Deploying a novel conception framework offering new understandings of familialism and the policy logic of PRR party family, this study will argue that the Republican Party’s family welfare policy...Show moreDeploying a novel conception framework offering new understandings of familialism and the policy logic of PRR party family, this study will argue that the Republican Party’s family welfare policy overlaps with that of European PRRPs to a currently limited and inconsistent, but significantly growing extent. Evidence from South Carolina and Wyoming—two of the four states selected for investigation to provide a cross-section of the party—indicates concerted familialisation, while data from Florida and Indiana implies GOP support fortification of the care role of the traditional family is conditional on exclusion of the Other, socially, ethnically, and nationally defined. Both policy offerings are understood as features of PRRP welfare logics concerning the family, but the substantial cross-state variation and continuance of long-standing neoliberal policy choices are too significant to decisively assert a Republican Party re-alignment with a radical right logic on the family. Nonetheless, intensified support for the ‘natural’ family since the early-mid 2010s can be discerned across all cases, leaving open the prospect of a truer policy overlap in the future. From this, the contributions of this study are two-fold: a clearer picture of an oft-posited but ill-understood transatlantic transmission of radical right logics, and an original, conceptually rigorous means to investigate it.Show less
In this thesis, we aim to investigate the impact of an EU crisis on EU news coverage. National mass media has an important democratic role in EU news coverage since it is the primary source of...Show moreIn this thesis, we aim to investigate the impact of an EU crisis on EU news coverage. National mass media has an important democratic role in EU news coverage since it is the primary source of information about the EU for the public, and therefore, can shape the understanding of the public towards the EU. However, mass media does not just transmit information passively, and can frame EU integration in news coverage. We want to analyse what the impact of the Brexit referendum is on the use of a dominant pro-EU, Euroambivalent, or anti-EU integration frame in Dutch mass media. Consequently, we compare EU news coverage in de Volkskrant, NRC Handelsblad, Trouw, and De Telegraaf during the Brexit referendum in 2016, with EU news coverage in 2014. We use a qualitative deductive lens and analyse 372 news articles. In general, we find that an Euroambivalent integration frame is dominant, but both the number of pro-EU and anti-EU news articles increases. Therefore, Dutch mass media fosters a critical public debate on the EU during the Brexit referendum. On top of that, broadsheet newspapers tend to be more supportive of the EU, and tabloid newspaper De Telegraaf tends to be more critical of the EU when an EU crisis is present.Show less
This study explores the relationship between street-level bureaucrats’ role conceptions and the ambiguity inherent to their work. Street-level bureaucrats are not neutral servants of the states,...Show moreThis study explores the relationship between street-level bureaucrats’ role conceptions and the ambiguity inherent to their work. Street-level bureaucrats are not neutral servants of the states, but have their own perceptions of what their work entails, i.e. role conceptions. As a result, they occupy their role differently even if they, technically, have the same job description. The perspective of street-level bureaucrats is adopted to explore whether they experience ambiguity differently due to difference in role conception. Additionally, it is explored how the street-level bureaucrats act in response to their experience of ambiguity. To ensure a theoretical foundation, broad expectations are formulated on the basis of existing literature. By means of a qualitative interview study, 10 street-level bureaucrats are interviewed. The street-level bureaucrats mostly experience ambiguity as expected from their role conceptions. Some experience ambiguity as undesirable and aim to minimalize it, while others experience ambiguity as desirable and want to make good use of it. Regarding the acts in response to ambiguity, it can be cautiously said that street-level bureaucrats acts in response to ambiguity in line with their role conception. Recommendations are made for future research, to eventually contribute to better coordination between organizations and street-level bureaucrats, which would ultimately also benefit citizens.Show less
The literature of historical institutionalism emphasizes the path dependent character of the policy making process in which critical junctures can alter prevailing policy monopolies and put new...Show moreThe literature of historical institutionalism emphasizes the path dependent character of the policy making process in which critical junctures can alter prevailing policy monopolies and put new path dependent institutions in place, according to scholars in the field of Public Administration. However, ideational change and development of prevailing ideas in an institution could also be part of a non-punctuated institutional dynamic, because change in dominant ideas could happen overtime. In other words, institutions themselves also allow an endogenous dynamic of change. So, instead of focussing on the specific role of critical junctures on the decision-making process as scholars in the field of public administration tend to do, it is crucial to discuss the institutional environment that could be influenced by the critical juncture. This study will highlight the prevailing ideas in the EU’s institutions on the usage of Big Data and Artificial Intelligence (AI) to protect public health in the EU before and during the COVID-19 pandemic, by establishing a Union-wide framework of collecting and analysing health data. The EU advocated for the need to use such technologies in the formulated EU4Healthplan that acted as a response to COVID-19. However, this programme could also elaborate on the results and ideas of such a Union-wide health and data framework relying on the EU’s Health Programme 2014 – 2020. The latter would indicate a path of slow change in ideas within the policy cycle for EU policymakers. Therefore, this study will research the following question: ‘How did the COVID-19 pandemic influence the adoption of Big Health Data infrastructure in the policy process of the EU?’. To answer this question, the study will discuss the development of a policy monopoly concerning digital health in the European Union via a process-tracing method of analysing documents and journals provided by the European Commission, European Parliament and the Council of the European Union and it will also take the public opinion into account. As a result, the method showed that prevailing ideas of using Big Data and AI to protect the public health were already high on the European policy agenda before the COVID-19 pandemic. However, COVID-19 was a crucial factor for the implementation of a pan-European model, in terms of using Big Data and AI to protect public health. It did not radically alter the ideas within Europe but accelerated the EU policy process. In this degree of agreement with the literature on critical junctures that it causes a shift in prevailing ideas, this study opts for a measured tone towards the role of a critical juncture opening up a window of opportunity by causing a shift in prevailing ideas – at the same time – will not underestimate itShow less
Industrial policy has become one of the most pressing issues in contemporary policymaking. State intervention in the market has long been considered irrelevant, irreprehensible, or unsuccessful,...Show moreIndustrial policy has become one of the most pressing issues in contemporary policymaking. State intervention in the market has long been considered irrelevant, irreprehensible, or unsuccessful, but the recent crises, including the pandemic, have boosted its name amongst policymakers across the world. However, the academic literature on industrial policies within comparative political policy literature is still lacking, and would benefit from more research. Taking an exploratory comparative approach, this thesis research variations of industrial policies related to the management of lithium-ion battery value chains in the United States and the European Union. Several researchers have observed different types policies that have been put forward by policymakers to strengthen global value chains, but these analyses have been lacking a strong link with theoretical frameworks on industrial policy and policy instrument literature. This research fills the gap by linking academic literature on industrial policy, value chain resilience, and policy instruments analysis to provide constructive insights into existing policy proposals and documents. This thesis finds a strong link between the historical preferences of governments in industrial policy mixes and the specific policies put forward to strengthen lithium-ion value chains. It indicates that, although resilience policies of the United States and the European Union are in line with industrial policy in other areas, there are shifts in the instrument mix that warrant future research to improve our understanding of industrial policy in the twenty-first century.Show less
Within the Council of the European Union, Qualified Majority Voting is being implemented in a growing number of policy areas. This thesis tries to answer the question “What is the effect of...Show moreWithin the Council of the European Union, Qualified Majority Voting is being implemented in a growing number of policy areas. This thesis tries to answer the question “What is the effect of substituting unanimity with qualified majority voting on behaviour of member states’ representatives in meetings of the Council of the European Union?”. To answer this question, one case is selected, the council configuration of Agriculture and Fisheries. Through conducting interviews with member states’ representatives active in this policy area, a general overview of the negotiations there is constructed. It is found that shifting the decision rule results in more rational behaviour during the negotiations. Actors showcase more bargaining behaviour when the decision rule is Qualified Majority Voting, and more arguing when it is unanimous decision making. It was not possible to accurately pinpoint what type of negotiating was more common at a certain moment in the negotiations due to the inability to access certain dataShow less
Purpose: This study aims to get a better understanding of the role of meritocracy in shaping civil servants’ work attitudes by taking into account mediating and contextual factors. Specifically,...Show morePurpose: This study aims to get a better understanding of the role of meritocracy in shaping civil servants’ work attitudes by taking into account mediating and contextual factors. Specifically, this study examines whether job autonomy mediates the relationship between meritocracy and work attitudes as well as whether the mediating effects differ across hierarchical levels. Methodology: A quantitative research design was employed through the use of a survey strategy for data collection. The data was drawn from the COCOPS Executive Survey on Public Sector Reform in Europe. For data analysis, multiple regression analysis, mediation analysis, and moderated mediation analysis were performed in SPSS version 26. Findings: The perceptions of meritocracy in public organizations significantly affect civil servants’ degree of job autonomy, which in turn influences their work attitudes. Moreover, the indirect effect of meritocracy on job satisfaction and organizational commitment via the mediator variable (job satisfaction) differs between top- and lower-level civil officials. Implications: The findings of this study are relevant for public service organizations wishing to increase civil servants’ job satisfaction and organizational commitment. This study argues civil servants’ work attitudes depend on their intrinsic motivation, which is greatly influenced by the degree of autonomy and discretion they have in performing their duties. Contribution: This study makes a significant contribution to the field of public administration by expanding our understanding of the antecedents of job satisfaction and organizational commitment in public organizations.Show less
