Articlehybrid2021

How do international bureaucrats affect policy outputs? Studying administrative influence strategies in international organizations

Jörn Ege · Michael W. Bauer · Nora Wagner

61 citations0/0 files storedInternational Review of Administrative Sciences

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Public Policy and Administration Research International Relations and Foreign Policy Public Administration and Governance

Abstract

The article investigates how international public administrations, as corporate actors, influence policymaking within international organizations. Starting from a conception of international organizations as political-administrative systems, we theorize the strategies international bureaucrats may use to affect international organizations’ policies and the conditions under which these strategies vary. Building on a most-likely case design, we use process tracing to study two cases of bureaucratic influence: the influence of the secretariat of the World Health Organization on the “Global action plan for the prevention and control of noncommunicable diseases”; and the influence of the International Labour Office on the “Resolution concerning decent work in global supply chains”. We use interview material gathered from international public administration staff and stakeholders to illustrate varying influence strategies and the conditions under which these strategies are used. The study shows how and when international public administrations exert policy influence, and offers new opportunities to extend the generalizability of public administration theories. Points for practitioners International bureaucrats influence the outcomes of multilateral negotiations by means of their technical expertise and strategic involvement in the decision-making process. Their influence is primarily geared toward achieving organizational goals. However, the perception of too much influence can threaten the implementation of a decision. Political leadership needs to find the right balance between encouraging entrepreneurial behavior and providing sufficient political steering. Civil servants themselves need a well-functioning political radar to sense how far they can push with their ambitions.

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References

2004Rules for the World: International Organizations in Global Politics 1997Working, Shirking, and Sabotage 2007Overlapping Institutions, Forum Shopping, and Dispute Settlement in International Trade 2007The Rise of the Unelected 1974The Anatomy of Influence: Decision Making in International Organization 2005The Problem of Policy Problems 2006Who delegates? Alternative models of principals in development aid 2019The Oxford Handbook of Global Policy and Transnational Administration

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