The reseach question is ‘’How does the use of citizen involvement by CoR on the Green Deal affect the institution’s legitimacy?’. This thesis will look at different way on how to engage with...Show moreThe reseach question is ‘’How does the use of citizen involvement by CoR on the Green Deal affect the institution’s legitimacy?’. This thesis will look at different way on how to engage with citizens and how that will affect an institution’s legitimacy. A case study has been conducted on the Green deal and the European Committee of the Regions.Show less
Accredited Parliamentary Assistants are ‘eyes and ears’ of Members of the European Parliament, yet their influence on MEPs and role as a backstage support has not been widely discussed. The scope...Show moreAccredited Parliamentary Assistants are ‘eyes and ears’ of Members of the European Parliament, yet their influence on MEPs and role as a backstage support has not been widely discussed. The scope of APAs tasks and employment status prevent unequivocal categorisation. This paper draws from the literature on ‘policy professionals’ and three types of knowledge provision: problem formulation; process expertise; information access to shed more light on their work and environment which they operate. To answer the research question, six hypotheses were formulated and descriptive statistics and statistical analysis were applied. The anonymous, online survey was conducted among APAs and the set of data was collected (N = 116). The thesis concluded that APAs share similarities with policy professionals – yet they differ in their attitude towards academic education and on-the-job training.Show less
Abstract In this study is analyzed whether the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC), Moreno-Ocampo (2003-2012) and Bensouda (2012-2021), consistently selected situations for...Show moreAbstract In this study is analyzed whether the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC), Moreno-Ocampo (2003-2012) and Bensouda (2012-2021), consistently selected situations for investigation and whether the appointment of Bensouda influenced decisions of the Court in favor of African situations. Although the ICC wants to serve all parties involved, there extends a severe chance for being influenced via the Prosecutor, especially while the Prosecutor enjoys much discretion to influence the situation selection via the gravity threshold reducing the legitimacy the ICC. Both Prosecutors have been criticized for being inconsistently selecting African situations. Although the second Prosecutor was an African official, her appointment did not lead to a decrease of criticisms. Therefore this study investigates whether both Prosecutors consistently applied the selection procedures for investigation and whether the appointment of Bensouda influenced the process in favor of African situations. This is done by evaluating how both Prosecutors handled with respect to the gravity threshold; the onliest component within selection on which the Prosecutor actually can insert its influence. Thus is concluded that both Prosecutors approached gravity differently. Whereas Moreno-Ocampo defined the gravity of a given situation in terms of the number of victims, Bensouda determined the gravity of a crime in terms of its scale, nature, manner of commission and impact. This study concludes that Moreno-Ocampo policies were really consistently pointing towards the gravest crimes, whereas Bensouda’s policies were less consistent. She selected some situations that were less serious in terms of gravity than situations rejected. Although Bensouda’s policies were less consistent in character, her policies don’t follow a pattern selecting in favor of African states. This study concludes by stating that Bensouda’s policies were less consistently focused on the gravest crimes of concern, while her qualitative formulation of gravity led much room to apply discretion, but that there is no reason to assume that her policies tended in favor of African situations.Show less
The economic crisis of 2008 is a perfect example of governance failure resulting in a global economic crisis. Crises form windows of opportunity for change, while a crisis is living proof that the...Show moreThe economic crisis of 2008 is a perfect example of governance failure resulting in a global economic crisis. Crises form windows of opportunity for change, while a crisis is living proof that the status quo is unsustainable. Since the economic crisis was caused by inadequate and the lack of financial regulations, countries all over the globe changed their financial policies. These policies, however, were a product of policy-makers. Since these policy-makers, or bureaucrats, bear responsibility for developing these policies, one would expect that changes also occurred at these bureaucrats. Nevertheless, literature on the effect of the economic crisis on the competencies of these bureaucrats is missing. This research, therefore, aimed to fill this gap. This resulted in the following research question: ‘How has the economic crisis of 2008 influenced the competencies of top and mid-level financial bureaucrats working at the financial ministries of the United Kingdom and Germany?’ The expectations were that the crisis resulted in a change of the economic ideas and technical competency of these top- and mid-level bureaucrats. In order to test these expectations, a quantitative statistical large-N analysis (N = 124) is conducted. The research results were that the economic crisis of 2008 did not affect the economic ideas and technical competency of top- and mid-level bureaucrats. The conclusion on the latter, however, may be false negative. The analysis provided indications that the economic crisis actually did affect the technical competency of top- and mid-level bureaucrats. Besides that, the number of observations used for this research was relatively small. Further research with more observations is, therefore, necessary.Show less
Internationale organisaties spelen in toenemende mate een rol in het politieke landschap. Het aantal internationale organisaties groeit (Lall, 2017) door de jaren heen, maar weten hoe goed zij hun...Show moreInternationale organisaties spelen in toenemende mate een rol in het politieke landschap. Het aantal internationale organisaties groeit (Lall, 2017) door de jaren heen, maar weten hoe goed zij hun taak vervullen weten wij niet echt. De prestaties van internationale organisaties zijn tot nu toe redelijk onderbelicht gebleven in de wetenschappelijke wereld. Het artikel van Tallberg, Sommerer, Squatitro en Lundgren (2016) geeft een model waarmee de prestaties van internationale organisaties gemeten kunnen worden aan de hand van de beleidsoutput. De beleidsoutput wordt vervolgens getoetst met vijf variabelen: beleidsvolume, beleidsoriëntatie, beleidstype, beleidsinstrument en beleidsdoel. Deze scriptie gebruikt het dit framewerk om twee internationale organisaties te onderzoeken, de Europese Unie en de Organisatie voor Economische Samenwerking en Ontwikkeling (OESO). Hierbij wordt het milieubeleid van beide organisaties onder de loep genomen. werden drie van de vijf originele variabelen meegenomen en werden de beleidstukken van beide organisaties onderzocht door middel van inhoudsanalyse. Hieruit werden een paar dingen duidelijk. De beleidstypes die de beide organisaties kiezen zijn redelijk gelijk aan elkaar. Het regelgevende beleidstype wordt het vaakst gekozen, maar er is wel sprake van meer variatie bij de Europese Unie. Beleidsdoelen laten ook veel gelijkenissen zien. Opmerkelijk is wel dat de OESO relatief vaker beleid adviseert aan externe partijen, waarbij het vooral gaat om landen die niet volledig lid zijn van de organisatie. Het grootste verschil is te zien bij de beleidsinstrumenten. De OESO heeft geen harde beleidsinstrumenten om te gebruiken in tegenstelling tot de Europese Unie. Die gebruikte over het algemeen harde beleidsinstrumenten om zo het beleid op te leggen aan de lidstaten. Hieruit kan geconcludeerd worden dat beide organisaties hun mandaat vervullen, maar de Europese Unie beter presteert om het gewenste beleid tot uitvoering te laten komen. Aan het onderzoek zitten wel een paar beperkingen. Ten eerste zijn er veel verschillende organisaties, maar dit onderzoek kijkt maar naar twee. Verder zijn niet alle variabelen meegenomen van het originele artikel en wordt er alleen gekeken naar de beleidsoutput. Het onderzoek naar de prestaties van internationale organisaties staat nog in de kinderschoenen, dus toekomstig onderzoek is nog zeker nodig.Show less
This thesis investigates the internationalization of policy advice in foreign policy advisory system of the Netherlands. By applying a quantitative, citation-based analysis, it contributes to...Show moreThis thesis investigates the internationalization of policy advice in foreign policy advisory system of the Netherlands. By applying a quantitative, citation-based analysis, it contributes to existing research on trends affecting the use of transnational academic knowledge and expertise in Dutch policy advisory bodies. The study seeks to contribute to the debate on the changing dynamics of Policy Advisory Systems and the influence of international sources of knowledge on domestic policy formation. Foreign policy advice will be examined as a case study. This adds a novel element, as foreign policy is seldomly analyzed from a Public Administration perspective. The methodology employed will make use of reports published by the Adviesraad Internationale Vraagstukken (AIV), by looking at the number of domestic and international sources cited, amongst other variables. The thesis will be structured as follows; firstly a preliminary overview of policy advisory systems literature will be given before theory on internationalization more generally, and in policy advice specifically, will be included. The theory will be applied to the context of the Dutch Foreign Policy Advisory System before the research design will introduce the methods utilized. The empirical chapter, analysis, conclusion and discussion will round off this thesis.Show less
In recent decades, the political legitimacy of International Organisations has been heavily criticised, and the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) is no exception. The purpose of this research...Show moreIn recent decades, the political legitimacy of International Organisations has been heavily criticised, and the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) is no exception. The purpose of this research is to determine to what extent the United Nations (UN) member states consider the current UNSC as a legitimate organisation. The following research question is therefore formulated: How has the handling of the UNSC, with regard to the Syrian Civil War, affected the political legitimacy of the UNSC through the perception of UN member states? The concept of political legitimacy is divided into three different dimensions: legal legitimacy, procedural legitimacy and performance legitimacy. To answer the research question, a qualitative content analysis was carried out, examining all adopted and vetoed resolutions regarding the Syrian Civil War. Throughout the 42 resolutions, 55 different UN member states were present to vote and make statements on the case. These votes and statements were subsequently interpreted to measure the level of legal, procedural and performance legitimacy. The results have demonstrated that, with regard to the Syrian Civil Ware, the UNSC’s legal legitimacy has equally increased and diminished, its procedural legitimacy has diminished and that its performance legitimacy has not diminished through the perception of UN member states. Based on the results of the empirical analysis, this study recommends that the UNSC should reform its veto procedure to receive more procedural legitimacy. Regarding the legal and performance legitimacy, it is recommended that the UNSC should not reform. Additionally, possible further research should focus on different cases than the Syrian Civil War to ensure a more comprehensive solution for the UNSC’s political legitimacy debate.Show less
This thesis examines the European Commission’s influence in Cyprus during the economic reforms in 2013. It aims to answer the question whether the EC influenced Cyprus and if yes, what mechanisms...Show moreThis thesis examines the European Commission’s influence in Cyprus during the economic reforms in 2013. It aims to answer the question whether the EC influenced Cyprus and if yes, what mechanisms did the EC use to achieve that. The theory of International Organizations’ influence was used as a guide of mechanisms that EC could use to influence a member state. Delegation of authority, conditionality, experts and information and rational-legal authority are the four mechanisms used in this qualitative study to explore the reforms in banking, tax, foreign direct investments and the real estate sectors. This qualitative case study uses the method of coding documents to make data-driven decisions based on the literature concepts and tries to find the relations between them. Twenty-seven official documents and newspaper articles are coded and linked to the four mechanisms. The collected data provides three major findings. Firstly, the EC used all four instruments; therefore, all the assumptions made in this research are correct. However, the extent of use regarding each mechanism differed. The second research result drives to effective use of tactics "delegation of authority" and "conditionality", by EC to influence Cyprus. That was an early assumption emanated from the theory and confirmed by the analysis. Last but not least, this study showed a limited use of domestic experts and information during this process and an even less exercise of the rational- legal authority as it founded very few times in all the documents. These findings suggest future research related to the EU influence in its member countries as well as the difference in influence between a small member country compared to a larger one.Show less
In 1990 the Dutch government introduced the workplace-smoking ban for the public sector and finalized a total smoking ban on 1 January 2015. Despite the accumulated evidence on the dangers of...Show moreIn 1990 the Dutch government introduced the workplace-smoking ban for the public sector and finalized a total smoking ban on 1 January 2015. Despite the accumulated evidence on the dangers of tobacco use since 1967, it was not until the 1980’s that a few states took action against the dangers of smoking and second-hand smoking. Since then, throughout Europe the amount of the tobacco-control policies that restrict smoking in public places has grown. These policies are also becoming more restrictive, but there is considerable variation. Notable is also, that not long before this, on European level and on international level an involvement developed. The WHO became involved since 1970 and a European involvement developed in the mid-1980’s. The expectation is that European and international institutions and other countries, have been the driving force in the growing development of similar smoke-free policies throughout Europe. The growing similarity of policies over time, is described as policy convergence. As result of these developments, the following question is formulated: Is there convergence or divergence in the smoke-free policy between the Netherlands and its neighbouring countries, Belgium and Germany? Which role have international institutions and supranational institutions, such as the World Health Organisation (WHO) and European Union (EU), played in advancing the Dutch smoke-free policy? What explains this policy convergence? The fact that other countries, international and European institutions created smoke- free policies did not automatically lead to domestic policy innovation in the Netherlands. In the policy convergence literature the discussion has been played out around the central question ‘what describes the adoption of similar innovations i.e. laws, policies instruments across different nations?’ The policy convergence literature has provided a framework which is used to assess if policy convergence occurred in the smoke-free policy area between the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany and the role that the European Union, The World Health Organisation has played in this development. The literature is also used to make a systematic empirical illustration of the mechanisms that facilitated this policy transfer. The case study has shown that several mechanisms have contributed to the development of policy convergence in the smoke-free policy area. International harmonisation, regulatory competition, lesson drawing and international policy promotion are seen as the driving forces of policy convergence, with international harmonization as the most important causal mechanism that has driven the development of the convergence.Show less
Global political leaders including those in Australia appoint top bureaucrats with certain competencies to produce public policy in line with their agenda. This study aims to uncover what...Show moreGlobal political leaders including those in Australia appoint top bureaucrats with certain competencies to produce public policy in line with their agenda. This study aims to uncover what competencies are held by top bureaucrats in Australia, and how these competency profiles change. The study specifically focuses on the 1980-2020 timeframe, considering whether change occurred as a result of New Public Management reforms, changes in government, and the rise of evidence-based policy-making. A quantitative dataset (N=193) was developed using biographical information of top bureaucrats to determine if external shock impacts bureaucratic competencies. Using the expertise bargain theoretical framework, the research also employs qualitative analysis through process tracing to uncover how competency change occurs. The results reveal managerial competencies are more prominent in top bureaucrats as a result of New Public Management reforms, and these come about through political strategies. Further, the top bureaucrat role has become more politicised, and bureaucrats have greater political know-how to combat the politicisation. In addition, a change in political leadership is used by politicians to revise the existing arrangements with top bureaucrats. Lastly, top bureaucrats are more highly educated as a result of evidence-based policy-making and bureaucrats have progressively used strategies to increase their influence and autonomy.Show less
