International public administrations: a critique

Abstract

Recent decades have seen an expansion and proliferation of administrative bodies at the international level. An emerging literature on 'international public administrations' attempts to conceptualize and theorize these bodies, by applying a public administration perspective to international organizations. This essay critically examines how this literature addresses key issues relating to international administrative bodies: bureaucratic autonomy, administrative behavior and policy-making influence. It argues that existing theorizing suffers from two important weaknesses: concepts are poorly developed and not firmly rooted in public administration scholarship, and the literature pays insufficient attention to international administrations' relationship with politics. The essay proposes an alternative theoretical framework for understanding international public administrations, centered on the notion of 'public service bargains'. Drawing on this perspective, the essay indicates promising avenues for research on international administrations focusing on expertise, bureaucratic representation and multi-level public service bargains.

Avoiding disciplinary garbage cans: a pledge for a problem-driven approach to researching international public administration

“…Throughout this literature, the 'political' aspects of IPAs are, therefore, far from being neglected (as claimed by Christensen and Yesilkagit (2019), for example). Quite to the contrary!…”

Creating Space for Public Administration in International Organization Studies

“…While these dimensions are not the only ones available for identifying when and where opportunities exist for administrative study of IOs, their use here highlights not just sovereign-level and IO administrative differences but equally importantly, a potentially complementary approach to other emergent international public administration studies (e.g. Bauer, et al, 2017; Bauer, et al, 2019; Christensen & Yesilkagit, 2019).…”

“… 2. See J. Christensen and Yesilkagit (2019) for a politics and public service bargains critique of international public administration (IPA) scholarship along with a Bauer et al (2019) rejoinder.…”

EU Rules Beyond its Borders: The Policy‐specific Effects of Transgovernmental Networks and EU Agencies in the European Neighbourhood

“…Building on the argument of European integration theories, as well as on international public administration literature (Christensen and Yesilkagit, ), this article contributes to EU external governance scholarship by conducting a cross‐sector assessment of the impact of transgovernmental networks and the role of the corresponding EU agencies in cross‐border co‐operation. In so doing, the article contributes to the external differentiation literature illustrating the role that public administration can play in defining the extent of neighbouring states' inclusion into the EU's regulatory framework.…”

“…Twenty out of approximately forty EU agencies were declared eligible to co-operate with the European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP) countries. 2 Building on the argument of European integration theories, as well as on international public administration literature (Christensen and Yesilkagit, 2018) (ECHA, 2018). Likewise, the Community Plant Variety Office (CPVO) has been involved in the neighbourhood via TAIEX programmes (CPVO, 2017).…”