery and Performance
4.1 Studies Focused on Performance/Outcomes of Public Agency and Individual Workers
4.2 The Relationship Between Public Service Motivation and Performance Is Contextual
4.3 Dark Sides of Public Service Motivation
4.4 How Public Service Motivation Is Studied
4.5 Studies Focusing on Behavior and Public Service Motivation
5 Cultivating Public Service Motivation through Leadership
5.1 Transformational Leadership and Public Service Motivation
5.2 The Importance of Governance Interventions
5.3 Challenges in Cultivating Public Service Motivation
5.4 Shared Models of Leadership
5.5 Importance of Assumptions About Individuals´ Motivation
6 Conclusion
7 Cross-References
References
``Considered Language´´ in Public Service: Changing Discourses and Their Implementation in Practice
1 Introduction
2 Language Use in Public Services
3 Intellectual Disability
4 Frailty
5 Conclusion: Summary and Implications for the Public Servant
6 Cross-References
References
Prop Masters or Puppeteers? The Role of Public Servants in Staging a Public Value Review
1 The Challenges of Reviewing Public Value Creation
2 Conceptualizing Public Value Reviews
3 The Roles of Public Servants in Public Value Reviews
4 Public Value Reviews and Public Servant Roles
4.1 Involving Actors
4.2 Explicating Goals
4.3 Exchanging and Examining Information
4.4 Exploring Future Actions
5 Conclusion
6 Cross-References
References
Public Value Governance: A Framework
1 Introduction
2 Toward Integration of Public Value(S) and Governance
2.1 Public Values
2.2 Public Value
2.3 Governance
2.4 Public Value, Public Values, and Governance Converge
3 A Meta-Theoretic Approach
4 General Definitions
4.1 Public
4.2 Values
4.3 Public Value
4.4 Governance
5 The Framework: Simple
6 The Framework: Complex
6.1 Individual Values and Preferences
6.2 Expression, Participation, and Influence
6.3 Preference Aggregation Mechanisms
6.4 Aggregate Action Plan
6.5 Aggregate Values
6.6 Implementation
6.7 Outcomes
6.8 Evaluative Accountability Mechanisms
6.9 Meta-Level Values
7 Conclusion: Applying the Framework
8 Cross-References
References
Public Values and Decision-Making: A Distinction Without a Difference?
1 Introduction
2 Background
3 The Concept of Values
4 Publics and Publicness
5 Public Values
5.1 Sector Differences?
6 Summary
7 Cross-References
References
Values for Public Servants in Wales: Putting Them into Practice?
1 Introduction
2 Public Service Values
3 Influencing Values and Behavior?
4 One Welsh Public Service Values and the Well-being of Future Generations Act, 2015
5 Values, Principles, and Changing Behavior
6 Conclusion
7 Cross-References
References
Part V: Trajectories of Reform
Trajectories of Reform: An Introduction
1 Cross-References
References
Public Sector Reform and the Public Servant
1 Introduction
2 Reform: What Are we Talking about?
2.1 Reform: The Concept
2.2 Reform: Targets and Triggers
2.3 Reform Intensification and Impact
2.4 Reform Transfer
3 Models of Public Administration and Waves of Reform
3.1 Traditional Public Administration: Public Servant Becomes Administrator/Bureaucrat
3.2 New Public Management: Administrator Becomes Manager
3.3 New Public Governance: Public Servant Becomes Networker
4 Conclusions
5 Cross-References
References
How ``Place´´ Shapes the Public Servant: Papua New Guinea´s Public Administration Within the Contexts of ``Big Man´´ and ``Wan...
1 Introduction
2 Hybridity, Place, and Public Servants
3 PNG and the Trajectory of Its ``Modern´´ Public Administration
4 Layering and Hybridity of PNG´s Public Administration
5 How ``Place´´ Shapes PNG´s Public Servants
6 Fitting PNG´s Public Servants with ``Place´´
7 Conclusion
8 Cross-References
References
Public Servants as Performers: Embracing New Performance Management Norms in Southeast Asia
1 Introduction
2 Trends in Normative Bases of Public Sector Performance
2.1 Past Traditions of Public Administration
2.2 Performance Norms Under New Models
3 Changing Norms of Performance Management in Southeast Asia
3.1 NPM-Driven Reforms in Public Management
3.2 Post-reform Benchmarks of Performance Management
4 New Inconsistencies in Performance Management in Southeast Asia
5 Adverse Consequences of New Performance Culture in the Region
6 Conclusion
7 Cross-References
References
Public Servants in Reflection
1 Introduction
2 Background: Identity and Public Sector Change
3 Self-Identity
4 Professional Identity
5 Organizational Identity
6 Concluding Remarks
7 Cross-References
References
Further Reading
On Public Servant Identity
On Identity in Organizations Generally
Public Sector Reform and Perceptions of Public Servants: An International Longitudinal Review
1 Citizen Perceptions of Government and Public Servants
2 A Glimpse at Public Perceptions on Civil Service
3 Public Sector Reform and Citizens Perceptions
4 Unusual Patterns in the Americas
5 A Typology of Trajectories of Public Sector Reforms and Citizen´s Perceptions
6 Concluding Remarks
7 Cross-References
References
Serving the Public, but Not Public Servants?
1 Introduction
2 The Evolving Frontline of Government
3 Public Servants by Proxy: Two Examples at the Frontline of Public Services
3.1 Australia´s Employment Services System
3.2 Australia´s National Disability Insurance Scheme
4 Discussion
5 Conclusion
6 Cross-References
References
Trajectories of Reform: Where (and Who) Are the Public Servants
1 Introduction
1.1 Situated Agency
1.2 Complex Adaptive Systems (CAS)
2 Context as Backgrounds: Place, Time, Perception
2.1 Place
2.2 Time
2.3 Perception
3 Adaptation: Hybridity and Bricolage
3.1 Bricolage
3.2 Hybridity
4 Thinking about Reform and the Public Servant
5 Conclusion
6 Cross-References
References
Part VI: The Elite: Public Servants as Policy Makers
Public Servants and Policy, Problems and Possibilities: An Introduction
1 Introduction
2 Who Are ``the Elite´´?
3 Reform and Repercussions
3.1 The Political/Administrative Divide
3.2 The Policy/Implementation Divide - Real or Imagined?
3.3 The Ever-Expanding Universe of Policy Actors
4 Future Challenges
5 Cross-References
References
Leadership with Political Astuteness for Public Servants: And Why It Matters
1 Introduction
2 Contrasting Views of Politics and Political Astuteness in the Literature
3 Research Evidence on Public Leaders View of Politics
4 The Concept of Political Astuteness
5 A Framework of Political Astuteness
6 How Public Servants Rate Their Own and Others´ Political Astuteness
7 Exercising Political Astuteness Skills in Job and Organizational Context
8 Is Political Astuteness Ethical?
9 Conclusions
10 Cross-References
References
Ministerial Advisers, Contestability, and Politicization in the Core Executive in Westminster Systems
1 Introduction
2 Setting the Scene: Ministerial Advisers
2.1 What Are They?
2.2 Why Are They Here?
2.3 What Do They Do?
3 Public Sector Reform and Contestability
4 What´s the Fuss? Encounters Between Advisers and Civil Servants
4.1 The Sunlit Uplands
4.2 Here Be Dragons
5 Regulating Ministerial Advisers
6 The Enemy Within
7 Conclusion: Back to the Beginning
8 Summary
9 Cross-References
References
The Roles and Relationships of City Managers in the United States
1 Origins of the Professional Chief Executive Model
2 Early Experience and Assessment with the Council-Manager Plan
3 Measuring Roles and Relationships
4 Emerging Roles
5 Conclusion
6 Cross-References
References
Senior Managers in National Strategic Planning and Management
1 Introduction
2 What Is Strategic Planning and Management?
3 The Political Context of Strategic Leadership in National Departments
4 Frameworks of Strategic Planning and Management in National Departments
5 Examples of Strategic Planning and Management
5.1 Program and Sector Planning
5.2 Agency, Cross-Cutting, and Functional Planning
6 Factors Affecting Implementation
7 Conclusion
8 Cross-References
References
Working in and Against Hybrid Landscapes: Reflections on the Skills and Capabilities of Chief Officers in UK Local Government
1 What Do We Mean by ``Chief Officers?´´
1.1 A Note on Method
2 The World(s) of Chief Officers
2.1 Moving Across Space and Time
2.2 Chief Officers Have to Be Serial Adapters
2.3 The Demands of Serial Adaptation
2.4 Supporting the Resilience of Chief Officers
2.5 ``Leaping Ahead´´ and the Discourse of the New Municipalism
3 Taking Practice into the Education and Skills Development of Local Government Chief Officers
4 Conclusions
5 Cross-References
References
Part VII: The Elephant in the Room: Public Servants and Implementation
The Elephant in the Room: Public Servants and Implementation - An Introduction
1 A Brief History of Implementation
2 Contributions of Chapters in This Part
3 Conclusion
4 Cross-References
References
Mapping ``Implementation System´´ Elements
1 Introduction
2 Understanding What Decisions Are Made and Why
2.1 Politics and Administration
2.2 Social Processes and Actors
3 Identifying Alternative System Elements
3.1 Context
3.2 Behavior
3.3 Assumptions
4 Implementation Decision-Making
5 Cross-References
References
Implementation Failures as Learning Pathologies
1 Introduction
2 Implementation Failures and Learning at the Individual Level
3 Implementation Failures and Learning in Groups
4 Implementation Failures and Learning at the Systemic Level
5 Conclusion
6 Cross-References
References
Accountability in the Context of Privatization Policy Implementation
1 Introduction
2 Overview of Privatization
2.1 Definition of Privatization
2.2 Scope of Privatization
2.3 Influence on Public Organizations
3 Accountability inPrivatization
3.1 The Concept of Accountability
3.2 Accountability in Privatization-Extended Accountability
3.3 Extended Accountability: Accountability Issues
3.3.1 The ``Many Hands´´ Problem and Blurring Accountability: Structure Issues
3.3.2 Accountability Overload and Conflicting Accountability: Structure Issues
3.3.3 Monitoring Issues
4 Recommendations
4.1 Blurring Accountability
4.2 Conflicting Accountability
4.3 Monitoring
5 Conclusion
6 Cross-References
References
Co-production of Public Services: Institutional Barriers to the Involvement of Citizens in Policy Implementation
1 Introduction
2 Co-production
3 Institutional Logics
4 Institutional Logics and Co-production
5 State Logic
5.1 Co-production and the State Logic: Case Studies
6 Market Logic
6.1 Co-production and the Market Logic: Case Studies
7 Community Logic
7.1 Co-production and the Community Logic: Case Studies
8 Professional Logic
8.1 Co-production and the Professional Logic: Case Studies
9 Discussion and Conclusions
10 Impact of Welfare Regimes
11 Differences in Co-production Between Sectors
12 Conclusion
13 Cross-References
References
Navigating Complexity in Policy Implementation
1 Introduction
2 The Age of Complexity
2.1 Complexity in Policy Problems
2.2 Complexity in Policy Environments
2.3 Complex Policy Instruments and Mixes
3 Understanding Policy Complexity: A Nested Approach
3.1 Macro Level
3.2 Meso Level
3.3 Micro Level
4 Conclusion: Navigating Policy Complexity
5 Cross-References
References
The ``Dependent Variable Problem´´: How Do We Know What Caused Desired Change?
1 Introduction
2 Causal Inference and the Dependent Variable Problem
3 The Practical Challenges of Causal Inference
4 Regulating Social Services
5 Conclusion
6 Cross-References
References
Part VIII: Regulation as Public Service, Public Servants as Regulators
Regulation as Public Service, Public Servants as Regulators: An Introduction
1 Why It Is Essential for Public Servants to Embrace the Full Potential of Regulation
2 A Brief History of Pre-modern Regulation
2.1 From Restorative to Retaliative Regulatory Regimes
2.2 Two Remaining Shortfalls
2.3 Summing Up
3 A Brief History of Modern Regulation
3.1 Toward the Regulatory State
3.2 Fine-Tuning Regulatory Regimes
3.3 Summing Up
4 Meta-regulation, Systems Thinking, and Regulator Agency: The Next Frontiers in Regulatory Reform?
5 A Road Map to This Part of the Handbook of the Public Servant
6 Cross-References
References
What Should Every Public Servant Know About Regulation?
1 Introduction
2 Rethinking Regulation
3 The Era of Regulatory Capitalism
4 Regulatory Foundations
4.1 Social and Economic Regulation
4.2 Regulatory Space
5 Governance and Policy Making in Regulatory Capitalism
6 Conclusions
7 Cross-References
References
Ten Global Trends in Regulation: A Future Outlook
1 Introduction
2 Performance-Based Regulation
3 Risk-Based Regulation
4 Responsive Regulation
5 Smart Regulation
6 Better Regulation
7 Experimental Regulation
8 Behavioral Insights Informed Regulation (``Nudging´´)
9 Regulatory Intermediaries
10 Conclusion
11 Cross-References
References
Professionalizing Regulatory Practice Within the Public Service: Lessons from the New Zealand G-REG Initiative
1 Introduction: The Professionalization of Regulation
2 What Spurred G-REG and What It Is Doing
3 Zooming in: G-REG Initiatives and Benefits Through the Eyes of Regulatory Practitioners
4 Issues, Nuances, and Design Elements
5 The Core Knowledge Qualification
6 Attendance at G-REG Conferences: Values and Benefits
7 Developing a Professional Community
8 G-REG: Lessons Learnt for New Zealand and Elsewhere
9 Cross-References
References
Public Servants at the Regulatory Front Lines: Street-Level Enforcement in Theory and Practice
1 Introduction
2 Public Servants at the Front Lines
2.1 Street-Level Bureaucracy
2.2 Three Characteristics of Street-Level Bureaucrats
2.2.1 Frontline Officials
2.2.2 Discretion
2.2.3 Policymaking
2.3 Revisiting Lipsky
2.3.1 Social and Psychological Aspects
2.3.2 Moral and Normative Aspects
2.3.3 Organizational and Contextual Aspects
3 Regulatory Enforcement at the Front Lines
3.1 Two Dimensions of Street-Level Enforcement
3.1.1 Rule Application
3.1.2 Responses to Rule Violation
3.1.3 Mixed Approaches
3.2 Enforcement Styles
3.2.1 Enforcement Styles Types
3.3 Further Reading on Enforcement Styles
4 Illustration: Enforcing ``the Welfare Fraud Act´´ in the Netherlands
4.1 Background
4.2 Enforcement of Welfare Laws
4.3 Street-Level Bureaucracy in Everyday Practice
4.3.1 Differences Within Agencies
4.3.2 More Options
4.3.3 Strong and Weak Points of This Conceptual Lens
4.4 Enforcement Styles in Everyday Practice
4.4.1 Strict Punishment, Flexible Punishment, and Flexible Persuasion
4.4.2 Combinations of Enforcement Styles
4.4.3 Strong and Weak Points of This Conceptual Lens
5 Conclusion
6 Cross-References
References
Accountability of Public Servants at the Street Level
1 Introduction
2 The Changing Context of Policy Delivery
3 The Notion of Accountability
4 The Accountability Regimes Framework
4.1 Political-Administrative Accountability (in Relation to the State)
4.2 Vocational Accountability (in Relation to One´s Profession)
4.3 Participatory Accountability (in Relation to the Client and the Public at Large)
4.4 Customer- and Shareholder-Oriented Accountability (in Relation to the Market)
4.5 Religion, Ideology, and Further Forums of Accountability
5 Dilemmas Resulting from Different Accountability Regimes
6 Summary: Regulatory and Policy Implications of the Accountability Dilemmas of Street-Level Implementers
7 Cross-References
References
Using Private Regulation for the Public Good
1 Introduction
2 Non-state Regulation and the Public Good
2.1 Private Regulation as a Complement to State-Based Regulation: Responsiveness, Experimentation, and Innovation
2.2 Private Regulation as Mechanism for Local Producers to Respond to International Market Demands and the Social Preferences ...
2.3 Enforcement, Monitoring, and Technical Information in Low-Capacity States
3 Cognitive Role: Information Exchange and Empowerment
4 Summary
5 Cross-References
References
Public Servants and Regulator Capture in Energy and Environmental Governance
1 Introduction
2 Risks of Capture in Unconventional Gas Regulation
3 Our Methods
4 Our Findings
4.1 Perceptions of Regulatory Capture and Industry Dominance
4.2 The Causes of Industry Influence and Risks of Regulatory Capture
4.2.1 Economic Arrangements
4.2.2 Organizational Arrangements
4.2.3 The Problem of Revolving Doors
4.2.4 Imbalance of Information, Expertise, and Resources
4.3 Addressing Vulnerabilities and Pathways Forward
5 Conclusion
6 Cross-References
References
Digital Regulation: A New Frontier for Public Service Delivery, Surveillance, and Compliance
1 Introduction
2 From e-Government to Digital Government
3 Regulation and Digital Government
4 Digital Regulation in the Road Transport Sector-Three Unique Cases
4.1 Case Study 1: Monitoring and Detection of Illegal Mobile Phone Use by Vehicle Drivers
4.1.1 Overview
4.1.2 Regulatory Characteristics
4.2 Case Study 2: Digital Driver License
4.2.1 Overview
4.2.2 Regulatory Characteristics
4.3 Case Study 3: Heavy Vehicle Compliance. The Intelligent Access Program (IAP)
4.3.1 Overview
4.3.2 Regulatory Characteristics
4.4 Analysis: The Implications of Digital Regulation for Public Servants and Their Practice
4.4.1 Skills Shift - From Inspection to Data Analysis
4.4.2 Activity Shift - from Managed to Unexpected Volumes of Breaches
4.4.3 Impacts on Regulatory Legitimacy
4.4.4 Addressing Privacy with Innovative Regulatory Design
4.4.5 The Importance of Open and Robust Governance Structures
4.4.6 Innovation and Reshaping Regulatory Instruments
4.4.7 Rapid Change, Expert Knowledge and Embedded Public Sector Practices
5 Conclusion
6 Cross-References
References
Part IX: Beyond the Center: Public Servants in the Wild
Public Servants in the Wild: An Introduction
1 Introduction
2 Street-Level Bureaucrats
3 Managers and Councillors
4 Coproduction
5 Contributions to This Part
6 Conclusion
7 Cross-References
References
Fitting In: The Double-Sided Work of Intermediating Social Innovation in Local Governance
1 Introduction
2 Exemplary Practitioners at the Front Line
3 Social Innovation Intermediaries
4 Research Project: Social Innovation in Liverpool
5 Fitting In
5.1 Treading a Fine Line
5.2 Guiding
5.3 Driving Force
6 Conclusion: A Relational Approach to Reimagining Intermediating
7 Cross-References
References
Navigating Complexity: The Future of Public Service
1 Introduction
2 The Complex Nature of Public Service
3 The Challenge of Complexity for Public Services
3.1 Diversity: Variety of Demand
3.2 Interdependence, Emergence, and Lack of Control
3.3 Dynamism
3.4 Ambiguity and Uncertainty
4 Summary
5 An Emerging Alternative? Introducing the Human, Learning, Systems Approach
5.1 Human
5.2 Learning
5.3 Systems
6 Human Learning Systems as a Response to Complexity: Empirical Findings from Two Research Projects
6.1 Responding to Diversity: Bespoke by Default Services in Gateshead
6.2 Responding to Interdependence, Emergence, and Lack of Control: Lankelly Chase Foundation
6.3 Responding to Ambiguity and Uncertainty: Acknowledging Multiple Perspectives and Negotiating Shared Purpose in York
6.4 Responding to Dynamism: Plymouth´s Approach to Continuous Learning and Adaptation
7 Conclusion
8 Cross-References
References
The Role of Public Servants in Supporting Local Community Projects: Citizen-Led Co-production in Quebec
1 Introduction
2 Co-production of Public Services
3 Rosemont Borough, Montreal
4 Case Studies: Citizen-Led Co-production of Community Development
4.1 Action Group 1: Community Restaurant
4.2 Action Group 2: Drop-In Service
4.3 Action Group 3: Training and Awareness Raising on Poverty and Exclusion (``VIE´´)
5 Discussion: Lessons for Public Servants
5.1 Role for Professionals When Citizens Lead Co-production
5.2 Professional Culture and Citizen-Led Co-production
5.3 Challenges for Professionals in Citizen-Led Co-production
6 Conclusion
7 Cross-References
References
Reshaping the Hybrid Role of Public Servants: Identifying the Opportunity Space for Co-production and the Enabling Skills Requ...
1 Introduction
2 Defining Service Provision as Human Processing Solutions
3 Changing Role of Frontline Staff: A Historical Perspective
3.1 Old Public Administration
3.2 New Public Management
3.3 The Evidence Wave
3.4 New Public Governance and Co-production
3.5 A New Hybrid Role Is Ascribed to Frontline Staff: Co-producer
3.6 Co-production: A New View on Old Problems
4 Identifying the Opportunity Space for Co-production
4.1 Navigating in the Opportunity Space for Co-production
4.2 Top-Down Orientation
4.3 Bottom-Up Orientation
4.4 Interorganizational Collaboration
4.5 Reducing ``Double or Triple Pressure´´ in the Opportunity Space for Co-production
4.6 Relational Capacity Building Becomes a Key Feature
5 Conclusion
6 Cross-References
References
Elected Officials in an Era of Austerity: Stewards, Mediators, and Catalysts
1 Introduction
2 The Changing Context
3 Methods
4 Types of Collaborative Leadership
4.1 Councillors as Stewards
4.2 Councillors as Mediators
4.3 Councillors as Catalysts
5 Maintaining Boundaries
5.1 Managing Professional Boundaries Between Officers and Councillors
5.2 The Boundary Between Public and Private Self
5.3 The Boundary Between Professional and Amateur
6 Conclusion
7 Cross-References
References
Lost in Transition: Governing Northern Ireland
1 Introduction
2 Bureaucrat Discretion and Political Control
3 Four Phases of Governance
3.1 Phase One: Direct Rule
3.2 Phase Two: Devolution 1999-2005
3.3 Phase Three: Power-Sharing 2006-2011
3.3.1 The Political Environment
3.4 Phase Four: Power-Splitting 2011-2017
3.4.1 The Political Environment
4 Toward a Framework of Politico-Administrative Relations
5 Concluding Remarks
6 Cross-References
References
Expansion and Diversification of Welfare Bureaucracies in Democratic Argentina: Between Critical Junctures and Gradual Mutatio...
1 Introduction
2 ``Poverty Alleviation´´ Policies and Growth and Diversification of Assistance Bureaucracies
2.1 1st Moment: Democracy, Poverty, and Gender
2.2 Neoliberal Reforms, Means-Tested Programs, and Welfare Bureaucracies
2.3 Territory Expansion of Assistance: Between Closeness and Means-Testing
3 Territorial Interactions and the Key to Change from Below
4 Conclusion
5 Cross-References
References
Part X: The Virtual World of the Public Servant
The Virtual World of the Public Servant: An Introduction
1 Introduction
2 The Emerging Field of the Virtual Public Servant
3 Overview of Chapters
4 Conclusion
5 Cross-References
References
The Challenges and Benefits of Stewarding Disruptive Technology
1 Introduction
2 Methodology
3 Findings
4 Need for Definitional Clarity
5 Ethical Considerations in Using Care Robots
5.1 Physical Interactions
5.2 Emotional and Social Interactions
5.3 Agency
5.4 Equity
6 The Importance of Engagement
7 Public Servants and Their Role in Creating Effective Stewardship
8 Conclusion
9 Cross-References
References
Changing the Gameplay: Digitization and the Public Servant
1 Introduction
2 Citizens, Customers, and Clients
3 The Private Sector
4 Organizational Culture and Work Processes
5 Public Values
6 Data Analytics/Big Data
7 Reflections and Conclusions
8 Cross-References
References
Trusting Datification Through Labification
1 Introduction
2 Revisiting Trust in an Age of Big Data and Its Importance to Public Servants
3 The Big Data Revolution and Public Management
4 Putting Trust Up Front and Centre: The Need for ``Labification´´
5 Conclusion
6 Cross-References
References
Reasons for the Failure of Information Technology Projects in the Public Sector
1 Introduction
2 IT Project Management
3 Planning Tasks
4 Execution Tasks
5 Closeout Tasks
6 System Maintenance Tasks, Management Tasks, and External Factors
7 Conclusion
8 Appendix 1
9 Cross-References
References
Informal Virtual Learning in the Public Sector: Educating Public Servants in Digital Social Innovation Environments
1 Introduction
2 Informal Learning in the Public Sector
2.1 Formal, Nonformal, and Informal Learning Through e-Learning and Open Educational Resources in the Public Sector
2.2 Informal Learning for Public Employees through Social Media and Digital Innovation Communities
3 GovLoop and NovaGob
3.1 GovLoop
3.2 NovaGob
3.3 Informal Learning in the Cases
4 Exploring Informal Learning for Public Employees in Action
4.1 GovLoop, the ``Knowledge Network for Government´´
4.2 NovaGob, the ``Social Network for Public Administrations in Spanish´´
5 Conclusions
6 Cross-References
References
Articulation, Behavior, and Control in the World of Tomorrow: Public Servants and the Use of Social Technologies
1 Introduction
2 What We Know
2.1 Adoption and Adaptation to Social Media
2.2 Theoretical Propositions
3 Social Media and Public Administration
3.1 Articulation
3.2 Behavior
3.3 Control
4 The Future of Public Service and Online Presence
4.1 Digital Migrants and Social Interactions
4.2 New Technologies, New Opportunities, and Implications
4.3 Artificial Intelligence
5 Conclusion
6 Cross-References
References
Digital Technology, Cyber Security, and the Public Service Challenge in Australia
1 Introduction
2 Technology for Its Own Sake or Its Uses?
3 Australia as a Technology ``Taker´´
4 Cybersecurity
5 Getting to Grips with Cyber
6 Conclusion
7 Cross-References
References
Part XI: Integrity and Ethics
Integrity and Ethics in Public Service and Among Public Servants: An Introduction
1 Introduction
2 Why Is Integrity Important?
3 How Is Integrity Supported?
4 Integrity in Context
5 Integrity in Reform
6 Integrity in Policy Tools
7 An Ethics for the Future
8 Conclusion
9 Cross-References
References
Public Service and Corruption
1 Introduction
2 Interventions
3 An Australian Case Study: The Victorian and New South Wales Public Service
4 Department of Education and Training, Victoria
5 Lessons for Procurement
6 Control, Compliance, and Integrity Building
7 Instruments and Processes
8 Slippage Points
9 Conclusion
10 Cross-References
References
On Transparency, Corruption, and Integrity in Local Government: A View from Argentina
1 Introduction
2 Background: Understanding Corruption, Transparency, and Integrity in Local Policy-Making
2.1 Some Definitions: Dispositive and Force Field
2.2 Part One: The Interplay of Forces That Influence Transparency in the Local Policy Dispositive
2.3 Part Two: A Public Servant´s Situated Integrity in the Dispositive
3 Tactics to Safeguard Integrity
3.1 Context Knowledge and Alliance Creation
3.2 Information Management and Knowledge Building
3.3 Individual Discretionary and Interpretative Use of Norms
4 Conclusion
5 Cross-References
References
Good Governance, Corruption, and Papua New Guinea´s Public Service
1 Introduction
2 Background on PNG´s Public Service
3 Understanding Public Servants´ Perspectives
4 Defining Good Governance
5 Threats to Good Governance
6 Responding to Corruption
7 Situated Ethics and Future Possibilities
8 Summary
9 Cross-References
References
Building Accountability Amidst Ambiguity: A Contemporary Challenge for Public Servants
1 Introduction
2 Enhancing Accountability and Integrity in Collaborative Governance
2.1 Governance, Accountability, and Ambiguity
3 Research Context and Methods
3.1 Research Context
3.2 The Introduction of Joint Scrutiny in Wales
4 Perspectives from the Front Line/Frontline Perspectives
4.1 Overview
4.2 Structural Ambiguity
4.3 Role Ambiguity
4.4 Resource Ambiguity
4.4.1 Managerial Capacity
4.4.2 Political Capacity
5 Discussion and Conclusion
6 Cross-References
References
Public Sector Values in a Privatizing State
1 Introduction
2 Public and Private Sector Ethics
3 Accountability and Transparency
4 Reducing the Accountability Deficit
5 Commercial Confidentiality
6 Impartiality: Tendering and Letting of Contracts
7 Impartiality: Appointments
8 Serving the Public Interest
9 Summary
10 Cross-References
References
Collaboration, Ethics, and the Future Public Servant
1 Introduction
2 Collaboration and Public Policy
3 Ethics in Collaboration
4 Is Collaboration Ethical?
5 Practicing Ethical Collaboration
5.1 Identity and Agency
5.2 Data and Privacy
5.3 Power and Place
5.4 Cross-Cultural Collaboration
6 Conclusion
7 Cross-References
References
Should an Ethical Public Servant Nudge?
1 Introduction
2 The Principles of Nudges
2.1 The Emergence of Nudge
2.2 Reasons for Nudges Popularity
3 Ethical Considerations for Public Servants
3.1 A Mandate to Nudge?
3.2 The Challenge of Preferences: The Power to Nudge
3.3 No Such Thing as Neutral Choice Architecture
3.4 Can a Nudge Be Transparent?
3.5 Using Nudges, Manipulating Citizens?
3.6 Opting Out of Nudges
3.7 The Problem with Focusing on Nudge
3.8 Ethical Frameworks
4 Conclusion
5 Cross-References
References
Being Good to Do Good: Public Servants and Public Ethics in the Twenty-First Century
1 Avoid the Ideal, Root Out the Worst, and Achieve the Best
2 Bending the Arc of the Moral Universe Toward Justice
3 Ethical Frameworks and Integrity Violations
4 Ten Types of Integrity Violations
5 The Challenges of Hyper-partisanship
6 Technological Change and Its Ethical Challenges
7 Virtue Ethics and Goodness
8 Conclusion
9 Cross-References
References
Part XII: Representation: Public Servants in Public
Representation, Public Servants in Public: An Introduction
1 Introduction: The Public Servant
2 The Real and Imagined Public Servant in Scholarship
3 Why Are Public Servants Represented in Public?
4 Interpreting the Representation of Public Servants
5 Cross-References
References
A Combination of Spider-Man and Mother Teresa: The Image of Social Workers in Polish TV Drama The Deep End
1 Introduction. The Ambiguous Status of Social Work and Social Workers in Poland
2 Between Invisibility and Moral Panics: Social Workers and the Polish Media
3 Public Relations in the Polish Welfare Sector and the Production of The Deep End
4 ``Ethos´´ as the Main Source of Professional Authority: A Hero, a Missionary, and a Bureaucrat
5 Casework and Relationships with the Beneficiaries
6 The Daily Functioning of the Welfare Center: An Enclave of Human Kindness
7 Social Workers and the (Lack of) Broader Institutional Context
8 Discussion and Summary
9 Cross-References
References
Public Service Iconography: Desks, Dress, Diplomas, and Decor
1 The Bureaucratics Project
2 Representatives of the State
3 Records
4 Adjudication
5 Authority
6 Legitimacy
7 Conclusion
8 Postscript
9 Cross-References
References
Bureaucratic Representation in Parks and Recreation
1 Introduction
2 Public Administration on Screen: The Literature
2.1 Public Administration in Pop Culture Today
3 Parks and Recreation
3.1 Bureaucratic Representation in Parks and Recreation
3.2 Leslie, Ron, and Tom
3.3 Public Service Motivation
3.4 Others
4 What Parks Can Teach Us About Public Administration
5 Conclusion
6 Cross-References
References
The Rhetorical Portrayal of Public Servants in British Political Satire
1 Introduction
2 Case Studies of Satirical Representations of Public Servants
3 The Rhetorical Art of Political Satire
4 The Ethos of Political Satire
5 The Pathos of Political Satire
6 The Logos of Political Satire
7 Conclusion
8 Cross-References
References
Public Servants or Simply (Government) Employees?
1 Introduction
2 At an Arm´s Length Distance: Swedish Government Agencies as Employers
3 A Clash of Civilizations? Government Agencies at the Crossroad Between Competing Institutional Logics
3.1 The Organizational Logic
3.2 The Democratic State Logic
3.3 The Market Logic
3.4 The Community Logic
3.5 The Professional Logic
4 Desperately Seeking Susan: Institutional Logics in Job Advertisements
5 Job Ads in Two Scandalized Agencies
5.1 General Layout of Job Advertisements
6 Public Servants or Just IT Experts? Institutional Logics in Job Ads
7 Summary
8 Cross-References
References
Depicting Public Servants in Authoritarian Regimes
1 Introduction
2 Public Servants´ Image: Framing the Issue
3 Public Image Vignettes in Central Asia
3.1 Kazakhstan
3.1.1 The Public Servant
3.1.2 Incidents
3.2 Kyrgyzstan
3.2.1 The Public Servant
3.2.2 Incidents
3.3 Turkmenistan
3.3.1 Public Servant
3.3.2 Incidents
4 Conclusion
5 Cross-References
References
Part XIII: Educating the Public Servants of the Future
Educating the Public Servants of the Future: An Introduction
1 Introduction
2 An Overview of the Chapters
3 Key Themes for the Future
4 Conclusion
5 Cross-References
Becoming a Competent Boundary Spanning Public Servant
1 Introduction
2 Defining Boundary Spanners: Four Key Types of Activity
3 Boundary Spanning Competencies
4 Can Boundary Spanning Competencies Be Trained?
4.1 Important Focal Points and Opportunities for Educating Competent Boundary Spanning Public Servants
5 Concluding Remarks
6 Cross-References
References
Telling Stories and Turning Up the Heat: Exploring New Approaches to Developing Public Servants
1 New Roles Twenty-First-Century Public Servants
2 Skills and Capacities for Twenty-First-Century Public Servants
3 Complexity of Consciousness and ``Vertical Development´´
4 Conventional and Post-conventional Development and the Practice of Leadership
5 Post-conventional Leadership Development: Practices and Pedagogies
6 Narrative as an Enabler of Post-conventional Leadership Development: Reflections on Theory and Practice
7 ``Heat´´ Experiences: Crucibles of Post-conventional Leadership Learning?
8 Telling Stories and Turning Up the Heat
9 A Complex Situation That Disrupts and Disorients Habitual Ways of Thinking
10 Discovering That the Current Way of Making Sense of the World Is Inadequate
11 Opening Up Their Mind to Search for New and Better Ways to Make Sense of the Challenge
12 Maintaining the Heat
13 Conclusion: Providing Narrative Bridges to Developmental Learning
14 Cross-References
References
Modern Diplomats as Civil Servants: Capabilities, Competencies, and Education – A Case Study of the Foreign Service in Poland
1 Introduction
2 Origins and Legal Framework of the Polish Foreign Service
3 Educational Patterns
4 Profile of a Modern Diplomat
5 Conclusions
6 Cross-References
References
Key Literature
Public Servants as Competent Practitioners of Knowledge Management
1 Introduction
2 Knowledge and Knowledge Management
2.1 Different Forms of Knowledge
2.2 Subprocesses of Knowledge Management
2.3 Intra- and Interorganizational Knowledge Management
3 Managing Knowledge Versus Practicing Knowledge Management
4 Knowledge Management Competencies
4.1 Getting to the Terms
4.2 Competencies for Practicing Knowledge Management
4.2.1 General Competencies for Knowledge Management
4.2.2 Competencies for Knowledge Acquisition
4.2.3 Competencies for Knowledge Creation
4.2.4 Competencies for Knowledge Sharing
4.2.5 Competencies for Knowledge Codification
4.2.6 Competencies for Storing Knowledge
4.2.7 Competencies for Knowledge Use
5 How to Become Competent Practitioners of Knowledge Management?
6 Conclusion
7 Cross-References
References
Combining Learning with Management Controls in Performance Dialogues to Shape the Behavior of Public Servants
1 Introduction
2 Organizational Learning in Performance Dialogues
3 Management Control Systems in Public Organizations
4 Exploring How Management Control Affects Learning in Public Sector Performance Dialogues
5 Summary
6 Cross-References
References
Are You Thinking What I´m Thinking? Using the Sociology of Professions to Compare the Public Values in Public Administration a...
1 Creating Boundaries
2 Crossing Boundaries
3 Public Values
4 Public Values Universe: A Public Administration Inventory
5 Public Values Universe: A City Planning Inventory
6 Comparing Universes: Public Administration and City Planning
7 Education, Training, and Development for Crossing Boundaries
8 Conclusion
9 Cross-References
References
Part XIV: The Public Servant of the Future
The Public Servant of the Future: An Introduction
1 Introduction
1.1 Key Global Megatrends
1.2 Why ``Public´´ Servants Are Different
2 Public Administration Paradigms and Conceptions of Public Servants Across Time
2.1 Blending and Switching Between Complementary Repertoires
2.2 1.0: The Traditional, Rule-Oriented Bureaucrat
2.3 2.0: The ``Businesslike,´´ Performance-Focused Manager
2.4 3.0: The Networking, Relation-Focused Collaborator
3 Characteristics and Qualities of the Future Public Servant
3.1 Five Characteristics of Twenty-First-Century Public Servants
3.2 Smart, Savvy, and Astute
3.3 Entrepreneurial While Maintaining a Strong Public Service Ethos
3.4 Collaborative and Connected, Yet Authoritative in Content and Style
3.5 Active Anticipators of What Matters Now As Well as in the Future(S)
3.6 Generalist Specialists Who Never Stop Learning
3.7 Competencies and Values for Public Servants (from Traditional to New)
3.8 Are the Characteristics of Twenty-First-Century Public Servants Universal?
4 Contributions to This Part
5 Cross-References
References
Public Servants for All Places: Competencies, Skills, and Experiences in a Globalized Policy Environment
1 Introduction
2 Exploring the East-West Divide
2.1 Public Policy Scholarship
3 Public Administration Education: Roots and Current Practice
3.1 Development of Western Schools of Public Policy and Administration
3.2 Development of Asian Schools of Public Policy and Administration
4 Diverse Schools, Convergent Curricula
5 University Education to Support Public Administrators for All Places
6 Conclusion: Public Servants for All Places
7 Cross-References
References
The Twenty-First-Century Public Servant: A Developing Country Perspective
1 How Level Is the Playing Field?
2 Twenty-First-Century Challenges: A Developing Country Perspective
2.1 Changing Citizenry
2.2 Complexity
2.3 Technology
3 The ``Amplification Effect´´ of Developmental Constraints
3.1 Budget Constraints
3.2 Capacity Constraints
3.3 Political Turbulence and Weak Institutions
3.4 Lack of Quality Data
4 Making Sense of the Skills Deluge
4.1 A Passionate Entrepreneur
4.2 Collaborator
4.3 Empathizer
4.4 Resource Manager
4.5 Political Navigator
4.6 Tech-Savvy
4.7 Knowledge Broker
5 ``From Zero to Hero´´: Developing Countries Developing Skills
5.1 Recruitment
5.2 Training
5.3 Motivation and Rewards
5.4 Mobility and Talent Management
5.5 The Importance of Local Ownership
6 Conclusion
7 Cross-References
References
Public Servants and Corporate Governance Failures: Developing for the Future by Learning from the Past
1 Introduction
2 Governance, Corporate Governance, and Public Servants
3 Corporate Governance Failures: Implications for Public Servants
3.1 Macro Level Example: The Greek Crisis Within the EU
3.2 Macro-level Example: The FIFA Crisis
3.3 Macro-Meso Level Example: The Collapse of Kids Co.
3.4 Macro-Meso Level Example: Oxfam and Save the Children
3.5 A Micro-Meso Level Example: The Grenfell Tower Fire
4 Conclusion
5 Cross-References
References
Innovation and Innovativeness for the Public Servant of the Future: What, Why, How, Where, and When
1 What Is Public Sector Innovation?
2 Why Do Public Servants Need to Innovate?
3 How to Improve Innovativeness of Public Servants?
4 Areas Where Public Servants Can Be Innovative
4.1 Technology
4.2 Citizen Engagement
4.3 Working Methods
4.4 ``Tech-Savvy´´ Approach to Work
4.5 Collaborative Mindset and Flexibility
4.6 Mobility
4.7 Data-Centricity
4.8 Emotional Intelligence and Motivation
4.9 Autonomy
4.10 Social Accountability
5 When to Innovate? Opportunities and Challenges for Public Servants in the Future
6 Conclusion
7 Cross-References
References
Using Opportunity Costs to Counter ``One-Shot Bias´´ in Policy Innovation
1 Introduction
2 Opportunity Costs and Public Sector Reform
2.1 Economic Resources
2.2 Organizational Resources
2.3 Opportunity Costs in Public Services
3 Incremental and Innovative Change
4 Bias and Opportunity Costs
4.1 Hindsight Bias
4.2 The Limits of Hindsight Bias
4.3 One-Shot Bias
5 Three Unsuccessful Gambles in Contemporary British Policy
5.1 Social Security Reform: ``Universal Credit´´
5.2 Healthcare Reform: Provider Competition in the National Health Service
5.3 Constitutional Reform: The Referendum on Membership of the European Union
5.4 The Opportunity Costs of One-Shot Bias
6 Conclusion
6.1 Implications for Public Servants
7 Cross-References
References
Cultural Fluency Training for the Twenty-First-Century Public Servant
1 Introduction
2 The Public Service Context
3 Assumptions and Key Question
4 Terminology
5 Pertinent Frameworks to Cultural Fluency Development
5.1 Cultural Dimensions and Cross-Cultural Competence
5.2 Grid-Group Cultural Theory (GGCT)
5.3 Cultural Intelligence (CQ)
6 Where Have Frameworks of Cultural Fluency Thinking Taken us?
7 Cultural Fluency Training and Education
7.1 Content of Cultural Competency Education and Training: What Should we Cover?
7.2 Approach for Education and Training: Who, how, where and when Should we Teach and Train?
7.3 Measures and Assessment of Cultural Competence: How Well Are we Doing?
8 Discussion
9 Conclusion
10 Cross-References
References
Part XV: Conclusion
The Public Servant Is Dead: Long Live the Public Servant
1 Introduction
2 What Can We Conclude About the Public Servant from the Handbook?
3 Identity
4 Authority
5 Capability
6 The Impact of the Pandemic
7 The Future Public Servant
8 Identity
9 Authority
10 Capability
11 What Might Be Included in Future Iterations of the Handbook
12 Cross-References
References
Index
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Helen Sullivan Helen Dickinson Hayley Henderson Editors
The Palgrave Handbook of the Public Servant
The Palgrave Handbook of the Public Servant
Helen Sullivan • Helen Dickinson • Hayley Henderson Editors
The Palgrave Handbook of the Public Servant With 75 Figures and 78 Tables
Editors Helen Sullivan Crawford School of Public Policy Australian National University Canberra, ACT, Australia
Helen Dickinson Public Service Research Group University of New South Wales (UNSW) Canberra, ACT, Australia
Hayley Henderson Crawford School of Public Policy Australian National University Canberra, ACT, Australia
ISBN 978-3-030-29979-8 ISBN 978-3-030-29980-4 (eBook) ISBN 978-3-030-29981-1 (print and electronic bundle) https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-29980-4 © Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021 This work is subject to copyright. All rights are reserved by the Publisher, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed. The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use. The publisher, the authors, and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the publisher nor the authors or the editors give a warranty, expressed or implied, with respect to the material contained herein or for any errors or omissions that may have been made. The publisher remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. This Palgrave Macmillan imprint is published by the registered company Springer Nature Switzerland AG. The registered company address is: Gewerbestrasse 11, 6330 Cham, Switzerland
Contents
Volume 1 Part I Introduction to the Palgrave Handbook of the Public Servant . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Helen Sullivan, Helen Dickinson, and Hayley Henderson Part II Understanding Public Servants from a Global Perspective . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
1 3
19
Understanding Public Servants from a Global Perspective: An Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Jessica Breaugh and Gerhard Hammerschmid
21
A Typology of the Latin American Civil Servant: Patronage Appointee, Technocrat, Loyalist, or Careerist . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Diego A. Salazar-Morales and Lucas Amaral Lauriano
41
Government Employment Practices in East Asia: A Case Study of Merit-Based Recruitment and Selection of Civil Servants in Japan and South Korea . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Pan Suk Kim
63
Contemporary Issues in Civil Service Management in South Asia: Principles and Practice in India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh . . . . . . . . . Habib Zafarullah and Abu Elias Sarker
81
Representative Bureaucracy in Canada: Multiculturalism in the Public Service . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Andrew Lam and Eddy S. Ng
103 v
vi
Contents
Part III The Philosophical Foundations for Public Servants: There and Back Again . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
125
The Theory of the Public Servant: Which Past Informs the Present? An Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Jill L. Tao
127
Deep Thinkers and Their Influence on the Conception of the Public Servant: Reconciling Philosophical Roots . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Jill L. Tao
135
From the Ottoman Legacy to Modern Public Management Systems: Evidence from Turkey, Kosova, and Kazakhstan . . . . . . . . . . Artan Karini
155
Bolivar and Liberation from Spain: The Historical Development of the Public Servant in Colombia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . José Luis Niño-Amézquita and David Niño-Molina
179
Public Servants in Modern India: Who Are They? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Shilpa Viswanath
203
Part IV
219
Values and Motivation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Values and Motivation: An Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Eva M. Witesman Deconstructing NPM: Public Service Values in a Global Public Administration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Carole L. Jurkiewicz and Edin Mujkic Public Service Motivation and Its Implications for Public Service . . . . Lotte Bøgh Andersen, Ulrich Thy Jensen, and Anne Mette Kjeldsen
221
225 241
“Considered Language” in Public Service: Changing Discourses and Their Implementation in Practice . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Victoria Cluley and Zoe Radnor
259
Prop Masters or Puppeteers? The Role of Public Servants in Staging a Public Value Review . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Scott Douglas, Mijke van de Noort, and Mirko Noordegraaf
277
Public Value Governance: A Framework . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Eva M. Witesman Public Values and Decision-Making: A Distinction Without a Difference? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Owen F. Witesman
289
311
Contents
vii
Values for Public Servants in Wales: Putting Them into Practice? . . . . Catherine Farrell and Jennifer Law
329
Part V
351
Trajectories of Reform . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Trajectories of Reform: An Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Janine O’Flynn and Avery Poole
353
Public Sector Reform and the Public Servant . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Avery Poole, Janine O’Flynn, and Patrick Lucas
359
How “Place” Shapes the Public Servant: Papua New Guinea’s Public Administration Within the Contexts of “Big Man” and “Wantok” Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Lhawang Ugyel Public Servants as Performers: Embracing New Performance Management Norms in Southeast Asia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . M. Shamsul Haque Public Servants in Reflection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Susan Ainsworth and Peter Ghin
381
395 411
Public Sector Reform and Perceptions of Public Servants: An International Longitudinal Review . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Pablo Sanabria-Pulido and Ricardo A. Bello-Gómez
425
....................
445
Trajectories of Reform: Where (and Who) Are the Public Servants . . . Patrick Lucas, Janine O’Flynn, and Avery Poole
465
Part VI
481
Serving the Public, but Not Public Servants? Sue Olney
The Elite: Public Servants as Policy Makers . . . . . . . . . . . .
Public Servants and Policy, Problems and Possibilities: An Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Helen Sullivan
483
Leadership with Political Astuteness for Public Servants: And Why It Matters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Jean Hartley
493
Ministerial Advisers, Contestability, and Politicization in the Core Executive in Westminster Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Richard Shaw
515
The Roles and Relationships of City Managers in the United States . . . James H. Svara
531
viii
Contents
Senior Managers in National Strategic Planning and Management . . . R. Gomes and E. Berman Working in and Against Hybrid Landscapes: Reflections on the Skills and Capabilities of Chief Officers in UK Local Government . . . . Neil Barnett, Arianna Giovannini, Steven Griggs, and Paul O’Brien Part VII The Elephant in the Room: Public Servants and Implementation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
549
567
585
The Elephant in the Room: Public Servants and Implementation – An Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Helen Dickinson
587
Mapping “Implementation System” Elements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Katie Moon, Deborah Blackman, and Helen Dickinson
597
Implementation Failures as Learning Pathologies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Claire A. Dunlop
615
Accountability in the Context of Privatization Policy Implementation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Lien Nguyen, Pragati Rawat, and John C. Morris
631
Co-production of Public Services: Institutional Barriers to the Involvement of Citizens in Policy Implementation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Caitlin McMullin
651
Navigating Complexity in Policy Implementation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Azad Singh Bali The “Dependent Variable Problem”: How Do We Know What Caused Desired Change? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Ann Nevile and Nicholas Biddle Part VIII Regulation as Public Service, Public Servants as Regulators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Regulation as Public Service, Public Servants as Regulators: An Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Jeroen van der Heijden
669
685
701 703
What Should Every Public Servant Know About Regulation? . . . . . . . Graeme Hodge
721
..............
741
Ten Global Trends in Regulation: A Future Outlook Jeroen van der Heijden and Graeme Hodge
Contents
ix
Professionalizing Regulatory Practice Within the Public Service: Lessons from the New Zealand G-REG Initiative . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Pelin Fantham, Wendy Kale, Keith Manch, Nick McGirr, Peter Mumford, and Sanjai Raj Public Servants at the Regulatory Front Lines: Street-Level Enforcement in Theory and Practice . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Paulien de Winter and Marc Hertogh
761
781
Accountability of Public Servants at the Street Level . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Fritz Sager, Eva Thomann, and Peter Hupe
801
Using Private Regulation for the Public Good . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Flavia Donadelli and Kira Matus
819
Public Servants and Regulator Capture in Energy and Environmental Governance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Cameron Holley, Amanda Kennedy, Tariro Mutongwizo, and Clifford Shearing Digital Regulation: A New Frontier for Public Service Delivery, Surveillance, and Compliance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Christopher K. Walker
835
853
Volume 2 Part IX
Beyond the Center: Public Servants in the Wild
........
Public Servants in the Wild: An Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Catherine Needham Fitting In: The Double-Sided Work of Intermediating Social Innovation in Local Governance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Koen P. R. Bartels Navigating Complexity: The Future of Public Service . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Toby Lowe, Max French, and Melissa Hawkins The Role of Public Servants in Supporting Local Community Projects: Citizen-Led Co-production in Quebec . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Caitlin McMullin Reshaping the Hybrid Role of Public Servants: Identifying the Opportunity Space for Co-production and the Enabling Skills Required by Professional Co-producers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Nanna Møller Mortensen, Jacob Brix, and Hanne Kathrine Krogstrup Elected Officials in an Era of Austerity: Stewards, Mediators, and Catalysts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Catherine Needham, Catherine Mangan, Karin Bottom, and Steven Parker
871 873
883 901
921
937
955
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Contents
Lost in Transition: Governing Northern Ireland . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Michelle Rouse and Karl O’Connor Expansion and Diversification of Welfare Bureaucracies in Democratic Argentina: Between Critical Junctures and Gradual Mutations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Vilma Paura and Carla Zibecchi Part X
The Virtual World of the Public Servant . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
975
991
1007
The Virtual World of the Public Servant: An Introduction . . . . . . . . . . 1009 Gemma Carey and Adam M. Wellstead The Challenges and Benefits of Stewarding Disruptive Technology . . . 1021 Catherine Smith, Helen Dickinson, Nicole Carey, and Gemma Carey Changing the Gameplay: Digitization and the Public Servant Karl Löfgren
. . . . . . . 1037
Trusting Datification Through Labification . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1055 Adam M. Wellstead Reasons for the Failure of Information Technology Projects in the Public Sector . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1075 Tomi Rajala and Hannes Aaltonen Informal Virtual Learning in the Public Sector: Educating Public Servants in Digital Social Innovation Environments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1095 J. Ignacio Criado, Cristina Herranz, and Julián Villodre Articulation, Behavior, and Control in the World of Tomorrow: Public Servants and the Use of Social Technologies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1113 George Vital Zammit and Alexiei Dingli Digital Technology, Cyber Security, and the Public Service Challenge in Australia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1133 Lesley Seebeck Part XI
Integrity and Ethics
...............................
1149
Integrity and Ethics in Public Service and Among Public Servants: An Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1151 Helen Sullivan Public Service and Corruption . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1163 Adam Graycar On Transparency, Corruption, and Integrity in Local Government: A View from Argentina . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1181 Alfredo Garay and Hayley Henderson
Contents
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Good Governance, Corruption, and Papua New Guinea’s Public Service . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1199 Grant W. Walton Building Accountability Amidst Ambiguity: A Contemporary Challenge for Public Servants . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1219 Rachel Ashworth and James Downe Public Sector Values in a Privatizing State Richard Mulgan
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1239
Collaboration, Ethics, and the Future Public Servant . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1255 Helen Sullivan Should an Ethical Public Servant Nudge? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1273 Colette Einfeld Being Good to Do Good: Public Servants and Public Ethics in the Twenty-First Century . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1291 Barry Quirk Part XII
Representation: Public Servants in Public . . . . . . . . . . . . .
1309
Representation, Public Servants in Public: An Introduction . . . . . . . . . 1311 Peter Matthews A Combination of Spider-Man and Mother Teresa: The Image of Social Workers in Polish TV Drama The Deep End . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1321 Magdalena Rek-Woźniak Public Service Iconography: Desks, Dress, Diplomas, and Decor . . . . . 1337 Bagga Bjerge and Mike Rowe Bureaucratic Representation in Parks and Recreation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1355 Erin L. Borry The Rhetorical Portrayal of Public Servants in British Political Satire . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1369 Andrew S. Roe-Crines Public Servants or Simply (Government) Employees? Therese Reitan
. . . . . . . . . . . . . 1383
Depicting Public Servants in Authoritarian Regimes Colin Knox and Saltanat Janenova
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1409
Part XIII
Educating the Public Servants of the Future . . . . . . . . . .
1427
Educating the Public Servants of the Future: An Introduction . . . . . . . 1429 Paul Williams
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Contents
Becoming a Competent Boundary Spanning Public Servant . . . . . . . . . 1437 Ingmar van Meerkerk and Jurian Edelenbos Telling Stories and Turning Up the Heat: Exploring New Approaches to Developing Public Servants . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1453 Catherine Mangan and Christopher Pietroni Modern Diplomats as Civil Servants: Capabilities, Competencies, and Education – A Case Study of the Foreign Service in Poland . . . . . 1471 Karina Paulina Marczuk Public Servants as Competent Practitioners of Knowledge Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1487 Caroline Fischer Combining Learning with Management Controls in Performance Dialogues to Shape the Behavior of Public Servants . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1507 Tomi Rajala and Harri Laihonen Are You Thinking What I’m Thinking? Using the Sociology of Professions to Compare the Public Values in Public Administration and Urban Planning Literatures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1527 Bonnie J. Johnson Part XIV
The Public Servant of the Future . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
1559
The Public Servant of the Future: An Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1561 Zeger van der Wal Public Servants for All Places: Competencies, Skills, and Experiences in a Globalized Policy Environment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1579 Sara Bice and Hamish Coates The Twenty-First-Century Public Servant: A Developing Country Perspective . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1597 Assel Mussagulova Public Servants and Corporate Governance Failures: Developing for the Future by Learning from the Past . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1623 John Connolly and Robert Pyper Innovation and Innovativeness for the Public Servant of the Future: What, Why, How, Where, and When . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1643 Roberto Vivona, Mehmet Akif Demircioglu, and Aarthi Raghavan Using Opportunity Costs to Counter “One-Shot Bias” in Policy Innovation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1665 Thomas Elston and Gwyn Bevan
Contents
xiii
Cultural Fluency Training for the Twenty-First-Century Public Servant . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1685 Catherine Althaus Part XV
Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
The Public Servant Is Dead: Long Live the Public Servant Helen Sullivan, Helen Dickinson, and Hayley Henderson
1711
. . . . . . . . . 1713
Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1731
About the Editors
Helen Sullivan is professor of public policy and director of the Australian National University’s Crawford School of Public Policy, the Asia-Pacific’s leading public policy school. Helen’s research explores the changing nature of state-society relationships in the context of collaboration, urban politics, and public policy and service reform. Helen has a long-term commitment to bridging the gap between research and policy, and in 2016 she was made a National Fellow of the Institute of Public Administration Australia in recognition of her significant contribution to public administration. In 2019, Helen was elected to the executive board of the International Research Society on Public Management and elected president of the Australian Political Studies Association for the year 2020–21. Helen Dickinson is professor of public service research and director of the Public Service Research Group at the School of Business, University of New South Wales, Canberra. Her expertise is in public services, particularly in relation to topics such as governance, policy implementation, and stewardship of fourth industrial revolution technologies. In 2015, Helen was made a Victorian Fellow of the Institute of Public Administration Australia and in 2019 awarded a fellowship at the Academy of Social Sciences. She has worked with a range of different levels of government and community organizations as well as privateorganizations in Australia, UK, New Zealand, and Europe on research and consultancy programs. Hayley Henderson is a postdoctoral fellow in the Crawford School of Public Policy at the Australian National University. Her research examines the role of urban policymaking and collaborative governance in addressing complex urban problems. In particular, the focus of her recent work has been on urban renewal and river basin management in Australian and Argentine cities.
xv
Contributors
Hannes Aaltonen Faculty of Management and Business, Tampere University, Tampere, Finland Susan Ainsworth Department of Managing and Marketing, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC, Australia Catherine Althaus ANZSOG and University of New South Wales, Canberra, Australia Lotte Bøgh Andersen Department of Political Science, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark Rachel Ashworth Cardiff Business School, Cardiff University, Cardiff, UK Azad Singh Bali The Crawford School of Public Policy; The School of Politics and International Relations, The Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, Australia Neil Barnett Leeds Beckett University, Leeds, UK Koen P. R. Bartels Institute of Local Government Studies, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK Ricardo A. Bello-Gómez Department of Political Science, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, TX, USA E. Berman EAESP/Department of Public Management, Fundacao Getulio Vargas (FGV), Sao Paulo, Brazil Gwyn Bevan Department of Management, London School of Economics, London, UK Sara Bice Crawford School of Public Policy, The Australian National University, Acton, ACT, Australia School of Public Policy and Management, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China
xvii
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Contributors
Nicholas Biddle Centre for Social Research and Methods, The Australian National University, Canberra, Australia Bagga Bjerge Centre for Alcohol and Drug Reseacrh, Department of Psychology and Behavioural Sciences, Aarhus Univeristy, Aarhus, Denmark Deborah Blackman UNSW Canberra, Canberra, ACT, Australia Erin L. Borry Department of Political Science and Public Administration, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, USA Karin Bottom Institute of Local Government Studies, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK Jessica Breaugh Hertie School, Berlin, Germany Jacob Brix Research Group for Capacity Building and Evaluation, Department of Culture and Learning, Aalborg University, Aalborg, Denmark Gemma Carey Centre for Social Impact, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, Australia Nicole Carey Harvard University, Boston, MA, USA Victoria Cluley Cass Business School, City, University of London, London, UK Hamish Coates Institute of Education, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China John Connolly School of Media, Culture and Society, University of the West of Scotland, Paisley, UK J. Ignacio Criado Department of Political Science and International Relations, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Madrid, Spain Paulien de Winter University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands Mehmet Akif Demircioglu National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore Helen Dickinson Public Service Research Group, University of New South Wales (UNSW), Canberra, ACT, Australia Alexiei Dingli Department of Artificial Intelligence, University of Malta, Msida, Malta Flavia Donadelli School of Government, Victoria University of Wellington, Wellington, New Zealand Scott Douglas Utrecht University School of Governance (USG), Utrecht, The Netherlands James Downe Cardiff Business School, Cardiff University, Cardiff, UK Claire A. Dunlop University of Exeter, Exeter, UK
Contributors
xix
Jurian Edelenbos Erasmus School of Social and Behavioural Sciences, Erasmus University, Rotterdam, The Netherlands Colette Einfeld Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University, Canberra, Australia Thomas Elston Blavatnik School of Government, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK Pelin Fantham Maritime New Zealand, Wellington, New Zealand Catherine Farrell Cardiff Business School, Cardiff University, Cardiff, UK Caroline Fischer University of Potsdam, Potsdam, Germany Max French Newcastle Business School, Northumbria University, Newcastleupon-Tyne, UK Alfredo Garay Universidad de Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, Argentina Peter Ghin School of Social and Political Sciences, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC, Australia Arianna Giovannini De Montfort University, Leicester, UK R. Gomes EAESP/Department of Public Management, Fundacao Getulio Vargas (FGV), Sao Paulo, Brazil Adam Graycar Stretton Institute, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA, Australia Steven Griggs De Montfort University, Leicester, UK Gerhard Hammerschmid Hertie School, Berlin, Germany M. Shamsul Haque Department of Political Science, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore Jean Hartley The Open University, Milton Keynes, UK Melissa Hawkins Newcastle Business School, Northumbria University, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, UK Hayley Henderson Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, Australia Cristina Herranz Department of Political Science and International Relations, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Madrid, Spain Marc Hertogh Faculty of Law, University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands Graeme Hodge Faculty of Law, Monash University, Melbourne, VIC, Australia Cameron Holley UNSW Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia
xx
Contributors
Peter Hupe Public Governance Institute, Catholic University of Leuven, Leuven, Belgium Saltanat Janenova Graduate School of Public Policy, Nazarbayev University, NurSultan, Kazakhstan International Development Department, School of Government, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK Ulrich Thy Jensen Arizona State University, Phoenix, AZ, USA Bonnie J. Johnson School of Public Affairs and Administration, Urban Planning Program, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS, USA Carole L. Jurkiewicz University of Colorado, Colorado Springs, Colorado Springs, CO, USA Wendy Kale New Zealand Government, Wellington, New Zealand Artan Karini Sohar University, Sohar, Sultanate of Oman Sheffield Institute for International Development, Sheffield, UK Amanda Kennedy Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, QLD, Australia Pan Suk Kim College of Government and Business, Yonsei University, Wonju, Gangwon, South Korea Anne Mette Kjeldsen Department of Political Science, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark Colin Knox Graduate School of Public Policy, Nazarbayev University, Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan Hanne Kathrine Krogstrup Research Group for Capacity Building and Evaluation, Department of Culture and Learning, Aalborg University, Aalborg, Denmark Harri Laihonen Faculty of Management and Business, Tampere University, Tampere, Finland Andrew Lam Department of Sociology and Social Anthropology, Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS, Canada Lucas Amaral Lauriano King’s Business School, King’s College London, London, UK Jennifer Law Faculty of Business and Society, University of South Wales, Pontypridd, UK Toby Lowe Newcastle Business School, Northumbria University, Newcastle-uponTyne, UK Karl Löfgren School of Government, Victoria University of Wellington, Wellington, New Zealand
Contributors
xxi
Patrick Lucas The Australia and New Zealand School of Government (ANZSOG), Melbourne, VIC, Australia Keith Manch CE Office, Maritime New Zealand, Wellington, New Zealand Catherine Mangan Institute of Local Government Studies, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK Karina Paulina Marczuk Faculty of Political Science and International Studies, University of Warsaw, Warsaw, Poland Peter Matthews Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Stirling, Stirling, UK Kira Matus Division of Public Policy, Division of Environment and Sustainability, and Division of Social Science, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Hong Kong, Hong Kong Nick McGirr Civil Aviation Authority of New Zealand, Wellington, New Zealand Caitlin McMullin Concordia University, Montreal, QC, Canada Katie Moon UNSW Canberra, Canberra, ACT, Australia John C. Morris Department of Political Science, Auburn University, Auburn, AL, USA Nanna Møller Mortensen Research Group for Capacity Building and Evaluation, Department of Culture and Learning, Aalborg University, Aalborg, Denmark Edin Mujkic School of Public Affairs, University of Colorado, Colorado Springs, Colorado Springs, CO, USA Richard Mulgan Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, Australia Peter Mumford MBIE, New Zealand Government, Wellington, New Zealand Assel Mussagulova Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, Singapore Tariro Mutongwizo UNSW Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia Catherine Needham Health Services Management Centre, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK Ann Nevile Centre for Social Research and Methods, The Australian National University, Canberra, Australia Eddy S. Ng Freeman College of Management, Bucknell University, Lewisburg, PA, USA Lien Nguyen School of Public Service, Old Dominion University, Norfolk, VA, USA José Luis Niño-Amézquita Humanities and Social Sciences Faculty, Universidad EAN, Bogota, Colombia
xxii
Contributors
David Niño-Molina Regional Center for Productivity and Innovation of Boyaca – CREPIB, Pedagogical and Technological University of Colombia – UPTC, Tunja, Colombia Mirko Noordegraaf Utrecht University School of Governance (USG), Utrecht, The Netherlands Paul O’Brien Association for Public Service Excellence, Manchester, UK Karl O’Connor University of Ulster, Newtownabbey, UK Janine O’Flynn The Australia and New Zealand School of Government (ANZSOG), Melbourne, VIC, Australia Melbourne School of Government, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC, Australia Sue Olney University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC, Australia UNSW Canberra, Canberra, ACT, Australia Steven Parker Local Governance Research Centre, De Montfort University, Leicester, UK Vilma Paura Universidad Nacional de Tres de Febrero, Buenos Aires, Argentina Christopher Pietroni Institute of Local Government Studies, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK Avery Poole The Australia and New Zealand School of Government (ANZSOG), Melbourne, VIC, Australia Crawford School of Public Policy, The Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, Australia Robert Pyper School of Media, Culture and Society, University of the West of Scotland, Paisley, UK Barry Quirk Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, London, UK Zoe Radnor Cass Business School, City, University of London, London, UK Aarthi Raghavan National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore Sanjai Raj CE Office, Maritime New Zealand, Wellington, New Zealand Tomi Rajala Faculty of Management and Business, Tampere University, Tampere, Finland Pragati Rawat Pennsylvania, USA Therese Reitan Academy of Public Administration, Södertörn University, Stockholm, Sweden
Contributors
xxiii
Magdalena Rek-Woźniak Department of Sociology of Social Structures and Social Change, Faculty of Economics and Sociology, University of Łódź, Łódź, Poland Andrew S. Roe-Crines Department of Politics, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, UK Michelle Rouse University of Ulster, Newtownabbey, UK Mike Rowe Management School, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, UK Fritz Sager KPM Center for Public Management, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland Diego A. Salazar-Morales Hertie School of Governance, Berlin, Germany Pablo Sanabria-Pulido School of Government, Universidad de los Andes, Bogota, Colombia Public Administration Division, Centro de Investigación y Docencia Económicas, CIDE, Mexico City, Mexico Abu Elias Sarker Department of Management, University of Sharjah, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates Lesley Seebeck Cyber Institute, Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, Australia Richard Shaw Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand Clifford Shearing UNSW Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia Griffith University, Brisbane, QLD, Australia University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa University of Montreal, Montreal, QC, Canada Catherine Smith Melbourne Graduate School of Education, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia Helen Sullivan Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, Australia James H. Svara Visiting Scholar, School of Government, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, USA Jill L. Tao Department of Public Administration, Incheon National University, Incheon, South Korea Eva Thomann College of Social Science and International Studies, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK Lhawang Ugyel University of New South Wales Canberra, Canberra, ACT, Australia
xxiv
Contributors
Mijke van de Noort Utrecht University School of Governance, Amersfoort, The Netherlands Jeroen van der Heijden School of Government, Victoria University of Wellington, Wellington, New Zealand Zeger van der Wal National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore Ingmar van Meerkerk Erasmus School of Social and Behavioural Sciences, Erasmus University, Rotterdam, The Netherlands Julián Villodre Department of Political Science and International Relations, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Madrid, Spain Shilpa Viswanath Department of Public Management, John Jay College of Criminal Justice, CUNY, New York City, NY, USA Roberto Vivona National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore Christopher K. Walker The Australia and New Zealand School of Government (ANZSOG), and School of Social Sciences, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, Australia Grant W. Walton Development Policy Centre, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, Australia Adam M. Wellstead Department of Social Sciences, Michigan Technological University, Houghton, MI, USA Paul Williams Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, Australia Eva M. Witesman Brigham Young University, Provo, UT, USA Owen F. Witesman O’Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN, USA Habib Zafarullah Sociology, University of New England, Armidale, NSW, Australia George Vital Zammit Department of Public Policy, University of Malta, Msida, Malta Carla Zibecchi Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Técnica-Universidad Nacional de Tres de Febrero/ Universidad de Buenos Aires, Ciudad de Buenos Aires, Argentina
Part I Introduction to the Palgrave Handbook of the Public Servant
Introduction Helen Sullivan, Helen Dickinson, and Hayley Henderson
Contents 1 2 3 4
Purpose: What This Book Is About . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Genesis of the Book . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Why Do We Need This Book? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Themes and Questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.1 Identity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.2 Authority . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.3 Capability . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 How To Use This Book . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
4 5 7 8 8 10 11 13 17
Abstract
The Introduction describes the rationale for, and significance of, this Handbook. It is the first of its kind, appearing at a time when public servants are experiencing unprecedented challenges and when the idea of what it is to be a public servant is increasingly varied. It explores the nature and scope of “public servants” in operation in different governmental and country contexts. It describes the key lines of discussion and debate surrounding the identities and purposes of public servants, and how these have framed the approach to the Handbook. Finally, it summarizes the structure of the Handbook, its parts, and chapters.
H. Sullivan (*) · H. Henderson Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, Australia e-mail: [email protected]; [email protected] H. Dickinson Public Service Research Group, University of New South Wales (UNSW), Canberra, ACT, Australia e-mail: [email protected] © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021 H. Sullivan et al. (eds.), The Palgrave Handbook of the Public Servant, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-29980-4_117
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H. Sullivan et al.
Keywords
Public servants · Definitions · Functions · Challenges · Identity · Authority · Capability
1
Purpose: What This Book Is About
The Handbook of the Public Servant deals with the core question – what does it mean to be a public servant in today’s world(s) where globalization and neoliberalism have transformed the public purpose sector? In combination these forces have proliferated the number of actors involved in public policy making and service delivery, created new modes of operation and spaces for public servants to operate in – from the global to the local. And now public servants are contemplating the further disruption of this “new normal” by the resurgence of nationalism and populism. The book responds to this core question from two distinct but related perspectives: how can different scholarly approaches contribute to a better understanding of who public servants are, what shapes them, how they understand themselves and how they are represented, the scale and scope of varieties of public servant, their range of functions, their interaction with the political, their challenges and potential futures; and how might our scholarly knowledge be informed by and translated into value for practice? To achieve this, the book combines academic insights with practical analyses and draws its contributions from across the academic – practitioner spectrum. Our aim is to provide public servants of whatever kind, researchers and teachers with a rich resource that explores the idea of what it means to be a public servant in a multiplicity of ways, from a wide range of perspectives and covering many different contexts. In doing so we hope to provide new insights on old questions and persistent conundrums, as well as raise new questions about the evolving role of public servants. When we began thinking about this book in 2018 the world was very different. We can only imagine how many authors have drafted variations on this sentence, and the impact of COVID-19 on them and their projects. For us the pandemic arrived toward the end of the project in 2020. This meant that while we were all affected, the substantive content of the book was in place, and thanks to the flexibility of the major reference work online platform, many of the chapters were already available online or well on their way to publication. Nonetheless for some of our authors who were still in the throes of revising their chapters, the pandemic upended deadlines and work schedules. We lost some chapters to COVID-19, but most came through. We were very fortunate in our Palgrave colleagues, Ruth Lefevre (senior editor) and Eleanor Gaffney, who shepherded the process with great skill and patience and responded magnificently to the delays and difficulties posed by the pandemic.
Introduction
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As editors we have the opportunity to reflect on the contents of the Handbook in the new world of the COVID-19 pandemic. We take advantage of this opportunity in the Conclusion to the Handbook to contemplate the future of the public servant. The nature of online publication means authors have the opportunity to update their chapters to reflect new circumstances and/or findings. We anticipate that some will, but for now at least the complications afforded to normal life mean it is unlikely. We hope our Conclusion serves some of that purpose.
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Genesis of the Book
The book is focused on the public servant, as we consider this to be an underexamined area of scholarship in recent years, and one that will benefit from the insights of a new generation of scholars working in and around the field of public administration in leading the volume. Our interest in the public servant is longstanding, but was prompted into action following work that two of us led in the UK in the 2010s. Helen Sullivan led the University of Birmingham’s Policy Commission into “the future of local public services” in 2011, which produced a series of recommendations many of which concerned the need to focus on developing the capabilities of the public servant (Sullivan 2011). Helen Dickinson then established the Public Service Academy in Birmingham, a collaboration between academics and practitioners to redesign the future public servant and develop appropriate education and training to support this (Dickinson and Needham 2012). Dickinson and Sullivan worked together in 2014 on a project to further consider these issues, this time from our academic base at the Melbourne School of Government. One of the key purposes of this new School was to anticipate future trends and develop education programs to support public servant capability. As in the UK we worked in collaboration with practitioners and leading public service institutions – the Victorian State Government and the Victorian Institute of Public Administration Australia. In this report (Dickinson and Sullivan 2014) we outlined some of the challenges facing the Australian public service and importantly some suggestions of ways forward. In doing so we outlined a series of new and old roles that would be important in driving the desired future vision, the skills and competencies needed to do this, and some insights into how training and development might need to change. We continually sense-tested this with practitioners to check our diagnosis and recommended treatment (e.g., Dickinson et al. 2015). The next logical step was to join up these activities. A joint Masters course between the Melbourne School of Government and the College of Social Sciences at the University of Birmingham enabled key colleagues on both sides of the world to collaborate and to work with students from both universities to test out ideas and research findings. A number of the academics and practitioners involved in this program contributed to an edited volume “Reimagining the Future Public Service
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Workforce” (Dickinson et al. 2019), which offered a summation of our thinking to that point. However, we were very aware that this thinking was largely confined to public servants in Westminster/Washminster systems, and did not address the issues, concerns, and challenges facing public servants in other contexts. At the same time, Sullivan was working with another colleague, Sara Bice, in a similar vein on another signature project of the Melbourne School of Government, “Public Policy in the Asian Century.” The project aimed to explore the challenges and opportunities for public policy of the changing global economic and political dynamics. Drawing on a range of disciplines and professions the project sought to answer the question of what public policy would look like in the “Asian Century” and how would this impact on public servants. We worked with academics (including Avery Poole who became a close collaborator) and professionals to explore these questions, through conferences, workshops with practitioners from a range of Asian countries, and through our own Master’s course, which brought together students from all over the world, and from many disciplines. Our book Public Policy in the Asian Century was published in 2018 (Bice et al. 2018). It prompted us to reflect on the ways that public servants in the Global North and South would be impacted by these changes. Dickinson meanwhile embarked on a closer investigation of implementation as a key site of public servant interest, activity, and difficulty. She set up the Public Service Research Group (PSRG) at UNSW Canberra, which considers implementation from a multiactor perspective, including service users, commissioners, and providers. The aim of PSRG is to use interdisciplinary research evidence to support public servants to develop individual and collective capacity to more effectively translate policy intentions to positive outcomes for the end user with a particular interest in issues of equity. Then in 2017 we were approached by Jemima Warren from Palgrave who asked if we would be interested in curating a major reference work on the subject of the public servant. This would be big in scope and scale and contributions would also be published online as soon as they were ready and be available to be updated. This sounded like an excellent opportunity to address the various issues and questions we had been exploring over the last decade and to develop the different collaborations we had engaged with over that time on this subject. It also sounded like a mammoth task, which perhaps should have given us pause, but undaunted we said yes. Fortunately, we were able to secure the expertise of Hayley Henderson as a coeditor and project manager. Through her skill and organizational prowess the Handbook became possible. Our intention in taking on this immense task was to try and engage as wide a range of contributors as possible. We wanted to bring new voices to bear on old issues and problems, identify new issues likely to shape the public servant into the future, and have a particular focus on early career scholars. To achieve this, we invited a mix of “old hands” and “disrupters” to act as section editors and encouraged them to search out new and diverse voices to respond to the questions posed by their sections, including practitioners. In this we were mostly successful, though some important voices found it impossible to keep to our timetable given the work they were involved in.
Introduction
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We were also determined to try and achieve as global coverage as we could, and here we were quite successful, with contributions from the North and South America, Europe, Asia, Oceania Australia, and the Pacific. Unfortunately, we were unsuccessful in securing contributions from Africa. Likewise, while we had contributions from many of the major countries with significant influence in shaping the modern public servant, for various reasons our contributors from China were few. We tried to avoid dictating what each part should cover, so there is naturally some overlap between parts. However overall not much. It is a testament to the breadth of our section editors’ expertise and networks that we rarely had cause to address the question of the same body of authors being approached.
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Why Do We Need This Book?
The public sector has been in a state of flux for decades. The impacts of globalization and neoliberalism have been felt all over the world, certainly anywhere with a public service and public sector. The waves of reform sponsored by globalization and neoliberalism have reshaped the state, hollowing it out, transferring its powers and responsibilities, and introducing new institutions to perform key functions (Milward and Provan 2003). After decades of reform punctuated by the shock of crisis, the pace of change continued to accelerate alongside the growth of digital capability. Throughout this period considerable attention – academic and other – was paid to the shape and nature of the public sector, the rise and fall of institutional innovations, and a focus at various times on economy, efficiency, and effectiveness. Service users, stakeholders, and specialist advisors were (re)discovered and their importance to the delivery of public policy and public services became nonnegotiable. Public servants, by contrast, were discussed principally in relation to these others. As professionals, policy advisors, and providers they were critiqued for their failure to take seriously the ideas, wishes, and needs of service users; they were challenged as service providers by actors from the private and not-for-profit sector, and they were often pilloried for their “unprofessionalism” in the context of major policy or service failures. Very little of this discussion began with their views and perspectives, their own critiques, and aspirations. Where attention was paid, it was mainly in the growth area of “leadership” – a call for public servants to redefine themselves away from being secretaries of the senior civil service, or town-clerks in local government, into leaders, who would in turn transform their staff, service, city, or municipality. The majority of contemporary work on public servants are country and, in even fewer cases, regionally based. More recently, academics have focused on the new public servants, roles that came into being as a result of globalization and neoliberalism, including the growth of the “global public servant” (Stone and Maloney 2017). But overall there has been less interest in trying to provide a comprehensive understanding of what it means to be a public servant in the twenty-first century in the wake of what appears to be endless reform and change.
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This Handbook aims to rectify that. It provides a comprehensive review of the growing literature on the role, challenges, expanding scope, and operation of public servants in a variety of global contexts. It takes account of the shifts in governance, bureaucratic structures, and advancements in theoretical knowledge and applies these to examining the public servant. It offers an examination of the public servant from different country experiences enabling readers to consider key questions in a range of contexts. It takes account of a range of long-standing concerns, e.g., accountability, management, and the role of non-state actors including civil society, reviews the re-emergence of topical phenomena (i.e., street-level bureaucrats), as well as identifies new themes. This Handbook deliberately takes a more holistic and broader definition of the public servant than is traditional. We do this because we consider that the blurring of boundaries and roles that has occurred as a consequence of globalization and neoliberalization have made it necessary to reconsider who is and is not a public servant. So, the Handbook encompasses diplomats, foreign service workers, frontline workers, and “distance” public servants such as police officers and teachers. The recent surge in journal publications and working papers over the last 5 years suggests a growing demand for an updated analysis of the public servant; thus far demand has not been met by a comprehensive text. Unlike journals where the information is accessible only to academics and selected institutions, this Handbook is aimed at an expanded readership with an ambition to inform and distribute knowledge of the public servant to as broad a range of people as possible.
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Themes and Questions
The consequences of the reforms precipitated and carried by globalization and neoliberalism on public servants were significant and can be explicated with reference to three overarching themes that underpin the Handbook: identity, authority, and capability.
4.1
Identity
How public servants conceive of themselves and the development of that identity is important as it conveys meaning and value to the public servants themselves and to those they serve. Identity is formed from a range of sources and influences. It is underpinned by philosophy and shaped by history, tradition, and context. Identity is also linked to societal status. Historically, public servants have been held in high regard, particularly those with roles at national levels. However, one of the products of ongoing reform is the diminution of this status, among the public, the media, political masters, and ultimately public servants themselves. This is not uniform of course, in some countries public servants continue to be powerful (e.g., China), held in high esteem (e.g., South Korea) and supported by the broader public.
Introduction
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Key ideas about public servants are found in the work of philosophers, theorists, and politicians, e.g., Confucius, Max Weber, and Aristotle. These ideas envisage public servants as embodying specific virtues and attributes, qualities that set them apart from others in society. These identities may be associated with an elite cadre of public servants and may also extend in some form into the whole of the public service. Others offer important insights into the nature of decision making for public purpose, e.g., Hannah Arendt, Philippa Foot, and Mary Warnock, and the importance of challenging assumptions about who is “fit” to occupy roles of public significance, e.g., bell hooks and Mary Wollstonecraft. Identities are also associated with specific functions of government and administration, particularly those described as “professions.” Here a combination of skill, training, and experience admits entry to and continued membership of a particular public service professional group. This too is associated with social status and an alignment or “fit” with the established institutions of government. In contrast, some public servants developed their identities against those of the elite, and in some cases any idea of “profession.” These public servants – often in areas of social welfare and community action – identified with the people they were serving and against, or at least in tension with, “elite” and “professional” public servants. So, identity comes from without as well as within. Public servants are given identities and then inhabit them in ways that draw on their individual values and dispositions. Of course, identities are not given and fixed but do evolve over time, adapting and changing in response to political and social changes. On occasion, however, evolution is overtaken by revolution – transformative change that disrupts established identities and offers new ones. Industrialization, the development of welfare-bureaucracies, the growth of “aid” programs, and the New Public Management (NPM) are all examples of disruptive change that reconceived public service identities, removing and replacing to align with new paradigms. This was at the very least destabilizing but could be devastating for those affected. One particular challenge faced by public servants following NPM reforms is the emergence of “split identities” – a reconfiguration of roles that places a public servant in two distinct positions. Examples include public service workers whose service is outsourced with them moving to the new “private” institution, but retaining their service focus, or public servants operating in “internal markets” where they occupy different roles in “purchaser provider” split functions, but within the same institution. In addition, a number of new identities emerged as the fragmentation of the public sector following privatization, coupled with the growing emphasis on addressing complex policy problems, created the need for people able to co-ordinate and “join up” people and activities. Boundary spanners, commissioners, networkers, neighborhood managers, and user representatives are all examples of new identities associated with these demands. Context matters for identity, and this includes how public servants are represented in and to the wider public. This covers the way that the government of the day communicates about public servants – contrast here the contempt shown for public
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servants by leaders such as former US President Donald Trump who regard them as adversaries, with the respect for public servants shown by others including New Zealand PM Jacinda Adern who regard them as allies. Outside of government the media – news and entertainment – plays a role in shaping public opinion toward public servants, through its reporting and representation of them. This Handbook explores how identity is constructed, supported, challenged, and changed over time, space, and multiple programs of reform.
4.2
Authority
Public servants’ relationship with authority is multifaceted. Their institutional position can mean that they embody the power and capacity of the state, most obviously in areas of security and regulation, e.g., policing, the judiciary, but also beyond that including in health, education, and social welfare, and in foreign affairs and diplomacy. This embodiment is more than representation, though it does include representation. It is rather an expression of authority that relies on both institutional force and individual skills and attributes. Often these individual attributes derive from expertise, earned and demonstrated by public servants. Expertise is the combination of knowledge, skills, and experience in a particular field or profession. Its acquisition and acknowledgment by others, including the state, via processes of professional registration, departmental vetting, and/or public awards or honors, affords public servants the right to exercise the authority of the state. These sources and expressions of authority are of course context dependent. Different traditions and cultures will inform the scope and scale of institutional authority, and the routes to authority open to public servants. Likewise, the shape and nature of authority held by public servants will depend on the policy arena they operate in, the value attached to their professional status, and their degree of dependence on, or independence from, the state. Public servants’ authority can also be derived from other more or less powerful institutions including organized religion, political parties, or cultural traditions. These factors are important in a variety of governance systems democratic and nondemocratic, and their influence may be formally instituted or operate informally. Authority is not an unproblematic feature of public policy and administration. At one extreme, authoritarian regimes require the suspension of personal freedoms and adherence to an ideology, obedience to an institution, or loyalty to a “leader.” They also function on the basis of elevating some social, religious, or racial groups at the expense of others. In this context, being a public servant is largely contingent on one’s race/ethnicity, social group, or family connections, and religious or party affiliation. In such circumstances it is hard to conclude that submission to the governing authority is freely given. However, the problematic nature of authority is not restricted to authoritarian regimes. Democratic societies are also demarcated along social, political, racial, and cultural grounds, and there are many examples of particular groups being more likely to
Introduction
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inhabit positions of authority, whether this be political or bureaucratic. In class-based systems such as the UK, deference to authority was inevitably linked to the dominance of a particular social group, as access to the professions, the civil service, the military, and even the established Church was limited. Colonialism operated in a similar way, inserting the colonial powers’ authority structures, including those of the public service into societies and subjugating established and indigenous institutions of authority. When deference to the prevailing authority falls away or is rejected this can have significant implications for public servants who will lose their status, and in some cases their positions. This may be a positive development in contexts where public servants’ authority rested on their privileged position absent any expertise. It is also welcome in circumstances where public servants have abused their positions, deploying their skill and expertise to enrich themselves, or cause harm to others. However, it is more problematic in contexts where public servants have demonstrable expertise that makes them authorities in their profession or occupation, and where rejection of this expertise can result in damage to people’s health and wellbeing. Perversely, politicians’ own rejection of expertise in pursuance of a populist agenda – evident across a range of countries – has not only diminished the authority of public servants, but has also exacerbated risks to the public who may be less inclined to follow advice, respect rules, and acknowledge evidence. Assessing the consequences of the decline in deference to authority and perhaps more importantly, the decline in public trust is difficult, not least because of the positive benefits of some of these developments. However, what this discussion does draw attention to is the role of integrity and ethics in the development and maintenance of a system of governance, and a public service and public sector regarded as trustworthy and legitimate. This in turn demands that both politicians and public servants are operating to appropriate ethical standards. The processes of reform that have impacted globally have not only challenged public servants’ identities. They have also changed the nature of their authority, specifically expanding the space for regulation. This is a necessary consequence of the marketization and personalization of public services now ubiquitous in many parts of the world. As public service work is segmented and fragmented and arms’ length agencies and private or not-for-profit organizations become more involved in the design and delivery of this work, there is a need for appropriate institutions and practices of accountability to accommodate the many different hands now involved. In turn regulation becomes more necessary and more challenging. This Handbook examines the ways authority is constituted and exercised, the decline of particular kinds of authority and their replacement by new kinds – as roles or functions, and the particular interaction between authority and expertise.
4.3
Capability
Questions about public servants’ capabilities and their fitness for their roles are not new, but neither are they unimportant. Public servants must be appropriately equipped to do their job, especially as so much potential public value depends on
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their performance. In addition, public services should ideally be able to look to future skill gaps and needs and plan their recruitment and development accordingly. However, in practice public service institutions face a range of challenges that may inhibit appropriate recruitment and development. Public servants are required to be proficient at working within institutions that are hundreds of years old, and which have rules and practices that need to be maintained even though they may be incongruous in the context of the twenty-first century. At the same time, public servants are required to function in the contemporary context, providing policy advice, or designing and delivering services, or carrying out professional duties in the world as it is. Some public servants may be better equipped to manage the inevitable tensions that result better than others. Some professional accreditation systems are more rigorous and focus on ensuring professionals are up to date with contemporary demands while still maintaining an adherence to core standards and principles. Others however are not. There are also particular challenges facing what might be termed the “core” public service, that is those public servants who do not inhabit the professions of education, health, the military, diplomacy, etc., but rather are recruited to be administrators or bureaucrats, functioning within the core public or civil service to design policy, advise ministers, develop programs, etc. Here the long-standing tension is between the role of generalists versus specialists and whether the public service has too much of one and not enough of the other at any one time. The debate is constructed to be about ensuring appropriate capability, but it is not always clear how proposed deficiencies in capability are responses to or anticipations of future requirements. The UK civil service adopted a different approach to this challenge by appointing a Head of Professions across Whitehall to build specific capabilities among specialist staff. One example is the Head of Profession in International Trade established to build the capability of civil servants to negotiate trade deals following the UK’s departure from the European Union. A consistent challenge to capability since the 1990s and intensifying in the twenty-first century is the digital revolution. The potential of “big data,” artificial intelligence (AI), blockchain, digital communications, automation, and more represent the biggest potential change in how government and public administration and service delivery get done. While some countries are acknowledged leaders in the adoption and application of digital technology for public services, including Singapore, South Korea, and Estonia, many struggle to keep up, either due to lack of political will or because of insufficient resources. For some digital technology evangelists, particularly those close to government leaders, the potential exists to transform how government and public policy and administration are done. What this requires, they argue, is a complete overhaul of the nature of the core public service, replacing generalists and specialists, with technocrats, trained in science and with a particular appetite for disrupting “how things are done” through the application of technology. Yet, we have seen many of examples of large-scale (and large budget) digital projects fail to meet their aims and others where application of digital tools has produced unintended or damaging effects. What is clear from many of these examples is that it is not enough to simply be technically proficient. There is a need
Introduction
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to be able to think about the impact that these applications might have in terms of a range of ethical and moral perspectives. Another emergent challenge whose prescription is perhaps no less radical is that of cross-cultural working. Many public servants now live and work in diverse multicultural societies. Yet, public policy and services have not kept up. To do so requires a focus on recruiting more public servants, or potential public servants who reflect the diversity of the society they serve. It also demands that all public servants become capable in cross-cultural working, and in many cases in working with “first nations” peoples, who are often the most underrepresented and underserved populations. Meeting any or all of these challenges and demands requires action on a number of fronts, including the express commitment of politicians and public service leaders. A key ingredient is investment in relevant education, training, and development. The UK’s focus on “professions” is one example of a new approach to capability building, but there will need to be many more. This is a particular challenge for public services that have been starved of resources for education and development as part of ongoing efficiency reforms. The Handbook will examine the breadth and depth of capability among public servants, identify similarities and differences across contexts, and explore the capability challenges facing public servants in the future.
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How To Use This Book
The book is designed to be read as a whole or in its various parts. Consequently, the parts are designed to be complete in themselves, with some inevitable overlap between parts. Each chapter identifies others across the Handbook that are relevant to it, so enabling the reader to pursue specific areas of interest. The Handbook has 13 parts: Part 1: Public Servants – A Global Review Part editors: Gerhard Hammerschmid and Jessica Breaugh The first part of the Handbook examines public servants in light of different international experiences and traditions. In particular, the chapters explore different ways the civil service is constituted, how the workforce is trained, the kind of work undertaken and the different ways politics and institutional factors influence the public service. The introduction to Part 1 explores comparatively central features of the public service across regions and countries, including the size of the public sector labor force, the composition of the workforce by age, a typology of functions undertaken, the nature of recruitment processes, renumeration, and the status of women. The part’s chapters then provide case studies from different geographic contexts and governance systems, including on state capacities and traditions in Latin America, Europe, Asia, and North America. Part 2: In the Beginning – Philosophical Foundations and Traditions Part editor: Jill L Tao Part 2 addresses the ideas and contexts that influence our understandings of the public servant. Tao’s framing chapter sheds light on possible oversights in thinking
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about public servants given that most philosophies in public administration are Western-centric. She suggests that much can be gained by broadening perspectives and considering alternative traditions like Confucianism, for example, on human behavior and relationships. The relevance of context and the incompleteness of some public administration constructs runs through this part as a theme. Similarly, the chapters address the influence of colonization, religion, empire, and revolution, including in Colombia and India, and what these mean for public servants today. This part raises important questions about the potential role and limits of theory in delivering practical benefits across a diverse range of contexts. Part 4: Values and Motivation Part editor: Eva Witesman This part considers what motivates people to enter and stay in the world of public service. The chapters in this part highlight common values including serving the public interest and job security across contexts as well as important differences as they have evolved over time, across space, and under different political conditions. The part points to important nuances among the values and motivations of public servants, including the different factors that influence their decisions, for example, the impact of frequent administration transitions, the effects of NPM, and the root psychological values behind public service values. This part shows clearly the ways values and motivation are important to the effective practice of public servants. In turn, it also demonstrates how public servants can shape the expression of values from government to citizens. Part 5: Trajectories of Reform Part editor: Janine O’Flynn, Avery Poole and Patrick Lucas Part 5 outlines different reform trajectories and their effects on public servants. There is a focus on the role of globalization and neoliberalism prompting and shaping major reform movements, including NPM, through which the state has been scaled back and market solutions expanded across most democracies. In the first chapter, the Section Editors map out different eras of reform, while over the proceeding chapters the authors examine how these waves have influenced public servants and shaped their roles, functions, identities, values, and skills. The part emphasizes different notions of the public service but also the Western-centric nature of global reform trajectories and how these intersect with different cultures, for example, how ideas are transplanted and affect the public service and public servants in Papua New Guinea or in Southeast Asia. Part 6: The Elite: Public Servants as Policy Makers Part editors: Yijia Jing and Evan Berman The part examines the pivotal role played by senior public servants (“the elite”) in policy making. Building on themes developed earlier in the handbook, including recent trajectories of reform, this part explores new demands made on senior public servants and the skillset they develop in navigating them, for example, in dealing with different stakeholders and their capacity to influence policy making. In the opening chapter, Sullivan explores defining features of “the elite” across contexts, including the challenge of managing the interrelationship between politics and bureaucracy as well as the involvement of non-state actors in public policy. These
Introduction
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themes are then developed primarily through specific case studies in the part, embracing national and local levels in different governance systems. Part 7: The Elephant in the Room: Public Servants and Implementation Part editor: Helen Dickinson This part explores the perennial problem of why policies fail: it examines the complex landscape of implementation. In the introductory chapter, Dickinson provides a brief history of implementation that explores common models and theories of implementation as well as the evolving complexity of policy making. The remaining chapters of the part delve further into specific implementation questions, examining, for example, accountability challenges where the private sector is involved in public policy, different types of complexities and how they can be dealt with, or implementation in the context of co-production. A dominant theme throughout the part is the role of soft skills in navigating complex systems (Dickinson et al. 2019). Part 8: Regulation as Public Service, Public Servants as Regulators Part editor: Jeroen van der Heijden Part 8 focuses on regulation as a profession and practice. It offers insights about regulatory theories and practical applications of regulation. While differences exist between the conceptualizations adopted, broadly the authors focus on regulation as seeking to influence the behavior of individuals and collectives by establishing expectations and consequences across different areas of society. The opening chapter includes a detailed description of the history of premodern regulation and of modern regulation along with more recent developments. From this foundation, the chapters that follow cover an array of topics from the “age of regulatory capitalism” and the professionalization of regulatory practice to the enforcement styles of enforcement practitioners and the various challenges that come with relying on regulation by non-state actors in public policy. Most chapters offer insights from deep case studies and two common themes include an exploration of the role of non-state actors as well as risk management. Part 9: Beyond the Center: Public Servants in the Wild Part editor: Catherine Needham This part considers the work undertaken by public servants outside of central government – focusing on public servants who work in regional and local governments as well as street-level bureaucrats at the frontline of public service. The initial chapter provides a literature review relevant to considering the public servant at the street level or on the frontline, as well as the specific role of managers and elected officials. The following chapters analyze unique questions for public servants beyond the center, for example, from social innovation in local governance to women’s participation in poverty assistance programs at the local level. Co-production and the different ways of working with communities emerged as important and common themes in most chapters. Furthermore, the part deals with distinctive challenges “in the wild” including particular sets of success measures or performance indicators in local government as well as resource constraints in decentralized administrations. Part 10: The Virtual World of the Public Servant: An Introduction Part editor: Gemma Carey Part 10 explores how the digital era has impacted on the public servant. Carey and Wellstead open the part by exploring the relationship between the public service and
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information and communication technology (ICT), including some of the specific challenges faced around data security, privacy, and implementation challenges. They highlight the emerging nature of ICT within public management literature, with most publications appearing after 2015. The chapters in the part set out to broaden understanding about technological innovations and challenges from a public management perspective. For example, topics include public trust in a digital age, the relationship between ICT problems and persistent issues in public management, and how ICT platforms can serve educational purposes. Part 11: Integrity and Ethics Part editor: Helen Sullivan This part explores the state of integrity and ethics in public service and among public servants. In the introduction, Sullivan links up debates about integrity and ethics to the role of context, culture, specific policy tools, reform, and societal change. Together, the suite of chapters that follow in Part 10 demonstrate that governance systems, well designed or otherwise, do not guarantee ethical behavior and that the aforementioned factors, from context to reform processes, strongly influence the way public servants operate. The authors in this part provide detailed accounts of different kinds of unethical conduct as well as ways forward that, for example, identify slippages in good governance processes, promote the adherence to public sector values as part of private contract, enable local and inclusive ethical frameworks through collaboration, and bring together considerations of competence and ethical conduct. Part 12: Representation: Public Servants in Public Part editor: Peter Matthews This part considers how public servants have been represented by the media and broader culture. Matthews opens the part with an overview of the way public servants have historically been represented in scholarship and provides an explanation of why public servants are represented in public culture. Drawing on a range of theoretical approaches, the chapters look across mediums from comedy and drama to political satire as well as factual representations in a series of portraits, news stories from autocratic states, and job adverts to explore understandings of the public servant. Overall, the chapters illuminate how such representations reflect societies and the place occupied by public servants within them. Part 13: Educating the Public Servants of the Future Part editor: Paul Williams This part comprises a collection of chapters that examine the capabilities and competencies of public servants – the range of interconnected skills, abilities, traits, and experience that equip them to manage and govern in contemporary public services. From different disciplinary perspectives, the chapters in this part explore a range of different issues, such as boundary-spanning competencies and behaviors, how management controls can be used to support and guide organizational learning and knowledge management strategies. In sum, this part identifies the problem of fragmented and inflexible approaches to educating public servants as well as the need to adopt a more systematic approach in the future that deals with interconnectedness, unpredictability, dispute, and agency.
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Part 14: The Public Servant of the Future Part editor: Zeger Van Der Wal Contributions to this part examine the skills and roles of the public servants of the future. In the introductory chapter, Van Der Wal examines key public administration paradigms and global megatrends that will continue to influence the work of public servants, including various themes developed throughout the Handbook such as changing stakeholder dynamics, collaborative modes of working, and ethicization. The subsequent chapters cover a wide range of issues pertinent to the public servant of the future, for example, on the trade-offs involved when deciding to innovate, on preventing and mitigating corporate failure, and the value of incorporating crosscultural perspectives and cultural awareness. Overall, the final part of the Handbook highlights characteristics of public servants that are important now and in addressing future challenges.
References Bice, Sara, Avery Poole, and H. Sullivan, eds. 2018. Public policy in the ‘Asian century’: Concepts, cases and futures. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan. Dickinson, H., and Catherine Needham. 2012. Twenty-first century public servant: Summary of roundtable discussion. Birmingham: Public Service Academy, University of Birmingham. Dickinson, H., and H. Sullivan. 2014. Imagining the 21st century public service workforce. Melbourne: Melbourne School of Government. Dickinson, H., H. Sullivan, and G. Head. 2015. The future of the public service workforce: A dialogue. Australian Journal of Public Administration 74 (1): 23–32. Dickinson, H., C. Needham, C. Mangan, and H. Sullivan. 2019. Reimagining the future public service workforce. London: Springer. Milward, H., and Keith Provan. 2003. Managing the hollow state. Public Management Review 5 (1): 1–19. Stone, D., and K. Maloney. 2017. The Oxford handbook of global policy and transnational administration. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Sullivan, H. 2011. When tomorrow comes. The future of local public services. Report of the University of Birmingham Policy Commission (with demos), University of Birmingham. https://www.birmingham.ac.uk/Documents/research/SocialSciences/FullPolicyCommis sionreport1507.pdf
Part II Understanding Public Servants from a Global Perspective
Understanding Public Servants from a Global Perspective: An Introduction Jessica Breaugh and Gerhard Hammerschmid
Contents 1 Who Are Public Servants? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 The Scope of the Public Service . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 How Are They Recruited? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 The Compensation of Public Servants . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 The Status of Women in the Public Service . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Cross-References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
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Abstract
Public servants are an important component of any functioning administrative system. However, a comprehensive, comparative analysis of public servants from a global perspective is rare. The purpose of this chapter and section is therefore to analyze the concept of the civil servant from a global perspective. In order to do so, the chapter examines the concept of the civil servant, who they are, how they are trained, what they do, how they are rewarded, and how political and institutional factors shape personnel systems. Special attention is placed upon comparisons between civil service traditions, international conceptualizations of civil servants, the scope of public service work, and the status of women in public service. The chapter concludes with a brief introduction to each of the subsequent chapters in this part. Keywords
Public servants · International comparison · Civil service systems · Public sector
J. Breaugh (*) · G. Hammerschmid Hertie School, Berlin, Germany e-mail: [email protected]; [email protected] © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021 H. Sullivan et al. (eds.), The Palgrave Handbook of the Public Servant, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-29980-4_69
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Public servant, civil servant, and bureaucrat are all titles given to individuals working in the public sector. When one thinks of these titles, adjectives such as “boring,” “lazy,” “pension seeking,” “risk-averse,” or even “corrupt” often come to mind (Merton 1940; Van de Walle 2004; Guy Peters 2009). The sources of these stereotypes come from the media, in popular literature, and the rational choice movement identifying the potential “shirking” of public servants motivated to protect their own or their governments’ interests (Pierre and Peters 2017; Dunleavy 1992). However, these stereotypes can also be attributed to the fact that governments, and their civil servants, undertake tasks that are complex and ambiguous and are typically large scale in terms of scope and financial implications (Van de Walle 2004; Bouckaert and Walle 2003). As a result of this broad-based referential framework, coupled with a low trust in government in general, it is not hard to see why citizens may have negative perceptions of civil servants. Indeed, a recent Eurobarometer poll shows that around 43% of European citizens do not trust their public administrations (national, regional, and local; Eurobarometer 2018). However, the OCED (2017b) observes that while trust in government is deteriorating in many OECD countries, citizens trust public services more than the government itself. Despite this, across the empirical literature that focuses on public servants themselves, there are many examples of research that debunks this perspective. For example, when asking citizens to discuss “their government,” responses tend to be negative, while asking about specific concrete examples of government interactions they have had, they tend to be more positive (Goodsell 1994; Dinsdale and Marson 1999). Along similar lines, research has also shown that civil servants also tend to be motivated, dedicated, and overworked yet passionate about the work that they do (e.g., Ritz et al. 2016; Razavi and Staab 2010). While the size of government employment and the roles of civil servants may differ around the world (Guy Peters 2009), many similarities in their purpose and duties can still be drawn. These include upholding the law, providing public services, drafting policies, and planning. However, systematic academic evidence is rather scarce about these civil servants, who they are, what they do, and how they are motivated and rewarded. This is particularly true with respect to cross-national comparisons. Therefore, this introduction aims to shed light on this by presenting a global overview of public servants and their working conditions, whereas the following chapters in this book part aim to shed light on the topic from different regional perspectives. The purpose of this chapter and part is to examine the concept of the civil servant from a global perspective. The overarching questions to be addressed in this section are as follows: Who are civil servants, and how are they recruited? How are they rewarded? How representative are they? And, how do political and institutional factors shape administrative systems and help us to better understand the phenomenon of public servants? As with any global review, the necessity to compare across countries and regions is essential. However, there is a distinct lack of global and comparable data to do so. From a governance perspective, organizations such as the OECD and the World
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Bank have begun to address this gap; however, the samples included in their data tend to be restricted to upper-income countries and be at the macro level. Data that examines microlevel public servant data from an international perspective is very limited. Even more so for developing and transition economies. Therefore, this chapter draws upon a variety of different international surveys and databases to present an empirical analysis of public servants from a global perspective. This introductory chapter will first offer a global overview, including a discussion regarding international conceptualizations of public servants. It will then present and discuss public service presence around the world, to shed light on who they are, what they do (the scope of their work), and their wages, using international survey and labor force data. Following this, key issues related to civil servant’s demography will be outlined. The chapters of this part are then introduced. Taking a global perspective, the chapters of this part draw upon case studies from Latin America, Europe, Asia, and North America to better understand public servants in different geographic contexts, the governance systems in which they operate, as well as the ways in which they are managed.
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Who Are Public Servants?
While the concept of a public servant conjures up various stereotypes, different conceptions of what a public servant is and how they serve the public exist between eastern and western philosophies. Eastern political philosophy and public administration are grounded predominately within Confucianism values (Drechsler 2018). These values are inextricably linked to the concept of morality, where civil servants have the “moral obligation to ensure peace, prosperity, and justice so that the people will be happy and able to live full lives” (Frederickson 2002, p. 613). Stemming from this, public servants themselves are argued to be moral actors where their actions must be aligned with personal characteristics such as a good education, loyalty to rulers, incorruptibility, and leading by example (Frederickson 2002, p. 614). Within the context of western bureaucratic traditions, the concept of public servants and public service can be traced back to the writings of Plato and Aristotle, both of whom refer to the notion that public servants are to set aside their own to serve the community (Horton 2008). However, with the development of modern western bureaucratic traditions, differences also emerged between different models of government. According to continental European models, the rule of law plays a dominating role in defining public servants. Indeed, according to Weber (1947), a good civil servant is one who remains politically neutral, professional, and rational and upholds laws within a specific governing authority. By contrast, the Westminster models largely operate based on a political ethos that is guided by tradition rather than administrative law (Horton 2008). These differences illustrate how the conception of public servants fundamentally differs across cultures. However, a common thread of serving the public and the public interest remains the same, as does the concept of duty to serve and adherence to certain core values.
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What makes an organization “public” is reflected in the fact that service provision by “public” organizations is subsidized (if not free in terms of direct payment) and operates in a monopolistic market (Finan et al. 2015). Because of this, the scope of the public service can vary differently between countries and welfare states. In addition sociocultural context will also shape the nature of public services and public servants. As Pollitt and Bouckaert (2017) have argued, country context is an essential component in understanding general public administration. Consequently, a blanket definition of what defines a “civil servant” is almost impossible to settle on. We, therefore, define a public servant as someone who is employed in a public organization with the intent and duty of providing public services. In line with international organizations such as the International Labour Organization (ILO), the definition includes all types of public servants regardless of their employment contract but who are directly employed by a public institution. Despite claims of international convergence as well as reform pressures linked to international aid, culture and history still play an important role in understanding how civil services operate between countries and the roles of civil servants themselves (Painter and Guy Peters 2010). This led to the development of the concept of “administrative traditions” as a means of classifying civil service systems based on several factors including a bureaucracy’s relationship to society and political institutions, their political history, legal systems, and accountability (Painter and Guy Peters 2010, pp. 6– 8). Based on this, Painter and Guy Peters (2010, p. 19) identify nine different administrative traditions; these are Anglo-American, Napoleonic, Germanic, Scandinavian, Latin American, Postcolonial South Asian and African, East Asian, Soviet, and Islamic. While country context and administrative tradition play a role in defining the public service, contemporary global patterns reflect, to a large extent, the similarities of challenges of delivering public service provisions, the expansion of the welfare state, and the human capital required to do so (Guy Peters 2009). The source of this convergence can be attributed to institutional isomorphism and the dissemination of institutional norms (Powell and DiMaggio 1991), mandatory institutional reforms linked to foreign aid or international loans (Brinkerhoff and Brinkerhoff 2015), and international dissemination of administrative reform ideas, such as those associated with NPM generated from predominately western states (Kettl 2005; Painter and Guy Peters 2010). While western domination of PA principles is a core component of this convergence (see Drechsler 2018), the dissemination of “global best practices” may also be linked to the importance of increasing the effectiveness of public organizations and, to do so, the need to focus on the people tasked with its management and implementation. In addition, the similarities in clearly defined hierarchies and responsibilities, wage structures, and patterns of promotion may be related to the fact that they are key components in restricting political influence and interference into a public bureaucracy (Finan et al. 2015), even if they were mandated, to some extent from international organizations such as the International Monetary Fund or the World Bank, or inherited from a colonial past (see, e.g., Salazar-Morales and Lauriano’s chapter on ▶ “A Typology of the Latin American Civil Servant: Patronage Appointee, Technocrat, Loyalist, or Careerist” and Zafarullah and Sarker’s chapter on ▶ “Contemporary Issues in Civil Service
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Fig. 1 Global Public Employment, source ILOSTAT Explorer data subset entitled “Employment by sex and institutional sector.” The percentage of total employment was calculated and graphed by the authors. (ILOSTAT explorer 2020a)
Management in South Asia: Principles and Practice in India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh” in this part). The influence but also the efficiency of the public service is commonly measured vis-a-vis the ratio of public employment compared to the general labor market. Examining International Labour Organization data (ILOSTAT 2019), the global average of public sector employment vis-a-via total employment is 18% (see Fig. 1). The data used from the ILO defines public sector employment as “. . .all employment of general government sector as defined in System of National Accounts 1993 plus employment of publicly owned enterprises and companies, resident and operating at central, state (or regional) and local levels of government. It covers all persons employed directly by those institutions, without regard for the employment contract” (ILO 2019). The country with the highest percentage of pubic servants is Cuba (with 85%), followed by Nauru (60%) and the Marshall Islands (59%), while the lowest three are the African states of Niger, Guinea, and Madagascar with shares between 2% and 3%. This would very broadly suggest that developed countries on average tend to have higher shares of public employment compared to transition countries. However, there is a lot of variation (see Fig. 1). Overall, according to this graph, the Asia Pacific and Oceania regions have the highest percentages of public servants, followed by the Caribbean and Europe, while the lowest is in South America, Asia, and Africa. These figures are very similar to those reported across the OECD, according to which 18% of the general labor force is employed in the public sector (OECD 2017a, 2019). The Scandinavian counties of Norway, Denmark, and Sweden have the largest share of public servants (approximately 30%), while Japan and Korea have the smallest (6% and 8%, respectively) (OECD 2019). Also Middle Eastern states
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such as Jordon, Djibouti, and Lebanon have a higher percentage than the OECD, from between 20% and 30% of the general population (World Bank 2017). By contrast, based on a sample from low-income countries and emerging economies, including the Philippines, Nigeria, Ghana, and Pakistan, the percentage of public sector workers as a share of total employment is between 10 and 20% (Rogger 2017; World Bank 2017). This variation reflects in part the smaller scope of public services provided by the state, the fact that low-income countries tend to serve much larger populations with fewer resources, and the structural adjustment programs that call for a reduction of public sector workers (Golub and Hayat 2014). Ageing societies, as well as general government hiring freezes, have impacted the age structures within public sectors especially in more developed countries. For example, within OECD countries about one-quarter of central government employees are aged 55 years or older, while 75% of countries within the OECD have 20% of their workforce over 55 years old. Italy has the largest share, which is 45% of public employees being aged 55 and older, while in others, such as Korea, only 12% are over the age of 55 (OECD 2017a). In Canada, only 10% of the federal public service is under the age of 30 (Canada 2016), and in Australia it is 13% (Australia 2019), while in the USA, it is just under 8% (based on own calculations from the US Office of Personnel Management 2018). In addition, only 5% of public servants in Italy, Greece, and Spain are under 35. However, in Latvia, Hungary, and Chile, at least 30% of public servants are under 35. While older workers bring a wealth of knowledge in terms of institutional memory, an age imbalance impacts public sector organizations in dealing with a lack of skilled replacements, contributing different perspectives in policymaking, as well as attracting younger people to public service in general.
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The Scope of the Public Service
Public servants’ jobs and responsibilities still vary considerably yet are generally conceived to be related to contributing to the governance of a particular country, acting as custodians or stewards of public funds, and applying their skills toward the production of, and management of, policymaking and/or implementation and the provision of public services (Olowu 2010). While public servants may be united under these broad categories, there is still significant heterogeneity within the public sector with regard to differences between organizational contexts, missions, working conditions, and tasks (Anderfuhren-Biget et al. 2013). This heterogeneity can be captured into typologies taking into consideration both policy domains and stages of policymaking. One such typology is presented by Anderfuhren-Biget et al. (2013), who differentiate between public servants in core state functions such as security and justice, general administration (taxes, human resources, budget, accounting), welfare functions (health, hospitals, schools, social welfare), infrastructure (roads, water, airports),utilities (water, electricity), and environment. Arguably speaking, creating a typology of civil service types allows one to
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capture the variety of context, policy networks, and frames of reference present in the work of civil servants. While this offers a very broad scope of what public servants do, beyond central government ministries, even defining what is “public” can substantially differ across countries. The clearest examples of this are the healthcare systems around the world. In some countries, doctors are private sector employees that either provide services in the private sector with varying degrees of regulation (like the USA and the Netherlands), are private sector employees but provide services solely to the public, and are paid by taxpayer schemes such as the National Health Service in the UK, provincial insurance plans in Canada, or Medicare in Australia. These distinctions in what is public and what is private may also explain the variance in public servants in the general labor market. For example, Germany has a relatively low percentage of public servants vis-à-vis the general labor force (11%). However, this is because most of the social services mandated and provided by the state are administered through a complex nongovernmental welfare system (Freie Wohlfahrtspflege), primarily funded through taxes (Wegrich and Hammerschmid 2018). As a result, the German government focuses on social service regulation while allowing the implementation of government policy to be undertaken by private or not for profit organizations. By contrast, in Denmark, social services are provided by the state and public servants themselves, which is then reflected in their employment data. This also underscores the fact that the size of a government workforce does not necessarily correlate with the reach of government-funded services. Given the large changes that have occurred in public bureaucracies around the world, many scholars have begun to re-evaluate the roles that public servants may play. For example, Peters (2009) argues that contemporary public administration “continues to juggle values of efficiency, democracy, equity probity and accountability” (p. 8). He further argues that focusing on one value risks alienating others, which has led public servants to act upon multiple identities in the course of their work (Guy Peters 2009; Meyer and Hammerschmid 2006). The first identity is that of the traditional bureaucrat, which relies on the formal structure of government organizations. The second is the manager who, inspired by the principles of NPM, works via increased flexibility and management tools toward the implementation of policies. The third is the professional or policymaker, where public servants are considered experts in creating and implementing government policies and, in the process, influence their political masters. Finally, the negotiator, which reflects the increased use and requirement to cultivate, to negotiate, and to collaborate with public service providers. Taken together, these represent key characteristics of the roles that public servants can play. Using survey research from top civil servants in Europe, Steen and Weske (2016) confirm these propositions. They find that top civil servants balance different roles and responsibilities, leading to the development of hybrid identities that take into consideration both the polio-administrative culture of a country and global reform trends. Another means of understanding what public servants do can be reflected in the level of government in which they work. Figure 2 presents global data that reflects the percentage breakdown of public servants in terms of the level of government they
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Breakdown of Public Servants by level of Government Local (%)
Regional (%)
Central (%) 0
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Fig. 2 Global breakdown of public servants by the level of government. The data was taken from the most recent available year per country as provided by the latest period of the International Labour Statistics database, “public employment by sectors and subsectors of national accounts (thousands) – annual. The data was organized in its current form by the authors using the government level: central, regional, and local government data as a percentage of the government level (general government) (ILOSTAT explorer 2020b)
work in. Globally speaking, most civil servants work at the central government level, followed by local government and regional government. This reflects the political structures in their country (federal states have more regional and local government public servants due to principles of subsidiarity) and the scope of government services. For example, in federalist countries such as Mexico, Brazil, and Germany, most public servants work for regional and local government, while in centralist systems such as Ireland, the UK, and Hungary, most public servants are employed by the central government.
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How Are They Recruited?
In general, public administration literature categorizes systems of recruitment and promotion in two ways (Hammerschmid et al. 2007; Rauch and Evans 2000; Laegreid and Wise 2015). The first is based on the organization of recruitment and promotion (career vs. position), and the second linked to this is whether the systems are considered open or closed (Hammerschmid et al. 2007; Van de Walle and Jilke 2014). In career-based systems, the recruitment of public servants is generally conducted through open competitions and exams. Age restrictions may also apply for applicants. Civil servants tend to spend their entire working careers in public service, promotions tend to be based on tenure, and civil servants have a lot of job securities. By contrast, in position-based systems, open vacancies are generally filled based on skills and abilities of applicants from within and external to the public
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sector, promotions tend to be based on skills and abilities, and civil servants have less job security (Laegreid and Wise 2015; Hammerschmid et al. 2007; Van de Walle and Jilke 2014). Linked to this classification is the concept of closed and open civil service systems. In general, closed systems tend to be paired with career-based recruitment and promotion. They are characterized by careers that are sector distinct, lifelong tenure, and, for the most part, labor laws that are only applicable to public servants. Open systems, by contrast, are characterized by career mobility that may blur the lines between public, private, and nonprofit sectors, general labor laws apply to public servants, and they tend to be position-based (Suzuki and Hur 2019; Laegreid and Wise 2015). While these distinctions help to categorize country systems, many countries typically used a hybrid of both depending on the level and type of position they are recruiting. Despite the differences between the systems, recruitment of public sector workers is an essential component in developing effective public organizations, and the quality of these organizations depends largely on the quality of the staff they employ (Asseburg et al. 2018). Using data from the international social survey program, Van de Walle et al. (2015) found that female, older people, and lower- to mediumincome earners preferred public sector work as do people who are interested in job security, income, and career development potential and have high public service motivation. Interestingly, they also found that attraction to public service was higher in countries that have career-based systems. Public sector attraction also differs globally. According to a study undertaken by Norris (2003), postcommunist and developing countries have the largest share of people interested in public sector work, compared to Anglo-American and Scandinavian countries (who have the lowest). In addition, a more recent study reported that 56% of private sector workers in Taiwan would prefer a public sector position compared to 23% and 13% in the USA and New Zealand, respectively (Chen et al. 2019a). While attraction to public service is very high in Asia, attraction to government work is comparatively lower in many parts of the western world. Because of increased labor market competition due to shifting demographic compositions of most advanced economies, and the blurring of sector lines between private, public, and nonprofit, research has shown that young people are often not choosing government as their first choice of work (Fowler and Birdsall 2019). These results suggest that many governments face problems with recruitment in terms of attracting highly skilled workers to government jobs especially related to new technologies and digitalization, and this is especially problematic in developed countries, where labor supply is shrinking (Ritz and Waldner 2011). Indeed, recent research has shown that the top university graduates are not selecting the public sector as their employer of choice (Fowler and Birdsall 2019) and that 45% of US millennials who enter the public sector leave due to job dissatisfaction over a 5-year span (Abouassi et al. 2019). This could reflect a poor fit between the candidate and the job but also highlights the more general challenges that governments have with recruitment and retention. Adding to this are the so-called sector switchers or those who start in public sector work but eventually leave. In Denmark, for example, researchers have reported a
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90% increase in public to private sector moves from 1980 to 2006 (Frederiksen and Hansen 2014). At the global level, research from the USA has shown that federal government employees are more likely to leave government due to economic turbulence (Piatak 2017). This could be because economic turbulence could change their motivations (Ripoll and Breaugh 2019) or, as the author notes, because of bureaucratic inflexibility, salary, red tape, and general job dissatisfaction due to management cuts, layoffs, and budgetary pressures (Hansen 2014; Feeney 2008; Feldheim 2007). However, these results were only found for federal- rather than local- and state-level employees, which would suggest that different conditions may at play depend on which level of government is under analysis. In addition, the career system and a lack of full job security make public servants in open systems like the USA far more mobile in terms of sector switching compared to traditionally closed European systems, where many public servants enjoy complete job security (even in times of economic turbulence). In developing and transition countries, the “brain drain” of qualified public workers also has an effect on the supply of workers, either because the workers have emigrated to more developed countries and regions under qualified immigration programs (such as the USA or Europe; see Mackay and Liang 2012) or because international and nongovernmental organizations or development-focused charities pay and compensation can be up to 20 times higher (Pfeiffer et al. 2008). These cases all underscore the importance of institutional context in understanding the behaviors of public servants. Attracting skilled public servants to the public sector is an essential first step in recruitment, but the recruitment process itself is a second essential component. An increasing global standard for recruitment and selection is based on the concept of merit. Merit-based recruitment can be defined as hiring people based on their skills and abilities rather than nepotism or patronage. This type of hiring approach has been linked to feelings of empowerment for civil servants, state capacity, and reduction in state corruption (see Fukuyama 2014; Dahlström et al. 2012; Cooper 2018). Merit-based recruitment can be traced back to imperial China, but it was not until the late nineteenth and twentieth centuries that merit-based hiring was implemented around the world. According to Rauch and Evans (2000) and Dahlström et al. (2012), merit recruitment and promotion provide professionalization and more competent staff and allow for the separation of political and civil servants necessary for the development of a professional civil service. Examining data from the Quality of Government survey (QoG survey; Teorell et al. 2019) shows a strong positive relationship between the professionalization of public administration on the one hand and the impartiality of public administration on the other hand. From Fig. 3 one can see that New Zealand, Ireland, and Norway score highest regarding both impartiality and professionalization of their public administrations, while Venezuela and Tajikistan score lowest. This data suggests that both the meritbased systems and the impartiality of public administrations (and in turn public servants themselves) are mutually reinforcing. The recruitment process within the public sector largely reflects the institutional arrangements of the public sector itself such as career-based systems (like Germany or the European Commission) and position-based systems (like the UK). In many counties, a state entrance exam is used to recruit young civil servants. These exams
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Fig. 3 Source: The Quality of Government Standard Dataset version Jan 19 (Teorell et al. 2019), graphed by the authors. An impartial public administration refers the extent to which governments operate under the confines of the law and outlined policy. It is an index created by the QoG team from q8_g, q5_f, and q5_g and q7 and q9_a from the QoG expert survey. Professional Public Administration refers to personnel management, including the extent of meritocracy and politicization of HRM systems in the country. It is an index that was created by q2_a, q2_b, q2_g, and q2_h of the QoG survey (see Teorell et al. 2015)
can be very competitive in emerging economies, where the possibility of a stable, paid job is very lucrative. In addition, in many Asian countries such as Korea or Japan, passing the civil service exams brings certain levels of honor and feelings of elitism (see ▶ “Government Employment Practices in East Asia: A Case Study of Merit-Based Recruitment and Selection of Civil Servants in Japan and South Korea” chapter in this part). In China, about a million people take the public service entry exam each year (Hui 2019) competing for under 20,000 positions. This has caused some scholars to argue that the attraction to public service fundamentally differs from that of western countries and that large-scale state exams introduce different types of incentives that may crowd out more altruistic or public service-motivated reasons to enter the public service (Chen et al. 2019b). In other countries such as Canada, a hybrid system exists that includes both federal recruitments via nationwide public sector entry examinations, of which successful candidates can be placed into candidate pools for non-specified positions and through specific position-based recruitment campaigns. While attracting top candidates to civil service jobs is important, so too is increasing the representation of civil servants from different backgrounds. For
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example, in Korea, higher-ranking public officials tend to be selected from a set of elite institutions (Kim 2017). Likewise, the UK civil service fast stream still hires about 17% of their candidates from just two UK universities (Oxford and Cambridge). The scheme has been more successful in attracting women, yet there is still a lack of representation with respect to ethnic minorities and those from lower socialeconomic backgrounds who may not apply for the scheme in the first place (Gov.uk 2018). Despite the benefits of merit-based recruitment, the problem of nepotism is still chronic around the world. This is particularly problematic and systemic in developing and transition economies, in which appointments based on nepotism and political interference often result in public servants who lack the necessary skills or motivation to serve the public. In some cases, instances like these have larger implications for their country’s own development, including achieving strategic development goals necessary to improve the quality of life of their citizens (Ukeje et al. 2019). Indeed, recruitment is a point of contention in emerging economies, such as those in Latin American and Southeast Asia. For example, the chapters focusing on Latin America and Southeast Asia argue that the use of merit-based exams has, for the most part, been introduced in these areas of the world but that their effect is limited, primarily due to capacity issues and forceful attempts at modernization tied to international aid and foreign loan agreements. These findings are in line with Andrews et al. (2017) who have argued that institutional development in many developing countries suffers from “isomorphic mimicry” wherein governments attempt to mimic the institution forms of government from other countries but often lack the capacity to make the institutional reforms work.
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The Compensation of Public Servants
Pay and benefits of public sector workers have become a point of contention around the world. According to the ILO, public sector wage freezes are a common austerity policy that has hit, primarily, advanced economies (ILO 2012). The European Union was hit the hardest, with Greece, Ireland, and Portugal having the deepest cut due to their sovereign debt crises (ILO 2012). However, overall, governments tend to be “model employers” often offering better wages and conditions than their private sector counterparts, especially for lower-skilled workers (Depalo et al. 2015). In a study that examined public sector wages in Europe, researchers found that wages were higher in the public sector and also tend to be more equal across public servants (Depalo et al. 2015). However, pay premiums in low-income or lower-middleincome countries tend to be high, compared to developed countries, where the premiums are small and, at times, negligible (Finan et al. 2015). What is more, while “fringe benefits” such as health insurance and pension schemes are common in all public sector jobs, these benefits tend to be far larger for developing rather than developed countries (Finan et al. 2015). In terms of compensation by gender, findings from researchers in the USA show that active policies in gender equity significantly improve the wage earnings of
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females (Reese and Warner 2012). In addition to a wage gap between men and women, research has shown that wage differentials (meaning the differences in salary between the public and private sectors) are higher for women in the public sector compared to their private sector counterparts (Llorens et al. 2008).
5
The Status of Women in the Public Service
Representativeness of and diversity within the public service are important not only to reflect society as a whole but also to increase the participation and effectiveness of government (Riccuci 2018; United Nations 2015). Representativeness is also associated with levels of inclusiveness within public organizations themselves (Andrews and Ashworth 2015) and reduced levels of overall inequality (Mastracci 2017). Within the academic literature, forms of representative bureaucracy examine a variety of different types of representation including women and minority groups. Across the OECD, women are overrepresented in the general public sector workforce (58%), yet only 32% of senior management positions are held by women, and about 28% of government ministers are women (OECD 2017a). A more refined analysis shows that Latvia, Iceland, Greece, and Poland all have over 50% of women in senior management positions, while countries such as Japan, Korea, and Turkey lag significantly behind, having a share of women lower than 10%. This supports research that has shown that women tend to be clustered in lower-wage bands and in junior positions compared to men (United Nations 2015). According to Quality of Government expert survey, globally speaking, most women in the public sector are employed in the public healthcare and education sectors (Dahlström et al. 2015). Examining developing countries specifically, according to the UNDP (2014), women make up 30% of decision-making positions in only 5 of the 35 countries under examination. Looking at women in ministerial positions, only 40 of 186 countries have reached at least 40% gender parity (IPU 2017). These countries include Bulgaria, Nicaragua, Sweden, Rwanda, Denmark, and South Africa. However, still many countries have yet to reach 10% representation (e.g., Malta, Bangladesh, Laos, and Singapore), and some still have no women in these positions at all (e.g., San Marino, Pakistan, Hungary and Saudi Arabia IPU 2017). Because of the importance of increasing gender representation in public administrations, it has become an important issue in many country’s recruitment policies. These include introducing women quotas (e.g., in Columbia, Belgium, France, and Nepal), which aim to correct past injustices to increase the percentage of women in public administration (UNDP 2014). Changes to public sector working conditions, including contracting out, have also disproportionately impacted women, and they tended to be in the positions more likely to have been contracted out (e.g., cleaning and caring positions); women are more likely to be in part-time and temporary work compared to men (UNDP 2014). These are examples of systematic barriers that women face within their careers in public service.
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Drawing on this global overview of public servants, the chapters that make up this part undertake a more in-depth investigation into some of the issues raised in this discussion from both a regional and topical perspective. The first chapter ▶ “A Typology of the Latin American Civil Servant: Patronage Appointee, Technocrat, Loyalist, or Careerist” by Diego Salazar-Morales and Lucas Amaral Lauriano examines the concept of state capacities and administrative traditions in Latin America with a specific focus on the tensions between meritocracy and patronage. The chapter puts forth a typology of civil service systems that are unique to Latin America. Drawing on research, literature, and the interplay of both state capacity and administrative system theory, the authors argue that while Latin American countries do share a common colonial past, their present public service organizations can be organized in four different types of systems. These include patronage systems, technocrats, partisans, and careerists. Due to different trajectories within different public sector organizations within countries themselves, the organization may exert different types of behaviors, resulting in hybrid models of governance. The second chapter ▶ “Contemporary Issues in Civil Service Management in South Asia: Principles and Practice in India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh” examines HRM practices in India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh. Habib Zafarullah and Abu Elias Sarker outline the structural, functional, and behavioral patterns of the civil services in South Asia examining how the structures and processes embedded in their colonial past have impeded their ability to develop and adapt to modern-day challenges. Their analysis is centered around the concept of meritocracy in public institutions. First, they discuss the challenges with balancing merit with the guaranteed representation of women, ethnic minorities, and economically disadvantaged people enshrined by law. Then they outline the merit-based structures for recruitment, training, and promotion that exist within each of the three countries. However, the lack of capacity for their implementation, including linking HRM processes to one another, threatens not only the merit-based principles of governance in these countries but also the ethical and integrity of civil servants themselves. Chapter ▶ “Government Employment Practices in East Asia: A Case Study of Merit-Based Recruitment and Selection of Civil Servants in Japan and South Korea” provides a detailed analysis of the recruitment process and careers of public servants in Korea and Japan. He outlines the technical nature of the recruitment process and how the track in which one is recruited has implications for a public servant’s career trajectory. As for other Asian countries, he argues that the attraction to public service for many young people lies primarily in the prestige and status of passing the civil service exam itself, as well as the benefits of good wages and benefits associated with public sector work. He then specifically discusses policies and approaches used to increase the representation of women, those with disabilities and those from lower-income classes in the public sector and calls for both recruitment and career-based equity promotion. In the final chapter ▶ “Representative Bureaucracy in Canada: Multiculturalism in the Public Service,” Andrew Lam and Eddy Ng explore the concept of representative bureaucracy and related policies and practices undertaken by the Canadian federal government in order to increase representativeness in terms
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of language (French and English) and ethnic diversity. The chapter traces how previous discriminatory immigration and integration policies of the early twentyfirst century have been replaced by more liberal ideas regarding a multicultural Canada, including policies mandated to assess the status and improve the representation of minority groups within the federal government. Unlike traditional quota systems, however, the policies still require candidates to meet merit-based qualifications, and the support stretches beyond recruitment to also identify specific institutional barriers for minority groups that may hinder their own career development. Drawing upon arguments from the representative bureaucracy literature, they show that Canada has made great strides in improving their representation of minority groups both through legislation protecting English and French as official languages and through active recruitment policies targeted at disadvantaged groups. Despite these rather forward-thinking policies, they argue that more needs to be done to reflect a changing Canadian society.
6
Conclusion
The chapters that make up this part take an in-depth look at public servants from different regions around the world. While there are differences between countries and regions in the world, as well as challenges they may be facing (e.g., attracting qualified people, capacity building, and building increased representation), the widely established role and importance of public servants as a pillar of good governance and societal well-being remain constant. Looking toward the future, the impact of new technologies and government digitalization, increased cross-sector collaboration, as well as embracing large demographic and global migratory shifts will likely reveal new challenges and issues that the public sector, and public servants themselves, will have to address. However, as global trends would suggest, government civil service systems appear to be stable, yet increasingly agile, in addressing these issues. The unraveling of the COVID-19 global pandemic is a case in point. In times of crisis, it is often government and public servants who become key decision-makers in terms of public health, social services, and steering through economic turbulence. Learning from previous corona virus outbreaks (SARS and MERS), South Korea has become a leader in managing this heath crisis response, both containing the virus itself and also keeping society free and open (Moon 2020). Others have lagged. While there is no doubt an immense pressure placed on public health systems, the social and economic prosperity of citizens have also been under intense scrutiny. In many countries, their civil servants have become key actors in managing the spread of this virus, as well as the collateral damage. This includes cutting red tape to get emergency funds to citizens and businesses in record-breaking time, organizing large-scale repatriation schemes, sourcing, and managing the allocation of personal protection equipment, as well as large-scale coordination of local, regional, and national governments in the orchestration locking down, and opening up, society. The work of public servants has no doubt increased as have the ways in which their work has changed. For many countries, the onset of this pandemic led to almost
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immediate digital working and public service environments. However, this shift also revealed clear gaps in the digital capacity of many civil service systems. For example, in some countries, public servants must rotate working hours due to lack of bandwidth and capacity of government servers, while in others, their ability to work from home is hampered by a lack of equipment (Hemmadi 2020; Anker 2020). Beyond the technical capacity of digital workplaces and digital public services, for virtual working to truly be successful, there needs to be adequate trust and flexibility from both employer and employee. This is, however, the antipode to bureaucratic and presence-based models of employment. Nonetheless, the realization of the capacity and potential of a wide array of online public services may provide the catalyst needed for a large-scale shift toward digital work. Despite the window of opportunity for the improvement of digital services and the development of new working arrangements, others warn that the impending austerity measures could risk funding cuts and delays on implementing the systems that are needed for digital services to be maintained. Austerity measures are also likely to have a large impact of the morale of public servants themselves in the form of their own staff layoffs or having to make critical funding decisions that may leave some worse off. The ability to develop and train a strong, engaged, and productive public service workforce will no doubt contribute to the success of these challenges ahead.
7
Cross-References
▶ Deep Thinkers and Their Influence on the Conception of the Public Servant: Reconciling Philosophical Roots ▶ Trajectories of Reform: Where (and Who) Are the Public Servants
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A Typology of the Latin American Civil Servant: Patronage Appointee, Technocrat, Loyalist, or Careerist Diego A. Salazar-Morales and Lucas Amaral Lauriano
Contents 1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Latin American Civil Servants: State Capacities or Administrative Tradition? . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.1 State Capacities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.2 Administrative Tradition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Types of Civil Servants . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.1 Typology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.2 Patronage Appointees . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.3 Technocrats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.4 Partisan Loyalists . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.5 Careerists . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Conclusions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Cross-References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
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Abstract
Latin American (LA) civil services have traditionally been characterized by their rapid personnel rotation, unstructured careers schemes, and networks that are primarily based on patronage loyalties. During the twentieth century, the civil service in Latin America has undergone several stages of reform as a result of structural adjustment programs and conditional loans from international institutions, which, together with the regions’ own political development, have created a complex system of hybrid forms of civil service. The coexistence of highly technocratic institutions (“isles of efficiency”) and more patronage-oriented D. A. Salazar-Morales (*) Hertie School of Governance, Berlin, Germany e-mail: [email protected] L. A. Lauriano King’s Business School, King’s College London, London, UK e-mail: [email protected] © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021 H. Sullivan et al. (eds.), The Palgrave Handbook of the Public Servant, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-29980-4_71
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institutions is therefore common in Latin America. Furthermore, these institutions also produce different types of civil servants ranging from technocratic to political. This chapter provides a general overview of the theoretical discussions concerning the study of civil services in LA by comparing approaches focusing on “state capacity” or “administrative tradition.” According to the state capacity approach, scholars have largely explained the role and functions of civil servants based on their capacities and their relative political autonomy, while the administrative tradition approach emphasizes their access to state positions and whether or not they are meritocratic. Based on these discussions, this chapter proposes a fourfold categorization of civil servants (patronage appointees, technocrats, partisan loyalists, and careerists) that coexist in LA bureaucracies. The chapter concludes by briefly summarizing the central ideas of the civil servant typology and the potential challenges with regard to their application in practice. Keywords
Latin America · Civil service · Patronage · State capacity
1
Introduction
Latin American (LA) civil service systems have traditionally been characterized by patronage, closed networks, political loyalties, and high levels of staff rotation. According to a number of observers and scholars, the state of the civil service corresponds with the region’s stage of development (Hetherington 2018; González-Bustamante 2019), their patrimonial and colonial inheritance (Gledhill 2017), the lack of internal pressure for high-quality civil services (Ramió and Salvador 2008; Draper 2001), or their “state capacities” (Grassi and Memoli 2016; Soifer 2015). In the course of the twentieth century, LA countries have experienced a multitude of institutional breakups leading to interventions by foreign powers and international organizations. In most cases, such external interventions occurred after financial crises (i.e., the Colombian-IMF negotiations 1966, Peru financial rescue in 1991, Mexico financial rescue in 1995, etc.) or directly as a part of politically sponsored coups (e.g., Chile in 1973). Following these interventions, structural adjustment programs led to the promotion of administrative doctrines, and technical assistance was provided by international agencies, such as the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank – and most recently the Inter-American Development Bank (IADB). As a result, Ramió and Salvador (2008) recognize that the continent has experienced at least three important waves of reform that “modernized” the region’s civil services in terms of recruitment and professionalization (or brought their public services more in line with an Anglo-Saxon modernization ideal). Accordingly, the first reform wave was mostly “globalizing” and “general” (Ramió and Salvador 2008). It aimed at strengthening nascent LA democracies
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and their ability to provide better public services by making them more independent from political influence. This effort was accompanied by an attempt to liberalize the continent’s economies by building bureaucracies that follow market principles of “technical competence” and (presumed) “neutrality” (Ramió and Salvador 2008). International agencies such as the World Bank largely promoted these “modernization of the state” programs focused on building autonomy within the civil service as well as its professionalization (Pérez Salgado 1997; González-Bustamante 2019). The second wave of reforms came with the Washington Consensus (in the 1990s), which sought to implement New Public Management (NPM) logics mostly rooted in an Anglo-Saxon tradition (Cejudo 2015). These reforms aimed to reduce the participation of LA states in entrepreneurial activities, while also (gradually) opening their economies to foreign investment. Besides, international organizations urged LA states to modernize their economy-oriented institutions such as Ministries of Finance, Central Banks, and International Chambers of Commerce. In doing so, they introduced merit-based selection processes and received subsequent “technical assistance” as part of structural adjustment programs and conditional loans from think thanks and/or international organizations such as the World Bank or the InterAmerican Development Bank (Vellinga 2018: 16). The third wave of reforms came in the 2000s. Yet, this effort was particularly focused on the design of civil service institutions (Vellinga 2018: 75) and aimed to improve LA civil services by following regional initiatives such as La Carta Iberoamericana de la Función Pu´blica (2002: 5), which set out regional definitions of “civil service,” set a regional guideline for the reform of LA civil service schemes, and “inspired concrete country-based regulations” for the modernization of bureaucracies (Longo Martínez and Iacoviello 2010). Despite the multiple attempts to transform LA bureaucracies into more a “professional and rational” public service, the lack of state capacities (Cárdenas 2010), especially in regard to law enforcement (Johnson et al. 2012), multilevel coordination limitations, and regime changes (from democratic to authoritarian, and viceversa) (Cárdenas 2010) have hindered the consolidation of a new type of meritocratic civil service (Dussauge-Laguna 2012). In turn, scholars argue that in LA, many civil service hybrids coexist under a similar state infrastructure and even within the same bureaucratic units. The uneven implementation of civil service reform across LA entails various consequences. The most notorious is the development of “isles of efficiency” where specific, highly efficient (usually financially oriented), and bureaucratic institutions coexist with more “patrimonial” ones. While the former are characterized by their high political profile and connection with “centers of economic thinking” that also provide them with technical assistance and expertise, the latter, in turn, are bureaucracies which still reproduce clientelist practices and are seen as “resources” of the winning parties for allocating their incumbents (Ramió and Salvador 2008: 554). However, the most significant effect of the truncated waves of civil service reforms in LA is that civil servants, their professionality and capacity, their performance and political responsiveness (or loyalty), are highly dependent on the type of institution in which they are based (Vellinga 2018). While some of them have the
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ability to influence policy design and enjoy relative autonomy – even from elected politicians – others, in turn, owe their posts to political patronage. Yet there are also some civil servants – albeit very few – who have accessed civil service through merit-based evaluations (e.g., Foreign Affairs and Central Bank personnel) (Grindle 2010; Farazmand 2019). The complexity of the civil service reforms, the types of bureaucracies they have created, and the personnel they congregate remain an understudied topic in LA. This chapter provides a brief overview of the theoretical perspectives under which civil service and civil service officials in the region have been analyzed in recent LA studies. We illustrate how the debates between “state capacities” and “administrative traditions” were able to explain the roles and types of civil services and servants in the region. On this basis, a fourfold typology of civil servants coexisting in a diversity of truncated reform processes in LA is provided. We differentiate between civil servants who are patronage appointees (usually low qualified personnel who accessed government as part of a quid pro quo relationship), technocrats (highly qualified personnel whose access to the public service is political), partisan loyalists (who are party members appointed to tenured bureaucratic posts), and finally careerists (personnel that have access to government through meritocratic means). The chapter provides examples from a diverse range of LA countries to support this categorization.
2
Latin American Civil Servants: State Capacities or Administrative Tradition?
This section reviews the theoretical approaches taken by multiple scholars in studying the role of civil services and public employees in LA. We briefly discuss arguments by scholars linking the development of LA civil services to the level of development of their state capacities, and others who consider that their bureaucracy reflects their colonial (patrimonial) cultural roots – also known as “administrative tradition.”
2.1
State Capacities
Advocates of this perspective argue that countries with a higher level of state capacities tend to have a more meritocratic and professional type of civil service. Scholars argue that in this context, state capacities generally refer to (i) the degree of autonomy and (ii) the efficiency that bureaucracies can count on to enforce the rule of law in the national territory. Mann (1984) and Mainwaring and Perez-Linan (2015: 124) argue that a state with sound capacities can not only effectively and homogenously manage its territory but also guide the social dynamics operating in it (also see: Soifer 2015: 9). To do so, governments usually negotiate the scope of action and the political responsiveness of their bureaucracies.
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Another example is Fukuyama (2013), who argues that societies have a stronger “state” when its personnel can collectively translate selected preferences into policy. He considers that in a Weberian understanding, professional bureaucracy, rationality, and modernity are linked to the production of better agency outputs. In his words: “. . .in [low] capacity countries. . . one would want to circumscribe the capacity of civil servants with more rules rather than less because one cannot trust them to exercise good judgement or refrain from corrupt behaviour” (2013: 13). In line with Fukuyama (2013), other authors also stress that a country’s bureaucratic professionality is the resultant outcome of negotiations between various political forces (Andersen et al. 2014; Bersch et al. 2017; Vellinga 2018). In that sense, Oszlak (2006) and later Dargent (2018) mention that “state capacities” theory helps to understand the dynamics between governmental actors inside the state during the implementation of modernization policies (including the civil service). In line with this view, governments might politically negotiate the scope and strength of law enforcement with local actors (and other bureaucracies) and, most importantly, they decide which sectors of their bureaucracy are feasible to modernize. Therefore, it should not be a surprise that large sectors of LA bureaucracy have actively resisted “modernization” attempts promoted and funded by international agencies yet implemented from central governments (Oszlak 1997, 2006; Spink 1999; González-Bustamante 2019). The configuration of strong bureaucracies is then fundamentally defined by negotiation between the state, its bureaucracy, and society. Most recently, scholars have applied this theoretical framework to analyze the civil service reforms attempts in LA. For instance, at the agency level, Bersch et al. (2017) assess how the Brazilian federal civil service managed to structure a relatively high performing civil service, despite coexisting with patrimonial institutions for many years along. This bureaucratic force, the authors argue, sustained Brazilian economic growth during the twentieth century. The authors surveyed around 350 thousand (of about 10 million of Brazil) federal civil servants and discovered that almost 82% of them had gained access to the government through a merit evaluation. Also, they show that perception of Brazilian federal civil servants is positive and less associated with corruption scandals that the media reports, in part because they enjoy greater bureaucratic autonomy. Moreover, the authors show that federal agencies with more meritocratic access tend to have fewer personnel rotations (43% less than those who entered by non-meritocratic means) which prevents organizational memory loss. Another example which uses the “state capacities” framework to understand LA civil service weakness comes from Peru. Dargent and Urteaga (2016) explored how in the context of the resource boom in Peru between 2004 and 2008, the country struggled to articulate a coherent response to the emergence of illegal actors (corrupt officials, illegal companies, and criminal organizations). They show that this lack of coherence challenged the state’s capacity to guarantee law enforcement in regions where illegal mining and human trafficking flourished. The authors argue that the Peruvian government was unable to respond to such challenges due to the absence of civil society internal pressures, but most importantly because the government lacked a professionalized bureaucracy to do so. However, the authors highlight that the
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country was able to address illegal mining activities only due to “external pressure.” They take the example of the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with the USA signed in 2009, which forced the Peruvian government to implement anti-deforestation regulations. They link both the creation of the Ministry of Environment in 2008, and the subsequent “emergency” actions taken to reduce illegal mining in the country, as conditional to the approval of the FTA in 2009, and to the United States Trade Representative demands to guarantee forestal protection in Peru. These two examples illustrate how state capacities have been strengthened to respond to policy challenges. Furthermore, not only do they show the different tracks to develop civil service autonomy in Brazil and civil service effectiveness in Peru, but also illustrate how external and internal incentives might contribute to this purpose. It is important to mention that the “state capacities” perspective has also sustained some international agency policy efforts. Recently, the Inter-American Development Bank (IADB) has clearly established a link between state capacity and human resources. They argue “. . .of the many factors that contribute to building state capacity, human resources are the most important” (Underwood 2018: xvi). They place human resources hiring process at the core of any other reform leading to social development in the region. In the past, the IADB has also promoted, along with a more regional organization, the Centro Latinoamericano de Administracion del Desarrollo (CLAD), the Carta Iberoamericana de la Función Publica (CAFP) which sought to establish a common ground for the construction of modern civil services in LA. The countries that subscribed the Carta Iberoamericana de la Función Publica are Spain, Bolivia, Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Peru, Paraguay, Portugal, Dominican Republica, Uruguay, and Venezuela. Despite these countries have subscribed the Carta Iberoamericana, not all have implemented it as national regulations. In general, the CAFP suggests that to access governmental posts, applicants should accommodate to principles of autonomy, legitimacy, and a rigorous public selection process (Lafuente and Bolanos 2018: xv). The IADB also regards these conditions as necessary to strengthen the effectiveness, efficiency, and overall functioning of the state (Underwood 2018: xv–xvi).
2.2
Administrative Tradition
Another prominent theoretical approach used by multiple scholars to understand current LA civil services involves an in-depth examination of its past: the rationalities and inherited institutions that were structured during colonial times and the multiple layers of reforms they have experienced ever since. Painter and Peters (2010) label this inherited bureaucratic dynamic as “administrative tradition” (also see Christoph 1992; Henderson 2004; Alba and Navarro 2011; Dussauge-Laguna 2012). The concept comprises the cultural, institutional, and agency dimensions of
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civil services in the world that the authors believe influence their operation and efficiency. The “administrative tradition” approach is rooted in the argument that administrative behavior can only be understood by proper comprehension of the culture, myths, and rituals which construe the behaviors of the civil servants in a country or geographical region. In other words, an administrative tradition is “. . .an enduring pattern in the style and substance of public administration in a particular country or group of countries” (Painter and Peters 2010: 3). An administrative tradition consists of four subcomponents. The first component is a historical path dependency, which establishes the set of long-term relationships between bureaucracies and their society in terms of access, rights, and responsiveness (Meier and Melton 2014; Baekgaard and George 2018). The second component concerns the degree of independence of bureaucratic institutions, meaning how responsive versus how independent they are from the political pressure exercised by the government (Cingolani et al. 2015). In other words, how independent from political involvement – or how meritocratic – institutions are (Olavarría-Gambi and Dockendorff 2016). The third component is the degree of “pragmatism” (in contrast to “legalism”) they have when addressing public problems. Some countries tend to be more pragmatic than legalistic in designing policies, and this can predict how flexible bureaucracies may be in responding to policy challenges. Whereas Anglo-Saxon bureaucracies tend to be more pragmatic, arguably Latin American or Mediterranean ones, resort to more legalistic procedures (Henderson et al. 1999; McInnes 2001). Finally, the type and role of institutions participating in holding a country’s bureaucracy accountable is another important element for the structure of a particular administrative tradition (Painter and Peters 2010). In other words, the degree of the judiciary, civil society, and political involvement in controlling and holding accountable a bureaucracy also plays a role in defining the type of administrative tradition a country or region might have. Arguably, the list is not exhaustive, but these elements can be regarded as the most important features that differentiate administrative traditions from one another. Painter and Peter (2010) identified nine (9) geographical groups representing different historical trajectories, institutional combinations, and relationships between their states, institutions, and society, namely the Anglo-American, Napoleonic, Germanic, Scandinavian, Latin American, Postcolonial South Asian and African, East Asian, Soviet, and Islamic trajectory. The most important one for the purposes of this chapter is the Latin American tradition. It comprises a set of widely accepted relationships that civil servants, citizens, and politicians have forged in centuries of Hispanic and Portuguese rule. It also refers to the region’s state functioning based on racial and kindship relationships among the ruling colonial elite, the regional creoles and other citizens, as well as the twentieth-century international pressures to transform LA bureaucracies through liberalization (Painter and Peters 2010: 25). Under this scheme, observers define the LA administrative tradition as predominantly patrimonial in terms of access and public services provisions. Previously, Oszlak (2001: 34) and other authors (Brinkerhoff and Goldsmith 2004; Nef 2007) had stressed that LA civil services were “. . .little open to acceptance to meritocratic
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criteria,” therefore opting for clientelist relationships which could be found at “the core” of its most fundamental values. Another critical aspect of the “LA administrative tradition” is the employment of state positions as compensation mechanisms to reward party supporters for their loyalty. In general, most LA bureaucrats tend to rely on circumstantial loyalty pacts with ruling politicians to access the system, which generates unstable governmental positions. In other words, part of the LA administrative tradition involves a weak degree of autonomy from politics with “schisms between outsiders and insiders [of the bureaucratic corpus prevail]” (Painter and Peters 2010: 24). Linked to the lack of autonomy, scholars identify the virtual absence of pragmatism as a crucial characteristic of the LA tradition. According to Nef (1998, 2007) and Velarde et al. (2014), LA civil services rely on a legalistic infrastructure which prevents the pragmatic resolution of conflicts and/or policy problems. This results in bureaucrats resorting to legalistic mechanisms to address policy problems, which often results in wasted time and resources. Nef (2007: 326) mentions that such legalism and rigidness in LA reflects the historical class divisions in the continent based on “status officialdom” rooted in the Spanish tradition of “title possessions.” Under this scheme, bureaucrats manipulate the law to create a double standard system: one for the public that is rooted in complex normative interpretations (based on Civil and Roman law) which includes delays, slowness, and selectivity; and another exceptionally rapid system for insiders or parts of their closed networks. Finally, LA administrations have traditionally been characterized by the lack of political or judicial accountability to the citizenry due to their longstanding reliance on political loyalties and circumstantial pacts. However, in recent decades, the region has started to “modernize” its bureaucratic infrastructures. This has primarily been stimulated by external pressure (Pérez Salgado 1997; González-Bustamante 2019), the replication of some successful experiences (see Weyland 2009; Murillo 2002), and the technical assistance and pressure of international organizations (Vellinga 2018). Paradoxically, these efforts have constructed “isles of efficiency” that are highly functional and responsive to particular economically oriented demands, while at the same time, parastatal groups have emerged also exercising control over large parts of the bureaucracies of LA countries – mostly at the regional and local level (e.g., Peru constructed an environmental bureaucratic force because of its Free Trade Agreement with the USA, while large parts of the country remained under illegal mining and/or forestall activities, see Dargent and Urteaga 2016). In sum, the “administrative tradition” approach points out that culture, institutional myths, and rituals (Meyer and Rowan 1977) still play an important role in shaping current civil services and civil servants in the region. They comprise both the rationalities and infrastructures in which LA bureaucratic personnel operate. In practice, the “administrative tradition” perspective has supported important scholarly analyses of the position of civil services and servants in the region. For instance, Dussauge-Laguna (2012) and previously Merino (1996) proposed the existence of a “Mexican administrative tradition” which is influenced by its colonial past but also includes particularities of its own political processes, such as the
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influence of the Mexican revolution (1910–1930) that resulted in a “highly centralised and authoritarian state.” Dussauge-Laguna argues that the impact of these political processes on the Mexican civil service are: (i) that the executive (presidency) operates as “a source where power and promotion” are sought by a diverse range of political appointees, public servants, and other bureaucrats and (ii) a highly politicized system where networks of “patronage” and friendship are deemed “key governmental principles for starting, developing and ending a career in the public administration” (2012: 54–55). Among other effects are the constant personnel rotations, which lead to short-term institutional memory and ongoing policy projects that are rapidly abandoned upon “patron” (political) changes. High personnel rotation in the Mexican and other LA bureaucratic structures also severely damages policy continuity – and leads to uneven implementation of various and sometimes contradictory policies. Merino (1996) and Dussauge-Laguna (2012) also argue that the patronage system extends to the remuneration as patronage appointees earn more than regular or careerist bureaucrats. Another relevant example is Colombia. Similar to the Mexican case, Colombia shares the inherited history of the Spanish rule – its “obedezco pero no cumplo” (obey this but do not comply with it) (Painter and Peters 2010: 24) – and the patrimonial nature governing the bureaucratic allocation of posts. Colombian scholars have largely documented multiple attempts to reform the country’s clientelist civil service. They recognize two main processes that have marked the nature of the civil service and the logics that guide the career and prospects of its civil servants. The first, mentioned by Flores-López (2015), responds to historically strong political polarization in the twentieth century of the two most important traditional political parties of Colombia: the Liberals and Conservatives. This political confrontation expanded to the control of bureaucratic posts of the state which were considered as the political rewards by followers and partisans. In 1950, the World Bank conducted an evaluation of the Colombian civil service and found that of the 50,000 civil servants in the country only 42 had accessed the system through merit-based evaluations (2015: 94). The menace that political polarization represented for the subsistence of the Colombian state led the contesting parties to agree on a fair distribution of bureaucratic posts. In a 1957 referendum, these political parties not only agreed to maintain the neutrality of the main bureaucratic posts but also to equally divide the “non-career positions” (2015: 95). Despite other legal efforts to modernize the Colombian civil service (in 1958, 1960, 1968), these resulted in flawed implementation processes, mostly, as Rodriguez mentions (2010: 151), because of the “. . .rooted clientelist practices which frequently lead the (Colombian) political elites to political polarisation [. . .] and to fight for public resources” (2015:99). The second event that has also critically influenced the current state of the civil service in the country was the lowering of the requirements to access to governmental posts (Gonzalez 2010: 160). In 1987, the government of Virgilio Barco, in accordance with his electoral promise to provide a “public service lottery,” permitted a large-scale entrance of nonqualified personnel to the Colombian bureaucracy, many of whom acquired automatic tenure after 3 years of working in a public
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position (Ley 61-1987). This practice prevailed until 1991 when Colombia included the concept of “merit” in its Constitution and has tried to professionalize its civil service since then, even though scholars mention that such attempts are still unsuccessful (Gonzalez 2010: 170; Florez López 2015). In sum, these two cases illustrate that the concept of “administrative tradition” has also contributed to understanding the historical cleavages that shape the behavior, types, and weaknesses of the current civil services and civil servants in the region.
3
Types of Civil Servants
The debate between “state capacities” and “administrative tradition” shed light on the institutional features of the civil services in LA. Based on these approaches, this section provides a typology of the diversity of civil servants that coexist in the region’s bureaucracies. As mentioned in the introduction, civil services in LA cannot be taken as black or white because they do not fit completely within the traditional Weberian understanding of rational and professional bureaucracy. Instead, they are the byproduct of the uneven implementation of multiple reforms enforced in a primarily patrimonial culture that has generated different types of institutional and agency hybrids. This section classifies them and illustrates our typology with examples from different LA countries.
3.1
Typology
Table 1 presents two dimensions which provide a classification of the different LA bureaucrats coexisting in the same institutions. The first axis relies on the concept of “capacity” operationalized by the tenure and formal qualifications of bureaucrats. They can be highly qualified, usually hold graduate degrees from North American or British universities, and still gain access to the state through personal networks (“amiguismo”). In this axis, we also place traditional patronage appointments that lack specialized qualifications but are favored with governmental positions. The second axis shows how “meritocratic” civil servants’ access was. This axis resorts to the concept of “administrative culture” which indicates that LA has a historical and deeply rooted tradition of quid pro quo bureaucratic appointments. Also, this axis differentiates between the “pure” quid-pro-quo relationships and partisan appointments. In most of LA bureaucracies, there are some “bureaucratic posts” reserved for “incumbents,” positions that parties (usually) fill with their patrons. Table 1 Civil servants typology in Latin America
Patronage
+
Capacities Patronage appointees Partisan loyalists
+ Technocrats Careerists
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Other important aspects of our typology of civil servants refer to their remuneration and tenure. Given the hybridity of LA civil services, bureaucrats’ income may vary depending upon the closeness to political power, degree of loyalism, the network they belong to, and their academic qualifications (e.g., BA’s, MA’s, PhD). In some cases, in the same institution, despite holding similar positions and functions, bureaucrats might earn differently depending upon their closeness to political power, their “padrino” (patron), or their political relevance. In categories such as patronage appointees and partisan loyalists, graduate degrees and/or expertise are irrelevant for remuneration purposes. While technocrats rely on their expertise, their remuneration also varies according to their political allegiances. The only category with structured remuneration levels is the careerist; however, they are not found in high leadership positions. In terms of tenure, civil servants also differ among categories. The most stable are careerists, who usually build long-term careers in government and remain in one institution for the duration of their career (e.g., diplomacy, finance, and central bank personnel, etc.), while the others’ tenures (patronage appointees, loyalists, and technocrats) are not long-term. In fact, they tend to rotate among different governmental institutions depending upon political changes. While careerists owe their positions to meritocratic accesses and operate under a structured scalable career, others resort to patrons, political alignments, or technocratic expertise that varies along with political dynamics. To further clarify the implications of each civil servant category, a brief description along with some examples (old and new) are provided in the following section.
3.2
Patronage Appointees
This category includes the most traditional form of historical patronage in the region. It implies a type of clientelist relationship to secure “social and political support.” Arguably, the main characteristics of patronage appointments are: (i) that they are used to secure positions or return favors to supporters with the final aim of retaining power and influence in the state apparatus and (ii) that the allocated personnel do not necessarily match the requisites for the position. Perhaps one of the most recent and clear examples comes from Peru wherein 2017, President Kuczynski modified the law regulating the hiring of highly qualified personnel in the government (D.S. 0162012). He eliminated the requirement of high degree qualifications in order to be considered “high qualified” personnel. The previous law (Ley 29806) established that only personnel holding graduate degrees (a master or PhD) who also demonstrate long working experience in the Peruvian government could be considered for the position. “Highly qualified” is also a leading directive position at the ministerial level. Usually, they lead personnel (up to 15 persons) and are responsible for a considerable budget (more than 1 million soles, about 300,000 US dollars). This new law approved by Kuczynski collided with ongoing civil service reforms that also aimed to create a highly qualified managerial corps with identical characteristics (D. L. 1023).
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Another more concrete example comes from the Ministry of Education of Peru. Balarin (2008) shows that the Ministry suffered multiple policy discontinuities which, due to their radical nature, obstructed the construction of a long-term view and the maintenance of sustainable reforms in the education arena. The author blames this situation on the constant change of ministers, which also triggered a chain of replacements at lower levels of the ministerial bureaucracy (e.g., directorates, specialists, and analysts) – a process that affected the institutional memory and learning capacities of the ministry. But most importantly, the author mentions that those changes were rooted in a profound “clientelist” culture and “a bureaucracy of pacts” where every ministerial appointee sees their legal competence as “feuds,” meaning that they have a large discretionary power to dismiss both personnel and/or ongoing ministerial policies. Balarin highlights that this situation generates a complexity of “allegiance patterns in which policymakers, lacking more transparent promotion mechanisms, often need to seek personal favours to maintain or advance their positions. . .” (2008: 171). Overall, the patronage appointee is a type of civil servant very common in LA. Scholars have also expanded the analysis of this type of quid pro quo relationship to the society in general. They argue that colonization, truncated modernization, reduced citizenship (only for those who speak Spanish in multicultural societies), and rampant discrimination have shaped cultural traits where kinship, friendship, and clientelism are the main resources for social progress.
3.3
Technocrats
The terms “technocrat” (Silva 1991; Centeno and Silva 2016; Silva 2019), “technopole” (Domínguez 2010; Joignant 2011), or “técnico” (Dargent 2015) refer to the civil servants who appeared in the late 1970s, reappeared in 1990s, and have flourished in the following decades as part of the implementation of neoliberal reforms in the region. Although some authors consider technopoles as an evolved version of the “technocrats” with presumably more political abilities. In practice, however, further studies have shown that they are similar in their approach to policy (they mostly reflect the view of international organizations) and their access to the public services (based on political appointments) (c.f. Dargent 2015; Silva 1991). This chapter considers the two terms as similar. This category is composed of experts, highly qualified personnel working in think thanks or international organizations, who take office in governmental leadership positions (ministers, heads of regulatory offices, directors, general secretaries, among others). Dominguez argues that these civil servants “. . .operate in a complex and difficult political milieu” as they navigate “politicized” environments and constant crisis in LA countries (2010: x). They usually sustain their reputations and their political leverage due to their connections with international organizations. Moreover, technocrats also enjoy a great deal of “political autonomy” due to their “unmatched” expertise in managing an increasingly complex state; they are also known for systematically excluding less-
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technically trained actors while putting forth their own policy preferences even against the will of established political actors (Dargent 2015). Although these characteristics are also common to technocrats in other regions (e.g., European technocrats), one different aspect of “technocracy” in LA is that stakeholders, especially in the neoliberal spectrum, perceive them as an “insurance policy against intrusion” or “populist breaks” (Dargent 2015: 7). Therefore, public trust veers off course from democratically elected leaders to technocratic appointments that are perceived by the business elite and their associations (e.g., Commerce Chambers, Entrepreneur Associations, and multinational representatives) as guarantors of a “technical” and “unbiased” government. Usually, some actors across the political spectrum judge the degree of success of a government based on its capacity to attract “foreign expertise” for key ministerial, directorate, and general secretariat positions, among others (Silva 2019). There are various cases of technocratic appointments in multiple LA countries, yet among them, Chile has remained an “exemplar” for the entire region. The influx of technocrats to government started in the 1970s, following the coup of Augusto Pinochet (1974–1990). They were known as the “Chicago Boys” because of their neoliberal orientation and their allegiance to the laureate economist Milton Friedman. Under the military mandate, the “Chicago boys” replaced the military men who held key governmental positions and, in an unprecedented move, worked alongside the dictatorship to implement free-market policies (Sigmund 1983: 43). Thus, Chicago-oriented economists took key offices such as the Planning Office (ODEPLAN) which eventually turned into “. . .the operational base of technocrats within the government who later used it as a springboard to control the rest of the government” (Silva 1991: 392). There have been several studies about the effects of this elite of civil servants who managed to convince Pinochet to pursue free-market policies. Perhaps one of the most notable ones comes from the 1975 visit of Milton Friedman to Chile where, in a series of lectures, he advised Chilean bureaucrats to adopt Ludwig Erhard’s “shock policies” to curb structural inflation – which in 1974 rose to almost 350%. A month later, the Columbia graduate economist, Jorge Cauas, was appointed by the military government and “shock policies” followed, among them 25% budget cuts, a massive reduction of public employees, new taxes, and massive privatizations (Sigmund 1983: 44). The influence of Chilean technocrats has remained intact even after Chile’s transitions to democracy. Joignant mentions that técnicos instructed in the 1980s, after the Chilean transition to democracy, have remained in governmental positions. The author identifies at least 20 of them who have occupied ministerial positions (2011: 523). Another example comes from Colombia where a technocracy developed after the 1957 pact between Conservatives and Liberals. In this context, Dargent (2015) argues, the president Alberto Lleras led the creation of a National School of Administration – following the example of the Parisian l’ENA – in order to depoliticize economic and budgeting policies of the Colombian state, which was severely hit by the confrontation between the two main parties. The author argues that, in this context, the inflationary crisis of the 1960s allowed Colombia to forge one of the most stable economic technocracies of the region. Dargent mentions that “external leverage” pressured Lleras’ government to search for highly specialized economists who were capable of
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negotiating the measures to balance the budgets of the Colombian state with the International Monetary Fund (IMF). In this context, technocrats managed to penetrate key governmental positions, only to later perpetuate their influence via future appointments with the help of the president Guillermo Leon who “abused of the states of siege and emergency” to reform government (2015: 68). An example of this is the conformation of the Consejo Nacional de Política Económica y Social (CONPES). This was a key institution at a time when planning sparked as a policy paradigm across LA, which President Leon reformed and effectively prevented an interventionist Colombian parliament from any “political involvement” (Dargent 2018; Dargent 2015: 68–70). There are many examples of the intrusion of technocrats in various institutions in the region. Most recent examples are Argentina during the Menem government (Huneeus 1998), the Fernando H. Cardoso (Power 1998; Powell and Silva 2018) government in Brazil – where some technocrats received a positive appraisal directly from the US president Bill Clinton (Domínguez 2010: x) – and from Peru, where a former World Bank technocrat took office effectively challenging multiple stakeholders (Salazar-Morales 2018). Regardless of their technical capacities and qualifications, technocrats are still governmental appointees who owe most of their influence in governments to patronage dynamics and group interests who regard them as guarantors of “non-populist” governance.
3.4
Partisan Loyalists
Different from technocrats, whose networks with international organizations, universities, and stakeholders keep them in key governmental posts, partisan loyalists are characterized by their long-term membership in political factions and parties. They do not necessarily possess the same graduate diplomas as technocrats; instead, their primary source of power is their unconditional loyalty. They are the parties’ “cuadros” or strongmen known for their political and administrative tenure. In contrast to technocrats and patronage appointees, loyalists build their administrative career following a party-line objective. They are expected to take office in exchange for their longstanding support of the fixed (conservative, socialist, environmentalist, or the like) ideologies followed by their parties. Their appointment to bureaucratic posts usually indicates that the party will pursue its core policies instead of searching for external guarantors (technocrats) or circumstantial favors (patronage appointments). In a nutshell, loyalists are known for their “. . .lack of an independent and ambitious policy agenda,” their valuation of securing office more than policy, and “. . .[their] preference for a managerial rather than an entrepreneurial policy role” (Camerlo and Pérez-Liñán 2015: 1053). However, they also are among the first ones to withdraw from office in case of policy failure, scandals, or government change. Party loyalists are also common in cabinets (or ministerial) and mid-range (directorial) offices. Both have different appointment and retention dynamics. In regard to the former, Camerlo and Pérez-Liñán (2015) state that executives (presidents) trade-
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off loyalty, capacity, and governance in order to appoint, retain, or fire a partisan appointee. On the basis of an analysis of 159 ministerial appointments in Argentina between 1983 and 2011, the authors show that, when a government expects a popularity drop, partisan loyalists have the second-lowest risk of leaving office only after technocrats. Conversely, if the government is popular, or its acceptance rate approaches 50% points, party members tend to have a longer term in government, while “non-partys” (independent) officials have a six times higher risk of leaving. The authors indicate that in times of high popularity, politicians turn to loyalists to ensure the functioning of core policies and face less resistance in the cabinet. A similar example can be found in Chile, yet not at the ministerial but at the directorate (middle ranged) level. Scholars report that in Chile, the 2003 civil service reform aimed at professionalizing the appointment of top civil servants ended up creating a system with “elements of meritocracy but restricted to members of the political coalition in power” (Olavarría-Gambi and Dockendorff 2016). In Chile, the High Public Direction (Alta Dirección Pública) was created following the idea that this would help to appoint senior public servants on the basis of meritocratic evaluations. In practice, the ADP’s civil servants experienced a higher rate of dismissals and office withdrawals. According to Olavarría-Gambi and Dockendorff (2016), the underlying reason was that the functioning of the ADP system challenged politicians who tried to allocate their partisans to crucial governmental offices. The authors further report that Chilean party dynamics traditionally lead to a higher number of partisans being appointed to various positions, yet the ADP reform left less space in certain regions to appoint the delegates of parties as head of an office (2016: 567). Moreover, based on interviews with former ministers and the president Ricardo Lagos (2000–2006), the authors show that the appointment of party loyalists has been a cultural characteristic of Chilean politics (Ramos and Scrollini 2013). Thus, despite the ADP selection processes, politicians still actively search their files for qualified members to fill the posts. If no such candidate can be found, politicians allow the appointment of a qualified person, only to call the complete selection process into question and appoint a partisan with the “presumed qualifications” later on. The authors report the case of an ADP officer appointed through a meritocratic public evaluation, only to be dismissed 10 days later when the senator of the region pressured the ADP to revoke and annul the selection (2016: 572). In sum, the “loyalist” category may be hard to differentiate from “classic” patronage appointees and even technocrats. Yet, examples show that long-term partisanship together with the preference for loyalty (over expertise) on the side of politicians are indicators for partisan appointments.
3.5
Careerists
Finally, a type of civil servant that epitomizes the Weberian model of bureaucracy is the careerist: bureaucrats who gain access to governmental posts on the basis of meritocratic criteria, usually exams, interviews, or other types of merit-based evaluations. The bureaucratic posts of this type of civil servant usually range from entry-
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level, mid-career, and, less commonly, upper levels of public institutions. This is the type of bureaucracy that most international organizations and LA governments attempt to build. In practice, however, careerists, patronage appointees, loyalists, and technocrats coexist in bureaucratic organizations. Given the prevalent hybridity of LA civil service systems, the truncated civil service reforms, and the historically inherited patronage practices, it is common to see bureaucratic units like ministries or regulatory agencies that are led by technocrats together with partisans/or patronage appointees in other departments, and with some careerists at the lower levels of the bureaucracy. Most of LA government civil services are still under development. Because of this, many civil servants are hired on temporary contracts to reduce overheads costs. However, these types of contracts provide little to no job security and career progression is impossible. As a result of this, the implementation of a general careerist civil service structure, that is characterized by strong employee protections and benefits, would require these governments to accept large-scale human capital costs, which many are not willing or able to do. Arguably, for some countries, the adoption of this policy is a luxury that is reserved to key governmental sectors, e.g., Foreign Services, Central Bank, and Finance Ministry, which confirms what is known as “isles of efficiency” (Bersch and Praca 2017). Due to the reliance on meritocratic procedures, careerists enjoy a great deal of autonomy – yet not rooted in their “expert knowledge,” but instead in their profound experience in practically running a government, its procedures, rationalities, and the cogs and wheels related to the operation of the governmental machinery. However, the careerists’ levels of autonomy also limit their political responsiveness, thus making politicians dubious about broadening this type of civil service to the whole governmental apparatus (Geddes 1990; Bersch and Praca 2017). In the region, Brazil is one of the countries which constructed a relatively strong civil service even before its independence (“alta burocracia”). Abrucio et al. (2010: 28–30) argue that, when the Braganza Royal Family moved to Brazil in 1808, they eventually permitted the development of a “high bureaucracy” which served the Monarchy until 1822. This process contributed to the construction of the Brazilian state after independence. The “alta buracracia” formed part of the centralized bureaucratic elite that arrived from Portugal and later helped to maintain the unity of the state against “regional oligarchic forces.” The authors also mention that the selection of these bureaucrats, despite including an assessment of their “generalist” knowledge, also resorted to patrimonialism and a class-based criterion (2010: 41). Notwithstanding this, the Brazilian bureaucracy today can be regarded as leading in terms of selection, autonomy, and capacity and can, therefore, be considered as one of the most “careeristic” of the region (see Bersh and Praca 2017). In fact, the Brazilian Federal Constitution (1988) states that all public positions in the administration must be occupied by professionals who demonstrate merit through a public test (Marinela 2016). After being selected, professionals are granted stability in their positions after 3 years of work experience, meaning that dismissals can happen only under exceptional circumstances, such as internal administrative proceedings after a clear and grave case of misconduct (Marinela 2016). In practice,
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firing a person who was recruited on the basis of a merit-based procedure is uncommon. On the other hand, promotion is also complicated and based on the career path for the specific role that a professional takes on. For instance, diplomats have different stages in their careers, which were tailored to their more specific roles; in turn, professionals from the state national post office also have completely different roles and opportunities. In this sense, the Federal Constitution establishes the stability criteria, but each institution structures its promotion and career development policy to reflect its specific needs. Over time, different criteria and selection processes have been established for each specific position according to the principles of legality, neutrality, transparency, morality, and management efficiency (Marinela 2016). As a direct consequence, most public positions in the country are filled on the basis of tests, be it in higher education institutions, public companies, or governmental agencies. Exceptions exist for elected individuals, for commissioned services that can be freely awarded, or for positions of trust for which specialists recruited on the basis of performance criteria are selected for management positions (Marinela 2016). When selected, those professionals occupy positions with clear roles and career paths, which vary from function to function (e.g., Instituto Rio Branco 2019). However, as mentioned above, civil services in LA are not homogeneous, and even within such a bureaucratic and careerist framework, there are still remnants of patronage-based appointments, mainly due to the lack of systematic regulations for the tests conducted. Without centralized guidance, each selection process is different, of enormous heterogeneity, obscurity, and leaving space for a certain level of manipulation (Marinela 2016). For example, for many positions in the legislative branch at federal or state level, oral tests are conducted in which candidates must answer questions related to their specific position in the bureaucracy, but quality and adequacy of questions and responses are still subjective. Another case that generated a heated debate in Brazil in 2019 was the possible appointment of President Bolsonaro’s son to the Brazilian Embassy in the USA (Gortazar 2019a). The president has the right to appoint professionals to embassies, but it is customary to respect the career path of diplomats. This nomination will most likely lead to accusations of nepotism, as Bolsonaro’s son has no relevant experience (Gortazar 2019b). Yet, this is not an isolated case. Since Lula’s government, there has been a considerable increase in political nominations in favor of specific groups, which is in clear contrast to the consolidation of the meritocratic system in the country (Abrucio et al. 2010).
4
Conclusions
Analyzing the types and roles of civil services and civil servants in LA is a difficult task. We cannot refer to a unique “Latin American” type of civil service but to examine them from various theoretical perspectives. Scholars have generally used two main theoretical approaches to understand the role of the civil services in the region. Advocates of the “state capacity” approach largely focus on the degree
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of autonomy and the bureaucratic competences of the civil services – and thus servants – in LA. Their analyses show that the creation of rational, professional, and performance-oriented bureaucracies largely serves to reduce the influence of politicians on the selection process and, more specifically, on the appointment of civil servants. Thus, the degree of autonomy obtained by bureaucrats would eventually guarantee their accountability, the continuity of policies, and their effective implementation without risking politicization. They also argue that this would strengthen overall government capacities. On the other hand, scholars have drawn on historical events that have shaped the functioning bureaucracies in LA. They explain that the administrative tradition in LA is strongly influenced by its colonial heritage and the many levels of abandoned reforms that have shaped the administrative memory of the region. However, it has also been influenced by the particular political trajectory of each country. In addition, international agencies have particular classifications of civil services in their areas of interest. For instance, the OECD distinguishes between career-based (higher-level posts open to merit-based selection) and position-based systems (posts specific to certain areas, and only open to merit-based selection), yet such division can rarely be applied to LA bureaucracies – only three countries (Mexico, Colombia, and Chile) are part of the OECD. To sum up, the two approaches explored in this chapter can help to explain the hybrid nature of the civil services in the region, but it remains difficult to explain the behavior, types, and roles of civil servants. Therefore, this chapter presents a possible classification of the types and roles of civil servants coexisting in the multitude of hybrid and complex bureaucracies in LA, sometimes even in one and the same institution. Accordingly, we have identified four different types of civil servants and discussed their roles and characteristics. We identified “patronage appointees,” “technocrats,” “partisan loyalists,” and “careerists.” As shown in this chapter, each of them has certain characteristics depending on the nature of their access to government (either on the basis of merit or appointment) and their competencies (either highly qualified for the post or not). However, it is important to mention that our classification remains general. Further empirical research in different countries, more locally oriented experiences of governments and different bureaucracies are needed to fully validate this approach. For example, the types of access and the roles of civil servants in “specialized” organizations (audit offices or the judiciary) may be different from organizations which are more “process-oriented” (military) or “production-oriented” (tax systems) (see Wilson 1995). Arguably, a more in-depth analysis of the specific functions and operations within LA bureaucracies are necessary. Most importantly, however, most efforts to strengthen public services in the region have undoubtedly been led and funded by international organizations (World Bank, IADB) or have taken on commitments under Free Trade Agreements (FTA). It is therefore possible that existing studies on public services in LA are based on the evidence obtained through these programs and therefore may not reflect an underlying specific (neoliberal or economic) orientation. It is remarkable, as this chapter shows, that existing studies consider the “Anglo-Saxon” administrative tradition, its practicality, and supposedly meritocratic and neutral selection processes
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as benchmarks for the construction of a “modern” public service in LA. This (unconscious) approach not only discarded alternative – more local or novel – ways of creating a strong public service in the region but also obscured the fact that most of the “modernization” programs already implemented did not follow democratic processes. On the contrary, they were part of large formulas of structural adjustments (under pressure from the IMF), conditional loan, and capacity development programs. Overall, the diversity of LA civil services, as well as their personnel, deserves further scrutiny. In this chapter, we only scratched the surface of the dynamics of civil services in the region.
5
Cross-References
▶ Bolivar and Liberation from Spain: The Historical Development of the Public Servant in Colombia ▶ Leadership with Political Astuteness for Public Servants: And Why It Matters ▶ Ministerial Advisers, Contestability, and Politicization in the Core Executive in Westminster Systems ▶ On Transparency, Corruption, and Integrity in Local Government: A View from Argentina ▶ Public Servants in Modern India: Who Are They?
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Government Employment Practices in East Asia: A Case Study of Merit-Based Recruitment and Selection of Civil Servants in Japan and South Korea Pan Suk Kim
Contents 1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 A Brief Introduction to the Government Employment System in Japan and Korea . . . . . . . . 3 Recruitment and Selection in Japan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Recruitment and Selection in Korea . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Conclusion and Issues for Further Development . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Cross-References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
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Abstract
The purpose of this chapter is to compare government employment practices in looking at recruitment and selection systems in Japan and Korea with an in-depth cast study so that readers can understand how Japanese and Korean government officials are recruited and selected. In fact, there are many similarities between the Japanese and the Korean government work forces, and the “best product policy” in government employment practices is common in both countries. The experiences of Japan and South Korea in the postwar period suggest that their civil services make a strong and positive contribution to economic development. Thus, it would be both interesting and informative to review government employment practices in these countries. Both countries have had merit-based systems of recruitment and selection for a long time, which widely utilize open competitive entrance examinations. Japan and Korea’s civil service attracts the best and brightest members of their population because the government is an employer of choice for excellent job candidates. Candidates are screened through three or four levels of open competitive examinations without any irregularity or corruption. For example, the Comprehensive Service Examination in Japan and the P. S. Kim (*) College of Government and Business, Yonsei University, Wonju, Gangwon, South Korea e-mail: [email protected] © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021 H. Sullivan et al. (eds.), The Palgrave Handbook of the Public Servant, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-29980-4_73
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P. S. Kim
Grade 5 Entrance Examination in South Korea are highly competitive in both countries, and most the successful applicants are generally well-educated applicants. Keywords
Recruitment · Selection · Merit system · Employment practices · Japan · South Korea
1
Introduction
The actions of Japan and South Korea (hereafter, Korea) in the period after World War II suggest that their civil services make a strong and positive contribution to economic development. Their experiences suggest that an internally competitive and reputable bureaucracy with a strong mandarin tradition plays a highly valuable role in their late development (Lee 1984; Amsden 1989; Evans 1995; World Bank 1993; Kim 1996; Muramatsu and Naschold 1996; Kim and Kim 1997; Kim 2017). There was a strong tendency in Japan and Korea to build a national consensus for economic growth. Catching up to advanced nations was a widely shared national goal in both their early development stages; this formed an effective incentive for civil servants to work hard as development agents in the process of modernization (Westney 1987; Amsden 1989; Gordon 2014; Kim 2017). This sense of mission was an important reason for the effectiveness of Japanese and Korean bureaucracies during the highgrowth era. Chalmers Johnson (1982) argues that Japan’s economic development is the result of farsighted interventions with high public service motivation (Perry and Wise 1990) by elite bureaucrats, and Johnson’s account provides a good starting point for understanding the structural features of the developmental state (Johnson 1982; Evans 1995; Kim 2017). Likewise, Korea’s development was also led by a bureaucratic developmental system (Amsden 1989; Kim 2017). Thus, it would be fair to say that bureaucrats played a pivotal role in the modernization process in both Japan and Korea, so it is necessary to understand how bureaucrats are employed in both countries. In other words, it would be both interesting and informative to review their government employment practices in terms of recruitment and selection. Accordingly, the purpose of this chapter is to provide readers with an in-depth review of practical details of Japanese and Korean government’s employment practices in terms of recruitment and selection. In fact, both countries have quite similar systems of merit-based recruitment and selection that utilize open competitive entrance examinations. This applies, in particular, to the Comprehensive Service Examination in Japan and the Grade 5 Entrance Examination in Korea, both of which were formerly known as the Higher Civil Service Entrance Examination. These exams are highly competitive in both countries, and their most successful applicants are generally successful graduates of leading universities; eventually, most are promoted to senior civil servants in the central government. In the Japanese government, the total number of its employees is 3,328,000; there are 583,000 employees in the national government and 2,744,000 (including
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teachers) in local governments (NPA 2018b). The size of general government employment varies significantly among Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries. Nordic countries (including Norway, Denmark, and Sweden) report the highest general government employment levels, reaching near 30% of total employment. However, Japan and Korea rely less on public sector employees. Only around 6% of Japan’s total employment is made up of general government employment, while Korea accounts for 7.6% (OECD 2017: 91). Based on the National Civil Service Act of 1947, the National Personnel Authority (NPA) in Japan was established as a specialized organization responsible for ensuring fairness in personnel administration. In the Korean government, the total number of government employees was 1,060,251 as of June 30, 2019 (Ministry of the Interior and Safety 2019). The number of national government employees was 660,680 (including 359,100 teachers), and the number of local government employees was 399,571. In Korea, the Ministry of Personnel Management (MPM) is a central government agency responsible for designing and implementing a variety of public personnel policies. The next section will provide a brief introduction to government employment systems in both countries, followed by each country’s recruitment and selection methods as well as their promotion practices.
2
A Brief Introduction to the Government Employment System in Japan and Korea
Both Japanese and Korean governments use merit-based recruitment and selection systems. Merit-based systems emphasize technical qualifications using processes that analyze job competencies and require open application procedures and tests. Generally speaking, “merit system principles” refer to recruiting, selecting, and advancing on one’s merits after a fair and open competition. Accordingly, meritbased selection is the primary philosophy for civil service systems that dominate nonexecutive employment in both Japan and Korea. The strengths of merit selection based on open, competitive examinations are its equal opportunity and fairness to candidates (its lack of corruption), its availability to scrutiny (its transparency), and its assurance of minimal competencies and qualifications. It also fits well with notions of democratic access and accountability (Berman et al. 2013). Political appointment for minister and vice minister levels is made based on the spoils system, but all other civil service appointments except political appointments are administered by the central personnel authority and/or line ministries in both countries, based on the merit system. Japanese and Korean government agencies find that it is advantageous to have a recognized brand or social identity (Burke and Stets 2009), and they are seen as desirable employers; they are able to attract more qualified applications than are organizations with poor reputations (Mathis and Jackson 2006). Accordingly, Japan and Korea’s civil service attracts the best and brightest members of their population, because the government is an employer of choice for excellent job candidates.
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Candidates are screened through three or four levels of open competitive examination. Three levels of civil service entrance examinations exist in Japan: Level 1 (fast track), Level 2 (intermediate level), and Level 3 (lowest entry level). Beginning in 2012, Level 1 was divided into comprehensive service for graduate school graduates and comprehensive service for university graduates. No changes were made to the old Level 2 and Level 3 exams except for their names. Accordingly, there are currently four levels of entrance examination in Japan: (1) the Comprehensive Service Examination for graduate school graduates; (2) the Comprehensive Service Examination for university graduates; (3) the General Service Examination for university graduates; and (4) the General Service Examination for high school graduates (Table 1). Similar to Japan, in Korea there are three levels of entrance examinations: (1) Grade 5 (fast track); (2) Grade 7 (intermediate level); and (3) Grade 9 (lowest entry level). In Korea, however, no educational background is required to take the civil service entrance examinations. Even though no educational background is acceptable, the vast majority of successful candidates in all three examinations are university graduates. Additionally, in both Japan and Korea, there are examinations for specialists in a certain administrative or technical field as well as ones for those with experience in the private sector and other sectors. Generally, those who are admitted from the Comprehensive Service Examination for graduate school, university graduates in Japan, as well as Grade 5 applicants in Korea can reach higher managerial positions such as director general or the Senior Civil Service (SCS). In general, two popular models of promotion in government can be postulated: a closed multitrack model (lower track, intermediate track, and middle track) from the base level and an open competitive model (from the base level and the external). In the closed multitrack model that is used in Japan and Korea, the single most important fact that impinges on the promotion process is the mode of initial entry. Depending on the level of entrance examination one has undergone, one enters a distinctly demarcated middle track – a fast elite track – that could lead to the top; an intermediate track that allows one to advance only to a position of moderate authority; or a lower track that all but bars promotion to a managerial position. This information implies that the mode of initial entry makes a major difference in the Table 1 Open competitive entrance examinations in Japan and Korea Fast track
Intermediate level Lowest level
Japan Comprehensive service examination for graduate school graduates Comprehensive service examination for university graduates General service examination for university graduates General service examination for high school graduates
Korea Grade 5 entrance examination
Grade 7 entrance examination Grade 9 entrance examination
Note: Japan and Korea each have a government portal for civil service entrance examinations: https://www.jinji.go.jp/saiyo/saiyo.html; https://www.gosi.kr
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possibility of advancement in the highly competitive process of promotion (Koh 1989; Kim 1996). On the other hand, in the open competitive model, for example, which is used in the United States, most members of the bureaucracy, in theory, embark on their careers with equal chances of being promoted. The particular manner in which one has entered the organization has no bearing on one’s prospects for upward mobility; nor does the level of the entrance examination taken predetermine the course, speed, and limits of one’s promotion in future years. Such openness and flexibility also imply permeability. In general, the organization permits and even encourages a steady inflow of fresh talent at all levels.
3
Recruitment and Selection in Japan
There are two basic systems of public recruitment in many countries. One emphasizes the recruitment of young candidates on the basis of open competitive entrance examinations. The other emphasizes the recruitment of more mature aspirants on the basis of job skill-related experiences through interviews. Both Japan and Korea have recruitment systems for experienced experts through the use of interviews, but this chapter mainly deals with open competitive entrance examinations for young candidates. The current Japanese civil service system is based on the National Civil Service Act. Every post is classified into a certain grade in a salary schedule after being ranked, based on the hierarchy within the office. The general service of the Japanese bureaucracy has ten grades with Grade 1 being the lowest entry level and Grade 10 as the highest career rank. Above Grade 10, there is a separate classification called “designated service,” which has another eight steps, including director general and administrative vice minister. Beyond the designated service grades, there are three layers of political appointees – parliamentary vice ministers, state ministers, and ministers. The designated service is managed by the new Cabinet Bureau of Personnel Affairs, which was created in 2014 and is headed by the deputy chief cabinet secretary in the Cabinet Secretariat. The Japanese recruitment and selection systems have attracted many able people to serve in various posts in government ministries and agencies (Spaulding 1967; Kubota 1969; Sakamoto 1991). Open competitive examinations are administered by the NPA. Japan used to classify the civil service examination into three distinct levels: Level 1, Level 2, and Level 3. In 2012, the Level 1 examination was divided into two types: the comprehensive service for graduate school graduates and the comprehensive service for university graduates. Since 2004, a number of law schools and professional graduate schools have been established in Japan. Currently there are approximately 70 law schools as well as a number of professional graduate schools in operation, which include the School of Law and the Graduate School of Public Policy at the University of Tokyo. That is why the Level 1 examination was divided into two types. The Comprehensive Service Examination is for graduate school graduates at many law schools and professional graduate schools and the Comprehensive Service Examination for university graduates.
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First, the Comprehensive Service Examination for graduate school graduates is for grad students who have completed or are scheduled to complete their masters’ degree program or the professional graduate program (NPA 2019). The first round is composed of a basic ability test of 30 questions, with 140 min for its completion. The professional test has 40 questions with 210 min, and it tests its applicants in the job category for which they have applied. Both tests consist of multiple-choice questions; the basic ability test consists of an intelligence segment (judgment, sentence comprehension, mathematical inference) and a knowledge segment (nature, humanities, society). The second-round examination consists of a three-question essay test with 4 h allotted for administrative posts and two-and-a-half hours for nonadministrative posts; a policy task “discussion” test for 90 min; an English test (International English Language Testing System scores can be used instead); and a personality test consisting of individual interviews to assess personalities and interpersonal skills (MPM 2018a). Second, the Comprehensive Service Examination for university graduates is for university students who either graduated or are scheduled to graduate university (NPA 2019). An age limit applies to this examination, so only those who are between 21 and 30 years of age can apply for this examination. The first-round examination is composed of a 40-question basic ability test for 3 h and a 40-question professional test for 210 min. The test is focused on the job category for which an applicant has applied. Both tests consist of multiple-choice questions. The basic ability test consists of an intelligence segment (judgment, sentence comprehension, mathematical inference) and a knowledge segment (nature, humanities, society). The secondround examination consists of a three-question essay test with 4 h allotted for administrative posts and two-and-a-half hours allotted for nonadministrative posts: a policy task “essay” test of one question with 120 min allotted for completion; an English test; and a personality test consisting of individual interviews to assess personalities and interpersonal skills (MPM 2018a). Third, the General Service Examination for university graduates is for those university students who graduated or are scheduled to graduate from university (NPA 2019). An age limit applies to this examination. The first-round examination consists of three tests. The first two tests include a basic ability test of 40 questions with 140 min allotted for completion; a professional test of 40 questions with 3 h given for nonconstructive posts and 33 questions for 2 h for constructive posts; and both basic ability and professional tests with multiple-choice questions. The third test includes a general essay test for an administrative post (one question for 1 h) and a professional essay test (one question for 1 h) for applicants for nonadministrative and nonconstructive posts. Unlike the Comprehensive Service Exams, English is not a required subject for this exam. The second-round examination is a personality test comprised of individual interviews to assess personalities and interpersonal skills (MPM 2018a). Fourth, the General Service Examination for high school graduates is for those students who graduated or are scheduled to graduate from high school (NPA 2019). Only those who are scheduled to graduate high school or who graduated from high school within the past 2 years can apply for this examination. In addition, those who
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are over 40 years old who graduated from high school can apply for this examination. The first-round examination consists of a basic ability text, an aptitude test, and a professional test for nonadministrative posts. It also includes a general essay test for administrative posts, which consists of one question, with 50 min allotted for completion. The three examinations all have multiple-choice questions: a basic ability test of 40 questions for 90 min, an aptitude test of 120 questions for 15 min (the purpose of this test is to check the ability to perform paperwork quickly and accurately; it assesses replacement, collation, calculation, classification, and pattern recognition), and a professional test of 40 questions for 100 min. Unlike the Comprehensive Service Exams, English is not a required subject for this exam. The second-round examination is a personality test of individual interviews in regard to personalities and interpersonal skills. According the NPA (2018a: 93), both the comprehensive service applicants who are graduates from university and graduate school, and the comprehensive service applicants who are graduates from university, slightly decreased in number between 2012 and 2018, as shown in Table 2. The number of comprehensive service applicants who are graduate school graduates and university graduates dropped from 25,110 in 2012 to 22,559 in 2018; the number of general service applicants who are university graduates dropped from 39,644 in 2012 to 33,582 in 2018. This decline in comprehensive service applications for both graduate school and university graduates as well as the general service applications for university graduates could reflect a basic shift in Japanese values in the postwar period. People of the postwar generation, millennials in particular, may prefer to enjoy a better work-life balance and more material pleasures; consequently, they do not yearn for the prestige of public service as their elders once did. Moreover, the Japanese economy is relatively good, so many graduates in science and engineering departments have been employed in private companies. Notably, the number of general service applicants who are graduates from high school is slightly increasing. Table 2 shows that the number of general service applicants for high school graduates increased from 8,051 in 2012 to 14,455 in 2018, implying that many high school graduates see public service as an attractive job opportunity. In 2018, the total number of comprehensive service applications from university and graduate school graduates was 22,559, as shown in Table 2. Among 22,559 applicants, 2,203 persons (9.8%) were graduate school graduates, while 20,356 persons (90.2%) were university graduates. The total number of persons who passed the comprehensive examination was 1,953 in 2018: among them, 650 persons (33.3%) were graduate school graduates, while 1,303 persons (66.7%) were university graduates (NPA 2018a: 93, 256). The proportion of female comprehensive service applicants who are university or graduate school graduates has increased slightly over the years to approximately 35.2% in 2018, while there were only 30.6% in 2012. Consequently, the proportion of successful female comprehensive service candidates from university or graduate school is increasing, as shown in Table 2, rising from 22.4% in 2012 to 27.0% in 2018. The proportion of female general service applicants from university graduates has slightly increased over the years, recording approximately 35.8% in 2018, rising
Comprehensive service (university and graduate school graduates)
Applicants who are graduate school graduates Successful candidates who are graduate school graduates Applicants who are university graduates Successful candidates who are university graduates Total applicants Total of successful candidates 507 (96)
20,911 (6,590)
1,374 (273)
24,360 (7377) 1,881 (369)
21,358 (6,778)
1,066 (242)
25,110 (7689)
1,457 (327)
2013 3,449 (787)
391 (85)
2012 3,752 (911)
2,080 (441)
23,047 (7105)
1,490 (336)
19,898 (6,367)
590 (105)
2014 3,149 (738)
1,887 (428)
24,297 (7973)
1,204 (252)
21,129 (7,144)
683 (176)
2015 3,168 (829)
Table 2 Trends regarding the number of applicants for the civil service entrance examinations in Japan
2,178 (549)
24,507 (8234)
1,507 (378)
21,485 (7,444)
671 (171)
2016 3,022 (790)
650 (160)
2018 2,203 (591)
1,303 (368)
2,025 (513)
1,953 (528)
23,425 (8196) 22,559 (7951)
1,389 (357)
20,932 (7,559) 20,356 (7,360)
636 (156)
2017 2,493 (637)
70 P. S. Kim
Applicants Successful candidates Applicants Successful candidates
8,051 (3,015) 812 (327)
9,752 (3,338) 1,715 (623)
12,482 (3,777) 1,902 (602)
12,483 (3,915) 2,514 (814)
13,393 (4,148) 2,392 (842)
13,958 (4,545) 14,455 (4,874) 2,690 (962) 3,289 (1,205)
39,644 (12,416) 35,840 (11,114) 35,508 (11,178) 35,640 (12,042) 35,998 (12,344) 35,142 (12,391)33,582 (12,036) 2,893 (793) 6,017 (1,722) 6,183 (1,741) 7,347 (2,321) 7,583 (2,548) 7,205 (2,435) 7,782 (2,639)
Source: NPA (2018a: 93, 256) Note: Figures in parentheses represent females. The term “successful candidates” does not mean that all of them will be employed by the Japanese government. Passing the civil service entrance examinations by no means ensures an actual appointment to a government position. Unlike Korea, there is another hurdle for them to have an actual appointment in Japan
General service (high school graduates)
General service (university graduates)
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from the 31.3% documented in 2012. Consequently, the proportion of successful female general service candidates from university graduates is increasing, with 33.9% recorded in 2018, which is up from 27.4% in 2012. The proportion of female general service applicants among high school graduates has slightly decreased over the years, registering only 33.7% in 2018 versus the 37.4% noted in 2012. Consequently, the proportion of successful female general service candidates from high school graduates is decreasing, with 36.6% being recorded in 2018, while 40.3% was the proportion in 2012.
4
Recruitment and Selection in Korea
During the old dynasties, Confucianism and imperial Chinese examinations (keju in chinese) influenced the Korean Peninsula as well as the rest of East Asia (Kim 2017). The Korean Imperial Examinations have a very long history in Imperial Korea (Kim and Kim 1997; Kim 2009, 2010, 2012). Historically, the Three-Level Reading Comprehension Examination was introduced in the Silla dynasty in 788, but it did not succeed. After that, the Korean Imperial Examinations (gwageo in Korean) were introduced in the Goryeo dynasty in 958, and, since then, it was widely practiced in Imperial Korea until 1894. Accordingly, it is fair to say that the modern civil service examination system for selecting government employees evolved indirectly from the imperial one (Kim and Kim 1997; Kim 2010, 2012). In other words, an open competitive examination as a meritocratic recruitment and selection method for government officials has been a common practice in Korea for over several 100 years, so success in the civil service entrance examinations became the ticket to good government jobs, relatively high social status, and a potential ladder to power in government. The Korean civil service hierarchy consists of nine grades. The lowest rank is Grade 9, and the highest rank as a career civil servant is Grade 1. The SCS covers Grades 1 and 2. Above Grade 1, there are political positions such as deputy minister and minister, who are appointed by the president. Currently in Korea, anyone can take the open competitive civil service examinations regardless of their education or experience. Educational background requirements were eliminated in 1973 to ensure equal opportunity for Korean citizens. Although the education restriction was eliminated, the Grade 5 and Grade 7 examinations reflect the level of knowledge earned at university. Grade 9 examinations currently require the level of knowledge earned at high school, but high school subjects will be replaced by advanced knowledge: an example of this is public administration and administrative law for administrative posts, and tax law and accounting for tax service posts, earned at university beginning in 2022. First, the Grade 5 entrance examination is conducted in three rounds. The first round is based on multiple-choice questions consisting of four subjects. The first is the Public Service Aptitude Test (PSAT), which tests linguistic logic, data interpretation, and situational judgment; there are 40 questions in each area. In the PSAT, the 40 questions for linguistic logic and 25 questions for the constitutional law are taken together for 115 min, followed by 40 questions for data interpretation (90 min) and 40 questions for situational judgment (90 min). The second is a constitutional law
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exam consisting of 25 questions. The third is an English exam, which is the English Proficiency Test (International English Language Testing System scores can be used). Finally, there is a Korean history exam, which is now the Korean History Proficiency Test. The second-round exam is based on essay tests consisting of five subjects for 4 h (for technological fields, four subjects, including three essential and one elective, are required, while administrative fields require five subjects, including four essential subjects and one elective), with the subjects involved being relative to the field of service to which the applicants have applied. For example, the administrative service consists of four essential subjects: public administration, administrative law, political science, and economics. There is one elective subject to be chosen from policy science, local administration, civil law, international law, information systems, or survey methodology. The third-round exam is an interview conducted for a total of 260 min, with part of it being a group discussion for 120 min; there is also an individual presentation for 40 min and then an individual interview for 100 min. Historically, the Korean government relied on written examinations, but lengthy in-depth interviews have been increasingly utilized with a significant weight in the recent years. The Korean government uses a “background-blind” interview system, which means that interviewers ask job-specific questions or give a policy-driven task for the interviewee without knowing any of their background information. Second, the Grade 7 entrance examination is conducted in two stages. The firstround exam consists of seven essential subjects, which differ slightly depending on the applicant’s field of service. For the administrative service, it consists of Korean language, English proficiency, Korean history, constitutional law, administrative law, public administration, and economics. For the tax service, it consists of Korean language, English proficiency, Korean history, constitutional law, tax law, accounting, and economics. These examinations all have multiple questions, and all together take 120 min. The secondary exam is an interview conducted for a total of 160 min, with part of it consisting of a group discussion for 60 min; there is an individual presentation for 45 min and an individual interview for 55 min (MPM 2018a). Third, the Grade 9 entrance examination is also conducted in two stages. The firstround exam currently consists of three essential subjects and two elective subjects, with the subjects differing slightly depending on the field of service. In the case of administrative service, it consists of the three essential subjects of Korean language, English, and Korean history; two elective subjects are chosen from administrative law, public administration, science, social studies, and mathematics. These examinations all have multiple questions, and all together take 100 min for completion. The secondary exam is an interview conducted for a total of 70 min, and it consists of an individual presentation for 20 min and an individual interview for 50 min. As shown in Table 3, from 2012 to 2018, the numbers of applicants for both the Grade 5 and Grade 9 entrance examinations have been increasing slightly, while the applicants for the Grade 7 entrance examination have been decreasing slightly, as shown in Table 3. In fact, so many university students are taking the Grade 9 entrance examinations that the number of applicants for it is quite large in Korea. At the same time, in Japan, only high school graduates are taking the General Service Examination (at this level) for high school graduates. However, the number of applicants for the Grade 7 entrance examination has decreased substantially since 2016, as shown in
Grade 5 entrance exam Grade 7 entrance exam Grade 9 entrance exam
2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 Applicants 12,524 (4,813) 13,305 (5,423) 13,772 (5,333) 13,591 (5,281) 16,953 (6,540) 15,725 (6,011) 14,277 (5,420) Successful 376 (149) 390 (161) 401 (148) 361 (148) 364 (126) 348 (141) 357 (131) candidates Applicants 60,717 (25,591) 71,397 (31,757) 61,252 (26,060) 59,779 (26,559) 66,712 (30,029) 48,361 (22,695) 36,662 (17,320) Successful 567 (203) 628 (215) 755 (272) 772 (289) 921 (365) 820 (306) 824 (324) candidates Applicants 157,159 (77,356) 204,698 (103,949) 193,840 (100,346) 190,987 (100,600) 221,853 (118,934) 228,368 (118,678) 202,978 (109,786) Successful 2,020 (851) 2,618 (1,134) 3,077 (1,614) 3,747 (1,933) 4,182 (2,281) 4,994 (2,419) 5,002 (2,695) candidates Source: MPM 2019 Note: Figures in parentheses represent females. The Grade 5 entrance exam includes the diplomatic service
Table 3 Trends regarding the number of applicants for the civil service entrance examinations in Korea
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Table 3. Starting from 2017, English Proficiency Test scores have been required as a prescreening filter when an applicant takes the Grade 7 entrance examination; this affected the number of applications for the Grade 7 entrance examination. The proportion of female applicants for the Grade 5 entrance examination decreased slightly from 2012 to 2018; it was 38.0% in 2018, while it reached 38.4% in 2012. Consequently, as shown in Table 3, the proportion of successful female candidates for the Grade 5 entrance examination decreased to 36.7% in 2018, from its higher position at 39.6% in 2012. The proportion of female applicants for the Grade 7 entrance examination shows an increase over the years to 47.2% in 2018, from a position of 42.1% in 2012. Consequently, the proportion of successful female candidates for the Grade 7 entrance examination has increased to 39.3% in 2018, up from its spot at 35.8% in 2012. To a certain extent, such an increase could mean more females are competent in English. The proportion of female applicants for the Grade 9 entrance examination has shown a slight increase over the years from 49.2% in 2012 to approximately 54.1% in 2018. Consequently, the proportion of successful female candidates for the Grade 9 entrance examination has also increased to 53.9% in 2018, up from 42.1% in 2012. In other words, the proportion of both female applicants and successful candidates for the Grade 9 entrance examination exceeded that of males. Moreover, the appointing authority must prepare a list of candidates for promotion, with performance evaluation weighted at 80% and career rating weighted at 20%. The performance evaluation weighting is allowed to be increased up to 95%, which would decrease weight given to career rating points by 5%. A candidate’s total rating points in a list of candidates for promotion are awarded an additional maximum of five points in terms of his or her outstanding performance. In a nutshell, the list of candidates for promotion is determined by the following formula: performance evaluation (80~95%) + career evaluation (5~20%) + additional points (up to 5 points). This means that a candidate’s performance evaluation is the most critical factor in one’s promotion, which is a strong evidence of the merit system.
5
Conclusion and Issues for Further Development
Building an excellent and meritocratic civil service is a major issue in many countries around the world. There are many similarities between the Japanese and the Korean government work forces, and the “best product policy” in government employment practices is common in both countries (Kim and Kim 1997; Kim 2012). Both countries have a long history of utilizing open competitive entrance examinations so that such systems work well without any serious social criticisms in both countries except minor methodological issues. As discussed in previous sections, both Japan and Korea have quite similar open competitive entrance examinations in government. However, one of the differences in terms of the higher civil service examination between Japan and Korea is the fact that the Japanese government separately recruits graduates from professional graduate schools, such as law and public policy schools. Since the Korean government
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does not mandate any requirement regarding education and experience for open competitive entrance examinations, there is no separate entrance examination system for graduates from professional graduate schools. Another difference in the intermediate and lower levels of entrance examinations between Japan and Korea is an English test: English is not required for the Japanese intermediate and lower levels of entrance examinations, but it is required for the Korean intermediate and low levels of entrance examinations. Among these examinations, the most competitive one among its different levels is the comprehensive service for graduate school graduates and university graduates in Japan along with the Grade 5 entrance examination in Korea. These examinations are both more commonly known in the past as the higher civil service examination (Lee 1984; Spaulding 1967; Kubota 1969; Sakamoto 1991). Most who pass this examination are employed by the central headquarters, and their future is almost assured, so in response to this dynamic, many graduates of universities and graduate schools apply for this exam. One may wonder why so many Japanese and Korean university students apply for admission to the higher civil service (Spaulding 1967; Kubota 1969; Sakamoto 1991), where their salary expectations are not much better than they are with a major corporation in the private sector. The first reason is its brand value, which means the great societal prestige of being a member of the higher civil service. Those who have passed the senior examinations are regarded as elite members of their social circles; admission to the public service is perhaps the fastest way for a bright person of humble origin to upgrade his or her social position. Status consciousness and social identity motivate many Japanese and Koreans to compete with each other for entry into prestigious universities (Lynn 1988) and then into prestigious government agencies, where they then compete for promotional opportunities (Koh 1989). Another reason is that a higher civil service experience can be a channel to employment in public enterprises or a political career after retirement. For example, higherlevel government officials often “parachute” into a top management position after retirement from government (Blumenthal 1985; Mizoguchi and Van Quyen 2012). Ikuta (1995) asserts that Kanryo, the government bureaucrats, constitutes an unelected bureaucratic elite and that they are the real – although hidden – government of Japan. A similar situation exists in Korea. The higher civil service officials who come from the Comprehensive Service Examination for graduate school and university graduates in Japan, along with the ones from the Grade 5 Entrance Examination in Korea, move up to a higher managerial spot faster than others, who were employed through the intermediateand lower-level entrance exams (Spaulding 1967; Kubota 1969; Sakamoto 1991). Moreover, the length of service for upper-level promotions is quite lengthy, because it was originally designed for officials to strongly compete among themselves. In fact, outstanding performance in preferred core posts has a chain reaction, allowing the civil servant to progressively build up his or her credentials. Being assigned to an important government project also enables the civil servant to come into contact with senior persons in strategic places such as the Office of the Prime Minister (Japan) or the Office of the President (Korea). This enables them to befriend key government executives and, better yet, to make favorable impressions upon them that will serve
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as helpful credentials in his or her future. In Japan, a career civil servant can move up to a position of administrative vice minister, while ministers and vice ministers are usually members of Parliament (MPs) due to Japan’s parliamentary system. In Korea, a career civil servant can move up to a position of vice minister, while only few MPs are ministers and vice ministers due to Korea’s presidential system. The governments of Japan and Korea have sought to increase their levels of female representation by implementing certain measures (Kim 1994). Both countries use policy guidelines of personnel management for female officials, and these guidelines include appointments, capacity building, and a family-friendly policy. In 2001, the NPA established the first guidelines about the matter with its “Enlargement of Recruitment and Promotion of Female National Public Employees” policy. This legislation was revised in 2011. These guidelines are meant to encourage each ministry to set specific goals for the recruitment and promotion of female national public employees. Its goals are to have 30% of successful female applicants in the Level 1 civil service examination as well as the promotion of females to highranking posts in ministries (NPA 2011). The 2011 guidelines also included the goals of introducing the mentor system for female employees, promoting a better work-family balance, and holding educational seminars to discourage traditional views regarding the gendered division of labor (NPA 2011). The Gender Equality Bureau in the Cabinet Office is in charge of overall gender equality issues in Japan, while the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family (MOGEF) handles gender equality and its related policies in Korea. The Korean government’s policy to increase the number of female government employees is to enforce equal opportunities. In 1995, the Korean central government developed the “Recruitment Target System for Women” and inserted a corresponding article into the “Government Decree of the Civil Service Entrance Examination.” To increase the chances of equal employment among civil servants, the percentage of candidates for admission must be at least 30% to allow more female candidates (or male candidates, if the balance is ever skewed the other way) to pass the exam. Likewise, local governments adopted a similar measure in 1996. Since then, female recruitment and selection have been gradually increasing. In 2002, the Recruitment Target System for Women was changed to the “Recruitment Target System for Equality of Both Genders” for both central and local government officials, and the corresponding articles in the Government Decree of the Civil Service Entrance Examination were revised. By comparison, 41.7% of Korean female candidates joined the national government through the Grade 5 entrance examination in 2017, while 32.5% of Japanese female candidates joined the national government though the comprehensive examination in 2018. In Korea, 46.5% of female candidates joined the national government through all open competitive examinations in 2017, while 34.0% of female candidates joined the Japanese national government through all open competitive examinations in 2018 (MPM 2018c: 9; GEB 2019b: 7). Thus, it is fair to say that more Korean female candidates than Japanese ones are joining the national government. The Ministry of Personnel Management has a Balanced Personnel Division, and this division deals with bureaucratic representation and diversity management issues in the Korean national government (MPM 2018c).
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In Japan, the proportion of female national government officials in the general service was 19.5% (51,768 out of 265,835) in 2018 (this figure does not include government officials in the special service such as officials in the Ministry of Defense, prosecutors, and officials in the Diet, in the courts, and in the independent administrative agency), while the proportion of female local government officials was 39.6% (1,084,556 out of 2,738,755) in 2018 (Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications 2018). In terms of managerial positions in the Japanese government, the proportion of female employees was 3.9% in the designated service or its equivalent; 4.9% are a director at headquarters or its equivalent; and 10.8% are a director at regional institutions or an assistant director at headquarters or their equivalent in 2018 (GEB 2019a: 18; 2019b: 7). In 2017, Korean female government officials accounted for 46.0% of the total number of government employees, including national and local governments. In particular, females represented 50.2% of national government employees, exceeding 50% for the first time since the establishment of the Korean government (MPM 2018c: 11). The proportion of female national public employees by rank is as follows: 6.5% in the SCS; 14.8% in Grade 4 (director at headquarters or equivalent) and above; and 20.7% in Grade 5 (deputy director at headquarters or equivalent) and above in 2017 (MPM 2018c: 12). Both Japanese and Korean public human resource management systems are based on the merit system in terms of recruitment and selection. As discussed earlier, the civil service entrance examinations are highly competitive in both countries. Even after that, most government employees face a competitive hurdle for promotion in a wide range of organizational activities. In the process of promotion, one’s performance evaluation result is one of the most critical factors in both countries, although those who were employed through the intermediate and lowest entry levels might face a much longer journey than ones employed through the fast track. Therefore, it is fair to say that the merit principle is well practiced in both the Japanese and Korean governments. However, the new challenges are daunting. As serious challenges such as the digital transformation and various demographic changes are approaching, the recruitment and selection system of public officials must be adjusted in the future. With the development of new technologies in the future, simple repetitive jobs will be replaced by automated or digitalized systems, while jobs related to complex cognitive activities and jobs requiring creative or social skills are expected to increase employment. As the technological and social environment changes rapidly, such as the development of intelligent information technology and the arrival of the fourth Industrial Revolution, workforce planning is needed to analyze gaps between workforce supply and demand based on the prediction of future technologies. Moreover, the specialization of occupations will increase demand for work forces with higher qualifications and more specialized education or hybridization than at present. Accordingly, both Japanese and Korean governments need to cultivate suitable workforce by predicting the prospect of future new technology and establishing relevant employment systems. For example, the Korean MPM is establishing “data management job series” within the existing “computation job series.” In doing so, the Korean government could recruit and select highly
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specialized data management experts. Second, occupational demands for computational thinking and data science will increase, and the demand for highly skilled workers is expected to increase. Accordingly, both countries need to establish new educational institutions of artificial intelligence, data science, and other new technologies. Third, both countries need to prepare a labor force training and retraining plan to meet new labor demands because new jobs and new competencies will be needed as technologies and occupations converge, and employment forms will be diversified due to the flexibility of working hours and workplaces and the spread of on-demand transactions. Finally, both countries need to adjust related personnel policies to meet sociodemographic changes such as low birthrate, an aging population, and lifestyles of millennials (the so-called generation Y).
6
Cross-References
▶ Expansion and Diversification of Welfare Bureaucracies in Democratic Argentina: Between Critical Junctures and Gradual Mutations ▶ From the Ottoman Legacy to Modern Public Management Systems: Evidence from Turkey, Kosova, and Kazakhstan ▶ Public Service Motivation and Its Implications for Public Service ▶ Representative Bureaucracy in Canada: Multiculturalism in the Public Service ▶ Understanding Public Servants from a Global Perspective: An Introduction
References Amsden, Alice H. 1989. Next Giant: South Korea and late industrialization. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press. Berman, Evan M., James S. Bowman, Jonathan P. West, Van Wart, and R. Montgomery. 2013. Human resource management in public service. 4th ed. Los Angeles: Sage. Blumenthal, Tuvia. 1985. The practice of Amakudari within the Japanese employment system. Asian Survey 25 (3): 310–321. Burke, Peter, and Jan E. Stets. 2009. Identity theory. 1st ed. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press. Evans, Peter. 1995. Embedded autonomy: States and industrial transformation. Princeton: Princeton University Press. Gender Equality Bureau of the Cabinet Office (GEB). 2019a. White paper on gender equality 2019. Summary Version. Tokyo: Gender Equality Bureau of the Cabinet Office. (in Japanese). ———. 2019b. Women and Men in Japan 2019. Tokyo: Gender Equality Bureau of the Cabinet Office. (in Japanese). Gordon, Andrew. 2014. A modern history of Japan. 3rd ed. New York: Oxford University Press. Ikuta, Tadahide. 1995. Kanryo: Japan’s Hidden Government. Tokyo: NHK Publishing. Johnson, Chalmers. 1982. MITI and the Japanese miracle: The growth of industrial policy, 1925–1975. Stanford: Stanford University Press. Kim, Pan Suk, ed. 2009. Public administration and public governance in ASEAN member countries and Korea. Seoul: Daeyoung-Moonhwasa. Kim, Hyung-Ki. 1996. The civil service system and economic development: The Japanese experience. Washington, DC: World Bank. Kim, Pan Suk. 1994. A theoretical review of representative bureaucracy: Synthesis. International Review of Administrative Sciences 60 (3): 385–397. ———, ed. 2010. Civil service system and civil service reform. Seoul: Daeyoung-moonhwasa.
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———. 2012. A historical overview of Korean public administration. International Review of Administrative Sciences 78 (2): 217–238. ———. 2017. The development of modern public Administration in East Asia. International Review of Administrative Sciences 83 (2): 225–240. Kim, B.W., and Pan Suk Kim. 1997. Korean public administration: Managing the uneven development. Seoul: Hollym. Koh, B.C. 1989. Japan’s administrative elite. Berkeley: University of California Press. Kubota, Akira. 1969. Higher civil servants in Japan. Princeton: Princeton University Press. Lee, Ki Baik. 1984. A new history of Korea. 1st ed. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Asia Center. Lynn, Richard. 1988. Educational achievement in Japan: Lessons for the West. Armonk: M.E. Sharpe. Mathis, Robert L., and John H. Jackson. 2006. Human resource management. 11th ed. Mason: Thomson. Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications. 2018. Employment statistics of local governments. Tokyo: Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications. [Japanese]. Ministry of Personnel Management. 2018a. Comprehensive Guidebook for the National Civil Service Entrance Examinations. Sejong, Korea: Ministry of Personnel Management. [Korean]. ———. 2018b. Annual Report on Diversity in the Central Government. Sejong, Korea: Ministry of Personnel Management ———. 2018c. Annual report on diversity in the Central Government. Sejong: Ministry of Personnel Management. [Korean]. ———. 2019. Unpublished Internal Document on General Promotion. Sejong, Korea: Ministry of Personnel Management. (in Korean). Ministry of the Interior and Safety. 2019. Employment statistics of the Korean Government. Sejong: Ministry of the Interior and Safety. [Korean]. Mizoguchi, Tetsuro, and Nguyen Van Quyen. 2012. Amakudari: The post-retirement employment of elite bureaucrats in Japan. Journal of Public Economic Theory 14 (5): 813–847. Muramatsu, Michio, and Frieder Naschold, eds. 1996. State and Administration in Japan and Germany. Berlin: Walter de Gruyter. National Personnel Authority (NPA). 2011. The Guidelines Concerning Enlargement of Recruitment and Promotion of Female National Government Employees. Tokyo: National Personnel Authority. [Japanese]. National Personnel Authority (NPA). 2018a. White paper on civil servants. Tokyo: National Personnel Authority. (in Japanese). ———. 2018b. Profile of national public employees in Japan. Tokyo: National Personnel Authority. [Japanese]. ———. 2019. Examination Guide for the National Government Service. Tokyo: National Personnel Authority. (in Japanese). OECD. 2017. Government at a Glance 2017. Paris: OECD. Perry, James L., and Lois R. Wise. 1990. The motivational bases of public service. Public Administration Review 50 (3): 367–373. Sakamoto, Masaru. 1991. Public Administration in Japan: Past and present in the higher civil service. In Handbook of comparative and development public administration, ed. Ali Farazmand. New York: Marcel Dekker. Spaulding, Robert M. 1967. Imperial Japan’s higher civil service examinations. Princeton: Princeton University Press. Westney, Eleanor. 1987. Imitation and innovation: The transfer of Western organizational patterns to Meiji Japan. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. World Bank. 1993. The East Asian Miracle: Economic growth and public policy. New York: Oxford University Press.
Contemporary Issues in Civil Service Management in South Asia: Principles and Practice in India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh Habib Zafarullah and Abu Elias Sarker
Contents 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Historizing the Civil Services in South Asia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Social-Cultural Foundations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Political Regime-Bureaucracy Nexus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Structure and Classification . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Recruitment and Selection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Career Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7.1 Career Advancement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7.2 Performance Appraisal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7.3 Job Rotation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7.4 Training and Development . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Ethics and Integrity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 Summary and Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Cross-References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
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Abstract
This chapter focuses on civil service management (CSM) in the three countries of South Asia – India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh – from a broad comparative perspective. The trajectory of the development of the civil services since colonial times is traced to illustrate how the structural, functional, and behavioral patterns were adopted or adapted after independence and to understand the impact of this inherited legacy on their CSM approaches. Premised on the social, cultural, and H. Zafarullah (*) Sociology, University of New England, Armidale, NSW, Australia e-mail: [email protected] A. E. Sarker Department of Management, University of Sharjah, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates e-mail: [email protected] © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021 H. Sullivan et al. (eds.), The Palgrave Handbook of the Public Servant, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-29980-4_74
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political context of CSM, differences and similarities among the three countries in terms of the politics-bureaucracy nexus, civil service classification, recruitment and selection, career management, and bureaucratic integrity are examined. The study shows that elitism, conservatism, and self-preservation that the colonial civil service had epitomized have endured, regardless of sporadic attempts towards reform. The emphasis on non-merit criteria in recruitment, promotion, postings, and transfer, the disconnect between training and promotion, and the cumbersome career management regulations along with politicization and venality adversely affect civil service performance and the delivery of public services. Keywords
South Asia · Colonial bureaucracy · Civil service system · Career management · Recruitment and selection · Training and development · Politicization of bureaucracy · Ethics and integrity
1
Introduction
Among the many transformational events that occurred in South Asia after the advent of British colonial rule was the measured inception of the so-called “rational” civil service. The indigenous patterns of administering pre-colonial empires of the ancient and medieval periods were gradually replaced by new arrangements that primarily reflected the colonial adaptation of British practices (Eaton 2019). The centralized colonial administrative patterns, however, had extensive ramifications and unwavering impact on society and culture. The Indian Civil Service (ICS) on which the whole structure of colonial government and administration rested was elitist and powerful (O’Malley 1965). Its legacy along with its authoritative traits still lingers and influences routines and behavior in the modern-day civil services in India and Pakistan, which emerged after the end of British rule in 1947 and Bangladesh 24 years later. Attempts at tempering its elitist attributes through reforms and renewal were either prevented or inadequately pursued (Haque 2001; Jalal 1995; Mishra 1970). Since the mid-twentieth century, postcolonial bureaucracies have come a long way in adjusting and orienting themselves to modern-day imperatives. They have had to absorb the effects of political turbulence and adjust to economic downturns. They have also transitioned from being a Weberian legal-rational prototype with its traditional inward-looking closed-shop orientation, controlled hierarchical relations, and inflexible and impersonal style to embracing newer patterns of transparency and accountability, results-oriented hands-on management style, incentive-linked performance, innovation-attentive approach to solving problems, and genuinely committed to serving the public. In the twenty-first century, civil services’ focus is on deepened publicness and public service, networking and creative collaboration, multilayered partnerships, citizen engagement, professional effectiveness, strategic specialization, public value generation, and responsiveness to political signals (Hood
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1991; Meynhardt 2009; Osborne 2009; Stoker 2006; Thomas 2012). South Asian bureaucracies have been slow in adapting to these newer patterns because of a variety of historical, social, political, and economic reasons. The political leadership at the highest level must fully engage itself in a comprehensive program to reform the civil service with unconditional bureaucratic support. Civil service as a “mediating institution” of the state (Morgan and Perry 1988) is made up of structures, roles, rules, norms, processes, and people, all working together to provide support to government policies and programs and to deliver public services to citizens. A bureaucracy realizes its purpose when it serves the people justly and satisfies their needs. As argued by Bekke et al. (1996: 2), “the character of civil service systems is highly dependent on the identity and cohesiveness of the state.” The more integral a state is, the more effective its civil service will be but also more elitist in structure and composition (Morgan 1996). Thus, the institutional aspect is critical in understanding a civil service system and the associated practices such as employment and tenure, career patterns, reward system, and codes of ethical- and work-related conduct. In modern times, the notion of merit, as opposed to patronage, is typically linked to civil service management, although variations are evident. A civil service derives its modus operandi from constitutional, statutory, and other legal instruments that are clearly defined and applied. These are critical for civil service system maintenance. South Asia, in general, is a unique region with many similarities and differences. Because of differences in population size, religious beliefs, ethnic composition, economic conditions, and nature of governance, wide variations are apparent. However, the three countries also share common historical roots, cultural practices, and cross-border religious and ethnic identities. The bureaucracy is one institution that serves as the common denominator. Thus, a comparative analysis of civil services in India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh needs to follow a similar trajectory of developments in pre-colonial, colonial, and postcolonial periods. In general, the South Asian civil service systems maintain traditional patterns and underlying values derived from pre-colonial and colonial practices despite new forms of administrative institutions, processes, and relationships (Painter and Peters 2010; Dwivedi and Mishra 2010; Huque 2010). This chapter explores and evaluates the civil service systems (CSS) of India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh from a comparative perspective. The analysis employs Ferrel Heady’s (1996: 209) variables to assess the “comprehensive configurations for [the] civil service systems” of these countries. These variables include the relationship between the political regime and the civil service, the socioeconomic context, and the dynamics of civil service management (CSM). There are interfaces and correlations between these variables to characterize and help compare separate civil service systems. To evaluate the three South Asian civil service regimes, we assess some of these variables by focusing on the structure and classification of the civil service of each country, as well as the recruitment process, career management, and ethics and integrity. Based on secondary sources, both scholarly and empirical, domestic official documents, popular writings, and external reports, this chapter compares the civil service systems of the three countries by focusing on the premier
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generalist-administrative services, viz., the Indian Administrative Service (IAS), the Pakistan Administrative Service (PAS), and the Bangladesh Civil Service Administration (BCSA).
2
Historizing the Civil Services in South Asia
The antecedents of the CSSs in South Asia can be traced back to Maurya rule in circa 180 BCE. Over the centuries, political control changed hands with the Mughals taking over in the sixteenth century, the British East India Company in 1600, and the British Crown in the mid-1800s. The colonial services that developed during British rule were well-organized, merit-based, and training-oriented but initially only reserved for British nationals. However, subsequent reforms gradually Indianized colonial administration and rationalized the relative power and positions of different categories of colonial officials. The colonial state used the ICS as an instrument of control and took to coercion, extraction, and, at times, absolute authority in dominating over colonial society (Haque 2001; Jalal 1995; Wilder 2009). When India and Pakistan gained independence in 1947, their governmental systems inherited a completely bureaucratized colonial state apparatus (Kennedy 1988; Mishra 2001). However, India was fortunate to derive a key feature from the colonial past – a minimally representative structure of government along with a hugely popular party. Under strong leadership, the new government embarked on necessary reforms to support the parliamentary system of government, help solidify the union, and hasten state-led economic development. Pakistan’s administrative system, on the other hand, initially faced some challenging problems with poor physical infrastructure, inadequate human resource, leadership dissonance, and fragmentation of the political system. These paved the way for the domination of the bureaucracy along with the military in statecraft. The bureaucracy’s unhallowed nexus with the military challenged political forces and became an obstacle towards democratization (Cohen 1984; Jalal 1995). Several anomalies in the bureaucracy, particularly the dominance of the members of Civil Service of Pakistan (CSP), which resembled the ICS, were axiomatic, and until the early 1970s, it ruled the roost in government administration. Bangladesh’s secession from Pakistan in 1971 prompted the new political government to develop an administrative system free from bureaucratism and making it germane for parliamentary democracy. However, it faced intractable opposition from the elitist segments of the bureaucracy. The inherited administrative structure remained unaffected, except for nomenclatural changes to titles and positions. The political leadership’s initial attempt at reducing its dependency on the military and bureaucracy eventually failed because of staggering economic and political crises. Unable to handle the pressure, the politicians had no option but to continue relying on bureaucratic support that helped civil servants salvage themselves from the doldrums they were driven into (Ahamad 1979; Zafarullah 2007). Early reform efforts in India focused on structural, procedural, efficiency, and regulatory aspects of the civil service that had to conform to postcolonial imperatives
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(Dwivedi et al. 1989), but developments since the late 1980s were more extensive reform thinking focused on newer ideas, such as smaller and open government, citizens’ rights to government information, social audits and accountability, and clean government (Mathur and Mathur 2017). Despite the government’s genuine intentions, the progress of implementing recommended changes was “glacial and unimpressive” and real effect minimal due to “the vested interests of the political and bureaucratic classes” (Singh 2013: 151). Even Pakistan and Bangladesh were not immune from political/bureaucratic maneuvering of the administrative reform process. Neither were there any sincere moves to strategize reform planning and implementation. For instance, civil service reform initiatives in Pakistan were impeded by “political instability, political interference, and lack of planning and strategy making” (Jabeen and Jadoon 2013: 464). In Bangladesh, the elite bureaucracy conspired in altering parts of a reform report that were assumed to be contrary to their vested interests (Khan and Zafarullah 1982).
3
Social-Cultural Foundations
Historically, South Asia’s social structure is classified as pre-capitalist. Though the exact nature of the social order is difficult to discern, certain issues are common across the region. Despite socioeconomic transformations, the old patterns of patronclient relations and political factionalism have remained intact (Sarker and Khalid 2018; Wilder 2009). Networks and transactions are nurtured through kinship, lineage, locality, religion, caste, and so forth. Over the last couple of decades, economic growth has accelerated, but poverty remains a major policy issue and, along with multifarious types of violence and intolerance, has dented societal cohesiveness in South Asia (Bose and Jalal 2017). Unlike its two neighbors, India is a highly diversified society in terms of religion, ethnicity, and casteism. The caste system ingrained in Hinduism has been the most durable social institution and still overwhelms the social order. Hindus are stratified vertically into four major castes, each with sub-castes, and social conflicts along religious divides and castes have become more extensive in recent years (Dasgupta and Pal 2018; Varshney 2002). According to Haque (2001: 1409), “the rigidly hierarchical colonial structure and the unchangeable caste system served complementary purposes: both the colonial administration and the high-caste elite needed each other to perpetuate their hegemonic controls” in society. While the layered Indian social structure was conducive to colonial rule, it continues to inform administrative practices in the present day (Maheshwari 2006). For instance, social-political influence, clientelism, and brokering affect public service access and delivery. Successive Indian governments adopted affirmative action policies for the low-caste groups, but casteism still results in favoritism and nepotism towards specific favored social groups (Mishra 2013). Pakistan is also a multiethnic society but not prejudiced on the grounds of casteism. However, pre-capitalist social norms and values such as social hierarchy, patron-clientage, and factionalism are visible in contemporary society. Land-owning
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elites have been central to the patron-clientelist character of politics, and they take advantage of the “vertical, personalized and patron-client centric approach to politics and service delivery” (Mezzera and Aftab 2009: 7). The civil service is not free from these traits. Despite notable socioeconomic transformations over the last four decades in Bangladesh, a social hierarchy based on lineage, wealth, position, status, and gender remains pervasive. Clientelism, nepotism, and favoritism stemming from social relations have permeated all kinds of social exchanges, including staffing matters in the bureaucracy. Social networks and political loyalty often influence CSM, such as in deciding lucrative postings, foreign training, and promotions (Zafarullah et al. 2001). Apart from clientelism, the supply of vital public services in both urban and rural areas often depends on social and political propinquity and the strength of patron-client exchanges (Sarker and Nawaz 2019; Zafarullah 2013).
4
Political Regime-Bureaucracy Nexus
With parliamentary democracy in place, all three bureaucracies are expected to play a neutral nonpartisan role within the parameters of their constitutions and under the direction of and responsible to the political executive. However, the high-intensity (powerful both administratively and politically) bureaucracies in South Asia have contributed an inordinate influence over the process of governing through their wellordered foundation; superior technical, professional, and administrative knowledge; and their relative subsystem autonomy (Alavi 1972; Zafarullah et al. 2001). On the other hand, in stamping their political authority, politicians (prime minister, cabinet ministers, parliamentarians, and even nonaccredited ruling party leaders) have often downplayed the role of senior civil servants, especially in policymaking and the authorized management of tasks and people. Bureaucratic influence in the form of advice over crucial policy formulation has not always met a minister’s preference or of the ruling party’s agenda and has led to political intervention in the administrative process. This has created “an atmosphere of distrust [and]. . .civil servant[s] may seek to separate policy and administration, sabotaging the former for the protection of the latter” (Hardgrave Jr 1970: 69). This situation describes the Indian case, but parallels may also be drawn in describing Pakistan and Bangladesh. In practice, the South Asian political regimes are less democratic in character and substance with implications for politics-bureaucracy relations (Oldenberg 2010; Stern 2015). Taking Heady’s (1996:212) configuration into consideration, the civil services there are “majority party responsive” with obligation “primarily and ultimately to the governing party or coalition of parties.” Being formally “apolitical” and “neutral,” the bureaucracy is duty-bound by convention to be receptive to every governing party/coalition’s policy directions. However, there have been departures from this norm. In all three countries, it is common for former civil servants to be offered ministerial positions, and some appointments of a select band of incumbent officers to important administrative positions are primarily because of their loyalty to the government. This goes against the merit principle and disrupts the bureaucracypolitics equilibrium. Such tendency serves as an incentive to party-favored civil
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servants but also as a deterrent to the careers of those who are on the opposite side. The politicization of the civil services has had the effect of creating discord within the bureaucracy between the staunch supporters of the ruling party and those considered perfidious. The tables turn when another party comes to power. Bureaucratic politics therefore takes on ominous forms in all three countries (Mishra 2001; Rahman 2017; Zafarullah and Khan 2001).
5
Structure and Classification
The structure of the South Asian civil services is derived from the colonial Indian Civil Service. Officers inducted to the lowest rung of the hierarchy through civil service examinations (CSE) advance to the higher ranks by way of promotions. These officers together constitute an “elite” bureaucracy for their acquired knowledge, skills, and “expertise”; the authority, prestige, and status they command; their proximity to the locus of political power; the aura of their indispensability created in society; and the subsystem autonomy of the bureaucracy they experience. After independence, the ICS-transformed IAS and the CSP both remained powerful administrative corps. While the IAS has continued till today, in the early 1970s, Pakistan broke with the past by abolishing the CSP. However, in 2012, the PAS was established replicating the same CSP-style elitist orientation and outlook and enjoying similar power and prestige. The reincarnated “CSP” created tensions within the bureaucracy putting it at loggerheads with other occupational groups (Asad 2014). Until the end of 1971, Pakistan and Bangladesh (as its province) shared the same bureaucratic structure. However, after Bangladeshi independence, the existing central and provincial services in Bangladesh fell into disorder causing confusion and conflicts. It took a while for the different services to be placed under an organized structure – the Bangladesh Civil Service. This service is comprised of several generalist and professional/technical cadres, each engaged in performing a different administrative function. The most prestigious and powerful among these is the BCSA, akin to the ICS and PAS, as key decision-making positions are generally reserved for its members (Zafarullah 2007). Primarily based on the traditional British model, the most striking feature of this classification is its “rank-de-corps.” It represents a loose hierarchical pattern that emphasizes the career of civil servants and ensures an esprit de corps and absolute loyalty to a cadre or group in which a civil servant belongs (Mishra 2001; Zafarullah 2013). Recruitment is to an administration-wide service or cadre without regard to the needs of a position an individual is assigned to. Officers are usually selected for a lifelong career, and they gradually rise through different ranks that have no relevance to the jobs they are engaged in. This has engendered “protection and inbreeding” rather than factoring job-based performance (Stahl 1969: 380). As tenure is permanent, officers gradually advance through several ranks. They are often turned into sinecures, such as being designated as “officers on special duty” without the need to attend office when appropriate positions are unavailable (Zafarullah et al. 2001). The persistent use of rank classification in the three civil services has therefore devalued
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merit as the principal criterion for measuring performance and in deciding promotions. Being “closed” systems, lateral entry into rank-based civil services is denied to outsiders. Continental Europe, Japan, and Korea epitomize such a pattern (see ▶ Deep Thinkers and Their Influence on the Conception of the Public Servant: Reconciling Philosophical Roots and ▶ Public Servants in Modern India: Who Are They?). In contrast, some Latin American countries display attributes of a hybrid system that blends the traditional “closed” structure with externally imposed reforms emphasizing “open” career patterns (see ▶ From the Ottoman Legacy to Modern Public Management Systems: Evidence from Turkey, Kosova, and Kazakhstan; Smalskys and Urbanovič 2017).
6
Recruitment and Selection
Emulating the format and style used for recruiting ICS personnel in British India, open competitive examinations in the three countries are designed to assess candidates’ aptitude, ability, and “intellectual attainments.” The exams also take “the special requirements of the higher departments of the public offices” into consideration as was emphasized in the Northcote-Trevelyan Report of 1853 (Northcote and Trevelyan 1954), which served as one of the premises on which the CSS developed in both Britain and British India. The declared rationale of the CSEs in the subcontinent is to select the “best and the brightest” by testing knowledge level, intellectual ability, breadth of outlook, moral attributes, and personality (ASRC 1973; Kothari Commission 1977). Aspiring civil servants in India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh are free to enter any of the services regardless of their specific academic preparation. Normally, a university first degree in any discipline and being within a minimum and maximum age range are requirements. However, the maximum age varies for “special” categories of people, such as the marginalized, war veterans and their children, and those from “economically” disadvantaged regions. Candidates must go through several steps before finally being selected. India and Bangladesh have a three-tier examination process. In the first phase is the preliminary test, followed by the main examination and interviews along with a personality test. In Pakistan, the CSE does not have a preliminary test, but a psychological assessment is part of the selection process. Candidates’ knowledge and critical thinking in subjects covering the humanities, social sciences, languages, management sciences, and technical areas are assessed (BPSC 2017; FPSC 2018; UPSC 2017). Lateral entry into the senior levels of the three generalist services, though limited, is perceived as “an attempt to facilitate the backdoor entry of people committed to the present government’s ideology” (EPW 2018) or basically “to increase political influence over the bureaucracy” (Wilder 2009: 22). Governments being aware of lateral recruitment’s adverse effect on career bureaucrats’ morale adopt it sporadically. A contentious issue in civil service staffing relates to reservations or quotas in employment, referred to as “affirmative action.” To ensure equal opportunity and to adopt a nondiscriminatory approach to recruiting governmental personnel, the
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constitution of each country calls for reconciling merit and equity. The idea is to enhance “distributive justice” in society, and one way of achieving this is by increasing the representation of segments of the population who are underrepresented, such as women, minorities, and the socially and economically disadvantaged (Tummala 2015). Those who apply for quota consideration in the three countries are not given any preexamination support to help them improve their performance in the entry examinations. It is only recently that socially and economically disadvantaged regions have gain access to tertiary institutions that would help them prepare for the civil service recruitment. Despite attempts to improve the qualifications of quota-based hires, the implementation of affirmative action policies in the three countries has downgraded the concept of merit as a crucial criterion in public employment. For instance, in India, just under 50 percent of the positions in the All India Service, including the IAS, are filled based on the merit criterion; the other 50 percent is reserved for minorities (non-higher castes and tribes and those belonging to backward classes). In reality, during the past decade, almost 59 percent of posts have gone to the latter, and with the inclusion of the “economically weaker sections,” the percentage will rise to an immense 69 percent. This will leave just 31 percent for those vying to enter based on merit (India Today, 9 April 2019). Even in Bangladesh, the merit vs. non-merit ratio is unevenly balanced – 45 percent merit and 55 for quota, which includes 30 percent for the descendants of those who fought in the War of Independence in 1971. Once selected, the order of their performance in the entry examination determines the service they are to be assigned (BPSC 2017:50). In recent times, the continuation of quotas invited organized protests among college and university students in Bangladesh, and the government responded by abandoning the system (The Economist, 21 April 2018). The Pakistan situation is unjustified with merit assigned only 7.5 percent and the large remainder allocated on regional basis (CSS Forum online). Women constituting nearly half the population in the three countries remain severely underrepresented in the civil service. Their presence is less than one-third of the total number employed (Ahmed 2018). They are not only severely disadvantaged in entering the civil service but also advancing within. The glass ceiling in the subcontinent is difficult to break due to social and cultural barriers, mainly derived from conservative interpretations of religious (Islam, Hinduism) edicts and blatant sexist stereotypes that attributed women such as being “weak, unassuming, passive, feminine, compliant and dependent. . .temperamental and lack motivation” (Zafarullah 2000: 199). In addition, they are perceived as homemakers with a focus on child-rearing, and their capabilities and potential to balance home obligations and professional commitments are often questioned. The overall recruitment/selection process draws flak for its inadequacy in matching the pre-entry educational background with the skills required of a cadre/ position and for overlooking preferences of candidates (Gilani 2015; Mishra 2001; World Bank 1996). Apparently, the CSE procedures in India are reasonably transparent and are free from political influences (The Hindu, 28 May 2018), whereas questions are often raised about the integrity of the process in Pakistan and Bangladesh (ICG 2010).
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From the social-economic standpoint, candidates from the lower middle class dominate the recruitment process in Pakistan, and they also succeed in more significant numbers (FPSC 2018). This is in contrast to the past when the extensive induction of the upper and high middle class into the elite civil service was a foregone conclusion (Alavi 1972; Shafqat 1999). In India and Bangladesh, on the other hand, it is the urban upper middle class that has an overwhelming majority (Mishra 2001; Rafi et al. 2019). The high presence of the urbanized middle class has the propensity of alienating the bureaucracy from the common people. This is quite pronounced in India. Nonetheless, with a burgeoning middle class in all three countries, university graduates aspire a career in the civil service for job security, higher remuneration, and the prestige it carries (Jamil et al. 2019). Even those who originated in the rural areas and brought up in not-so-affluent situations are gradually encultured to feel and act as being members of the middle class. Many use the civil service as a means to social mobility.
7
Career Management
Strategic career management focuses on planned career paths or sequential planning and execution of the dynamics of civil servants’ progression from their entry to separation during their vocational life. In the subcontinent, central government ministries – the Department of Personnel and Training in India, the Establishment Division within the Cabinet Secretariat in Pakistan, and the Ministry of Public Administration in Bangladesh – manage the careers of the premier generalist civil services. Being under the direct control of the prime minister in each country, these central public personnel agencies (CPPA) are considered critically vital in the governmental machinery. They are focused on the development and sustenance of a modern merit-based civil service system that would be capable, motivated, transparent, accountable, responsive, and service-oriented (GOB 2018; GOI 2018; GOP 2018). While each country’s Public Service Commission oversee the process of recruiting and selecting personnel, CSM is the business of the CPPAs operating within a legal framework. Many Commonwealth countries have enacted comprehensive civil/public service legislations (see Harris 2013), but India still clings to the “All-India Services Act” of 1951, which, for all practical purposes, does not serve the needs of a twenty-firstcentury civil service because of its obsolete ethos. Amendments made to it have been cosmetic leaving basic features untouched. A 2007 move towards new legislation that would have widened the scope of managing the civil services (POI 2007) proved futile. Pakistan, on the other hand, enacted civil service legislation in 1973 that, in no small measure, broke with tradition by formally attempting to put an end to elitism in the civil service. The 1973 Constitution overturned the earlier constitutional protection of the elitist CSP, and the Act created the opportunity for officers from all occupational groups to move to the higher ranks. Even though the reforms/Act streamlined CSM, the retention of a substantial number of political appointments
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at the behest of the prime minister and his colleagues diminished the “neutral” character of the bureaucracy (Wilder 2009). The CSP may have been dismantled, but political permissiveness and bureaucratic self-gratification escorted elitism back into the civil service. Bangladesh enacted the Public Service Act in 2018, which was mainly a compendium of existing statutes relating to civil service reorganization, retirement, punctuality, dismissal, and any criminal conviction. There was nothing novel in its content, except for an inexplicable element that provides civil servants special protection from being questioned by law-enforcing agencies or the Anti-Corruption Commission without the government’s prior approval, even for criminal offenses or unlawful behavior (The Daily Star, 23 October 2018). There are claims that this is a ploy of the government to protect “wrongdoers” in the civil service close to the ruling party (New Age, 1 October 2019; Dhaka Tribune, 23 June 2019).
7.1
Career Advancement
Career advancement is important for civil servants that motivate them to excel and earn recognition for their work. However, advancement in the South Asian CSSs has not always been smooth or free from complications. While merit is the desired principle, seniority and equity considerations also come into play in deciding promotions, postings, or overseas training. Measuring the relative merit of officers by periodically assessing their performance and rewarding high performers is a complex process but worth pursuing to achieve the developmental goals of the government. Ideally, fairness, impartiality, and transparency of the entire process are critical. However, the South Asian bureaucracies are stymied or impaired by social-political factors impinging upon the soundness of career management practices. Promotions in the three bureaucracies are generally internal, and promotion committees make decisions based on annual confidential reports (ACRs). IAS officers climb the ladder after completion of a specified number of years in each grade. Promotion to the junior administrative grade is a matter of course, but to advance further, objective scrutiny for eligibility such as performance and past behaviors is a vital factor. However, in general, non-political considerations govern promotions to a certain level after which “political whims and fancies come into the picture, supersessions become a routine matter and the merit may often go ignored” (Mishra 2001:134). Perceptions among IAS officers point to the promotion process as a means of rewarding political loyalty (Vyas et al. 2013: 1129). In both Pakistan and Bangladesh, it is the prime minister’s prerogative (often using the “presidential quota”) to promote officers to the highest levels in the administrative hierarchy (Imtiaz 2013; Rosen 2012). When the government changes, civil servants do not lose their jobs but may be moved to relatively unimportant positions or made “officers on special duty,” meaning no substantial role in administration. Those affected by the previous government’s action are often compensated with similar benefits.
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PAS officers gain promotions quite rapidly after they have served the specified number of years in each grade, completed different stipulated management courses, and obtained minimum eligibility scores in performance evaluation (CSA 2019). Bangladesh’s BCSA lacks a structured promotion process, but rules do enumerate honesty, merit, competence, seniority, training, and satisfactory service as the criteria for promotion (GOB 2018: Ch 4, Cl 8). The process is overly seniority-centric with the performance variable relegated to a secondary position. Cases of irregular, delayed mass promotion have been a common practice over the years, and the political factor has been predominant in making selections. Jostling for higher positions mainly through lobbying and aggressive politicking is quite common. In the end, ruling party faithfuls triumph, while others need to wait for another possibility (The Daily Star, 2 February 2018; Zafarullah and Khan 2001). A World Bank study pointed out that the promotion process fails to reward good performance and by “giving preference to seniority and considering entire batches of candidates together for promotion leads to perceptions of stagnation and. . .frustration” (Rosen 2012: iv-v).
7.2
Performance Appraisal
Creating a high-performance culture in a bureaucracy is a vital target in a modern CSS. Performance evaluation is a critical element in promotions, postings, and transfers and requires a rational and an even-handed approach. However, from their inception decades ago, the three countries are still stuck in the old way of evaluating the performance of their bureaucrats though political rhetoric of establishing a professional “performance-oriented” CSS. In the South Asian CSSs, the standard instrument of appraising performance and conduct of individuals has been annual reporting by their superior officers. In India, “competence, punctuality, efficiency, capability, ability to work with the team, leadership qualities” are the criteria for rating officers (Mishra 2001: 139). In Bangladesh, the ACR employs a two-dimensional scheme to measure 13 personality traits and 12 performance indicators. The emphasis on the personality aspect makes the ACR system subjective as the rating depends on the supervisor’s intuitive judgment, which often creates conflict (Haque 2012). In India, the new Performance Appraisal Report (PAR) assesses performance, character, conduct, and qualities and determines an officer’s “ability to take timely and effective decisions especially in complex, ambiguous and critical situations. . .[and] ownership of responsibilities with courage for what is right” (The Deccan Herald, 24 June 2018). The overall grade and assessment of integrity in the final report is divulged to the rated officer who has the right to appeal to the referral board, if unhappy with the rating (GOI 2007). The performance evaluation report (PER) in Pakistan that focuses on “general behaviour (honesty, communication skills, strengths, weaknesses)” rather than on “performance against targets and behaviour” is “more subjective” and thus open to political interference. Many civil servants think that the PER is “inaccurate in assessing their performance” and the “link between efficient performance and the
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present performance evaluation system” has been missing (Tanwir and Chowdhury 2015:92, 95, 96). In Bangladesh, the ACR is just a pretense and has hardly any application as a promotion principle (The Daily Star, 2 February 2016).
7.3
Job Rotation
Job rotation is not uncommon and considered to broaden officials’ familiarity with the operations of various departments and to enhance their learning and experience. It also reduces the risks of rent-seeking, clientelism, and commitment lapses (Wade 1985). On the other hand, frequent transfers can make them lose their concentration, make them lower their efficiency, and make them less passionate about their job (Cyan and Pasha 2017). In all three countries, frequent lateral transfers of officials from one department to another or from the federal government to the provinces or local levels are evident. Often, these transfers, justified as an administrative necessity, are arbitrary or politically motivated with adverse effects on ethics, administrative morale, and professional competence. Pre-election “politicized” transfers in Bangladesh to aid the incumbent government win elections have been rampant, while in both India and Pakistan with every new government, such transfers are common (Banik 2001; Cyan and Pasha 2017; Jahan and Shahan 2012). A recent study found that in Bangladesh, senior bureaucrats’ rotation is persistent and that, on average, they serve in 3.45 institutions during their career in the civil service (MeyerSahling et al. 2018). Such frequent rotation has become a normal routine in the BCSA.
7.4
Training and Development
Traditionally, civil service training focused on broadening the knowledge base of trainees on various social-political-economic issues, rather than aiming at improving their administrative skills per se, let alone developing their competence in policymaking. Generally, newly graduating university students in South Asia enter the civil service without any prior knowledge about their roles and responsibilities, routines and conduct, and values and outlook that are essential for a productive career. Hence, it is critical to create an ethos of professionalism, camaraderie, and sociability among public officials, from their initial exposure in the civil service to the later stages of their careers. Since training is an unremitting process that updates existing knowledge and infuses innovative ideas, regular assessment of training needs and evaluation of outcomes become even more vital. Some of these aspects are covered by an overarching civil service training policy in India and Bangladesh, but Pakistan is yet to frame one. The foundation training of newly recruited officers (both quota- and merit-based hires) is conventional in all three countries. Civil servants also undergo organized institutional training in various stages of their career – foundational and in service. Generalist IAS, PAS, and BCSA officers are provided foundation training either in a
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training organization exclusively designed for them, such as the Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration (LBSNAA) in India and the BCS Administration Academy in Bangladesh, or in a more general institution common to all services – the Pakistan Civil Services Academy (PCSA) and the Bangladesh Public Administration Training Centre (BPATC). Some are also sent to more specialized academies for further training, such as the National School of Public Policy (NSPP) in Pakistan. The foundation course in India is knowledge-centered 14-week long that introduces new recruits to critical national issues through well-defined curricula. It equips them with the requisite skills, knowledge, and capacity to shoulder the responsibilities of a public service officer. Apart from gaining or brushing up their knowledge in humanities and social science subjects, trainees take part in extracurricular activities (trekking the Himalayas, visiting villages, performing in plays, sporting activities, for instance) in an effort to increase a sense of social solidarity. Mid-career training of IAS officers prepares them for new roles, to further adjust their attitudes, polish their skills, widen perspective, and hone leadership abilities. The professional programs are geared towards enhancing policy- and decision-making competencies (LBSNAA online). The principal training institution in Pakistan conducts separate programs for newly selected civil servants – a 27-week-long joint program for all occupational groups and a specialized one exclusively for PAS. Its objectives are broad, focusing on national issues, administrative integrity, public values, service delivery effectiveness, and leadership (CSA 2019). The NSPP (2019) aims at developing the capacity of civil servants for policymaking and execution activities at strategic and operational levels through both pre-service and in-service training. The 6-month-long foundation training course (FTC) in Bangladesh introduces concepts and techniques in public administration and equips trainees with the fundamental skills necessary to perform their tasks. A policy-level course for senior bureaucrats similar to Pakistan’s NSPP is also offered (BPATC 2019). All these programs, though elaborate, are not always based on regular analysis of training needs or the evaluation of results. More importantly, mid-career training is not linked to career advancement.
8
Ethics and Integrity
Besides the structural and procedural dimensions that regulate bureaucratic routine, civil servants are expected to possess certain norms and values such as being principled, disciplined, and professional in their approach to work. Abuse of authority, unrighteousness, and conflict of interest need to be eschewed, and the core values of integrity, trust, accountability, responsiveness, and public service are to permeate their ethos. In general, professionalism demands neutrality, impartiality, fairness, and nonpartisan behaviors among civil servants (UN 2000). Whatever they do and how they act must be guided by their moral conscience and the anticipated standards of behavior to serve the public interest.
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In the subcontinent, the legal framework and institutional arrangements to counter all forms of malfeasance in the bureaucracy are reasonably robust. Each country has maxims promoting moral values and fostering ethical behavior among civil servants. The liabilities for improper conduct are outlined, and agencies responsible for managing civil service conduct/ethics are in place with defined authority to discipline wrongdoers. Still, the integrity of civil servants is in decline with the extent of corruption widening, levels rising, and frequency intensifying (Hardoon and Heinrich 2011). Several independently constructed indices and surveys point to high-intensity corruption (Martini 2016) as in the Transparency International’s Perception Index of 2018 which ranks India 78 (among 180 countries) with a score of 41/100, Pakistan 117 (33), and Bangladesh 149 (26). Such low rankings indicate the extent of corruption in the civil service with many officers involved in both coercive and collusive corruption (TI 2018). In the case of India, “Pervasive vertical corruption has increased cynicism and distrust of government, fuelling popular anger against corruption” (Gupta 2017: 1863). This situation is also true for Pakistan and Bangladesh. In all three countries, the people’s perception paints a dismal picture (Pring 2017). Apart from petty corruption at the lower levels, which is typical, the high functionaries in government, including politicians, are also involved in various forms of grand corruption. Along with the entire public sector, which is engulfed by corruption, especially in procurement activities and privatization deals, self-serving higher civil servants are, to some degree, party to the menace. But very rarely if ever, punitive action is taken against them as the process is complicated, onerous, protracted, and, above all, politically manipulated (Ahmad and Brookins 2004; Khan 2006). All three countries have ratified the United Nations Convention against Corruption, but its application has been sluggish or careless. Despite the surfeit of laws, rules, regulations, and directives relating to administrative routines, appropriate conduct, and apolitical behavior, the desired levels of ethics and morality are yet to be attained. This deepening pathology is due to the environment in which the bureaucracy operates. Institutional and normative failures, together with the culture of secrecy and impunity, create opportunities for malfeasance. Weak economic conditions and social inequality, inequitable distribution of wealth, low remuneration and lack of incentives, kinship ties vis-a-vis conflict of interest, clientelist networks facilitating illegal transactions, selfish desire to lead an extravagant lifestyle, insecure property rights, and the state’s inability to combat unethical practices are some of factors that cause and sustain corruption (Khan 2006; Rose-Ackerman 2006; Khatri et al. 2013). Civil service management problems such as corruption, inefficiency, lack of accountability, and politicization are not unique to the South Asian higher bureaucracies. In varying degree, these issues overwhelm developing, the low middleincome, and middle-income countries. A study by Andrews et al. (2017) on state capability, measured in terms of the “Worldwide Governance Indicators,” “Quality of Government,” and the “Fragile States Index,” provides credible evidence of the current state of public services in the global South. Both Bangladesh and Pakistan have weak state capability (scoring between