A Matter of Will and Action: The Bureaucratic Autonomy of International Public Administrations

Abstract

This chapter explores how the concept of bureaucratic autonomy can be applied to the empirical study of international administrations. To this end, we start with an overview of classical Public Administration (PA) scholarship on bureaucratic autonomy. Based on what we consider the most relevant differences between the national and international spheres, we present a multidimensional concept of bureaucratic autonomy that is suitable for the analysis of international administrations. We then suggest a number of indicators that allow us to compare varying degrees of autonomy at different conceptual levels across administrations. Based on the data of 20 administrations, we illustrate possible causes and consequences of autonomy and lay out trajectories for future research. These keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.

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