Blame Avoidance, Crisis Exploitation, and COVID-19 Governance Response in Israel

2021 ◽  
Vol 36 (3) ◽  
pp. 84-105
Keyword(s):  
Analytical Framework ◽  
The Public ◽  
Policy Alternatives ◽  
Israeli Government ◽  
Blame Avoidance ◽  
Elite Interviews ◽  
Governance Choices ◽  
Governance Arrangements ◽  
Policy Underreaction ◽  
Public Health Outcome

Surprisingly, although the Israeli government adopted unregulated, unorganized, inefficient, uncoordinated, and uninformed governance arrangements during the first wave of COVID-19, the public health outcome was successful, a paradox that this theoretically informed article seeks to explain. Drawing on insights from blame avoidance literature, it develops and applies an analytical framework that focuses on how allegations of policy underreaction in times of crisis pose a threat to elected executives’ reputations and how these politicians can derive opportunities for crisis exploitation from governance choices, especially at politically sensitive junctures. Based on a historical-institutional analysis combined with elite interviews, it finds that the implementation of one of the most aggressive policy alternatives on the policy menu at the beginning of the COVID-19 crisis (i.e., a shutdown of society and the economy), and the subsequent consistent adoption of the aforementioned governance arrangements constituted a politically well-calibrated and effective short-term strategy for Prime Minister Netanyahu.

scholarly journals Explaining the Changes in Brazilian Foreign Policy towards South America under Michel Temer’s Administration (2016-2018): The Return to the Logic of Open Regionalism

2021 ◽  
Vol 43 (3) ◽  
pp. 489-513
Author(s):  
Leandro Wolpert dos Santos ◽  
André Pimentel Ferreira Leão ◽  
Jonathan Raphael Vieira da Rosa
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Policy ◽  
South America ◽  
Political Process ◽  
Analytical Framework ◽  
Three Dimensions ◽  
The Political ◽  
The Public ◽  
Policy Alternatives ◽  
Public Policy Analysis ◽  
Political Dispute

Abstract The administration of President Michel Temer (2016-2018) led to significant changes in Brazilian foreign policy towards South America as opposed to the country’s goals that had remained in place for over a decade. This article addresses the question of how and why these changes unfolded under Temer’s government. Anchored in an analytical framework of Public Policy Analysis, we develop two main arguments. Firstly, we claim that the changes in foreign policy towards South America represented a paradigmatic transition from a post-liberal strategy to the restoration of the logic of open regionalism. Secondly, we argue that this change resulted from the coupling of the three dimensions of the political process: problem recognition, policy alternatives, and politics. The primary cause of such change was the political dispute in the public arena between business groups and party leadership.

scholarly journals Up with ecology, down with economy? The consolidation of the idea of climate change mitigation in the global public sphere

2018 ◽  
Vol 33 (6) ◽  
pp. 587-603 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tuomas Ylä-Anttila ◽  
Juho Vesa ◽  
Veikko Eranti ◽  
Anna Kukkonen ◽  
Tomi Lehtimäki ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Public Sphere ◽  
Climate Change Mitigation ◽  
Analytical Framework ◽  
Economic Evaluations ◽  
Business Elites ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Public Sphere ◽  
Change Mitigation ◽  
Over Time

Building on theories of valuation and evaluation, we develop an analytical framework that outlines six elements of the process of consolidation of an idea in the public sphere. We then use the framework to analyse the process of consolidation of the idea of climate change mitigation between 1997 and 2013, focusing on the interplay between ecological and economic evaluations. Our content analysis of 1274 articles in leading newspapers in five countries around the globe shows that (1) ecological arguments increase over time, (2) economic arguments decrease over time, (3) the visibility of environmental nongovernmental organizations as carriers of ecological ideas increases over time, (4) the visibility of business actors correspondingly decreases, (5) ecological ideas are increasingly adopted by political and business elites and (6) a compromise emerges between ecological and economic evaluations, in the form of the argument that climate change mitigation boosts, rather than hinders economic growth.

scholarly journals Sekuritisasi China Fine Dust oleh Pemerintah Korea Selatan terhadap Tiongkok

2021 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 111-141
Author(s):  
Eryolanda Putri Nabila
Keyword(s):  
South Korea ◽  
Analytical Framework ◽  
Political Agenda ◽  
Fine Dust ◽  
Literature Study ◽  
South Korean Government ◽  
The Public ◽  
South Korean ◽  
Political Management ◽  
The Impact

China Fine Dust issue has emerged in 2013 and increase in 2014 so that South Korea suffered from the impact. Meanwhile, China as a contributor of the haze refuses to take responsibility for tackling this issue, so that South Korea must securitize. This study aims to describe the process of securitization of China Fine Dust issue carried out by South Korea to China by using the concept of securitization by Barry Buzan as an analytical framework. The research method used is a qualitative method with a descriptive approach. The data used in this research was collected through literature study. The securitization process carried out by the South Korean Government against China began with South Korea carrying out a scientific agenda to identify a threat with China's initial involvement of 48%. Then political agenda, which are three points; influencing the public to gain support, forming a domestic emergency policy, holding a bilateral meeting to convince China to work together because domestic actions are not enough yet. The continuation of political management shows that the agenda of securitization carried out by South Korea made China accept the issue as a threat and agreed to cooperate in tackling the haze issue by releasing several projects.

Austerity and budget execution: control versus flexibility

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ringa Raudla ◽  
James W. Douglas
Keyword(s):  
Budget Process ◽  
Public Budgeting ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Public ◽  
Execution Phase ◽  
Control Versus ◽  
Elite Interviews ◽  
And Control ◽  
Budget Execution ◽  
Shed Light

PurposeHow does the era of austerity affect flexibility and control in budget implementation? The execution phase of the budget has remained underexplored in the budgeting literature. Theoretically, a crisis and austerity period may trigger changes in budget execution in one of two key directions: either toward greater control or greater flexibility. This paper seeks to uncover which outcome is more likely.Design/methodology/approachThe authors conducted elite interviews of key officials involved in the budget execution phases in two European countries: Portugal and Austria.FindingsThe cases demonstrate that the experience of a fiscal crisis and period of austerity tend to lead to greater control and constrained flexibility in budget execution.Originality/valueThe execution phase of the budget process has remained underexplored in the public budgeting literature, and there has been only limited discussion on how the experience of austerity affects it. This empirical study of Portugal and Austria helps to shed light on that question.

The Politics of Fiscal Squeeze

2014 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Heald ◽  
Christopher Hood
Keyword(s):  
Public Finances ◽  
The Public ◽  
Different Types ◽  
Blame Avoidance ◽  
Credit Claiming

This chapter conceives ‘fiscal squeeze’ as political effort to correct the public finances by raising taxes or cutting spending (or both), distinguishing different types of squeeze. It poses three questions about such squeezes, namely whether there is something special about the politics of austerity or retrenchment, whether fiscal squeeze presents credit-claiming opportunities or severe blame-avoidance challenges to elected governments, and how consequential the effects of fiscal squeezes are. It argues that to put fiscal squeezes into perspective we need to observe what else is happening in the relevant country and in the outside world, to examine what happened afterwards, and to compare fiscal squeezes with one another to see what, if any, common patterns they display. It introduces nine different cases of fiscal squeeze in democracies ranging from the early 1800s to the early 2000s. Each of those cases can be seen as puzzling or contested in some way.

Managing E-Governance

2013 ◽  
pp. 204-224 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gianluca Misuraca ◽  
Gianluigi Viscusi
Keyword(s):  
Public Sector ◽  
Smart Cities ◽  
Analytical Framework ◽  
Policy Implications ◽  
Value Drivers ◽  
Digital Innovation ◽  
The Public ◽  
Digital Governance ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Practical Recommendations

This chapter presents and discusses the application of an analytical framework for managing digital innovation initiatives in the public sector. The chapter positions e-Government and digital innovation initiatives in the public sector within the broader framework of e-Governance (i.e. governance aided by ICT). It first introduces the conceptual framework on which the discussion is based, and then proposes a higher order conceptualization of the relationship between e-Governance and its underpinning value drivers of performance, openness and inclusion. In particular, the analysis focuses on the role that these value drivers plays in the enactment of digital governance initiatives such as the ones related to open government and smart cities. To this end, the chapter discusses its application to initiatives carried out in Barcelona and Tallinn. A typology of e-Governance ‘attitudes’ is then identified to provide evidence of further specific interventions required for an appropriate management of similar initiatives in other countries. The chapter concludes by highlighting the policy implications for administrative reform and offering practical recommendations for implementing digital governance initiatives.

Open Source, Crowdsourcing, and Public Engagement

2012 ◽  
pp. 181-199 ◽  
Author(s):  
Helen K. Liu
Keyword(s):  
Open Source ◽  
Public Engagement ◽  
Analytical Framework ◽  
Source Model ◽  
Public Affairs ◽  
Information Selection ◽  
The Public ◽  
The U.S ◽  
Three Components

This chapter is an investigation of open source, crowdsourcing, and public engagement in the public and nonprofit sectors through four cases: (1) Changemakers competitions, (2) Peer to Patent in the U.S., (3) Future Melbourne 2020 in Australia, and (4) Idea Box in Japan. Macintosh’s (2004) case analytical framework is adopted to systematically document the four cases for comparisons. From the literature three components are identified to understand the open source and crowdsourcing models: initiator, mechanism for information selection, and beneficiary. Three components are used to examine how governments or nonprofits adopt the open source model or crowdsourcing model to facilitate public engagement. The conclusion is that different designs of the projects might lead to different scales of public engagement, defined by Savar & Denhardt (2010). Finally, some potential issues and challenges of implementing the open source and crowdsourcing models to facilitate engagement in public affairs are discussed.

Function, Structure, and Process at the Private-Public Interface

2019 ◽  
pp. 40-59
Author(s):  
Paul Dragos Aligica ◽  
Peter J. Boettke ◽  
Vlad Tarko
Keyword(s):  
Public Organization ◽  
Institutional Performance ◽  
Function Structure ◽  
Public And Private ◽  
Ideal Types ◽  
Social Actors ◽  
The Public ◽  
Private Organization ◽  
Governance Architecture ◽  
Governance Arrangements

Chapter 2 shows how a governance doctrine trapped in a search for pure forms of private organization or public organization, transfixed on the ideal types of the “public” and “private,” would be deficient both normatively and empirically. The chapter shows how it instead makes sense to take an approach that pivots on (a) the variety of (real and possible) institutional and governance arrangements that emerge at the interface (overlap and tension) between public and private, as defined in various circumstances by the relevant social actors on the ground; and (b) the comparison of the feasibility and efficacy of those arrangements in delivering a set of institutional performance functions out of which the preservation of life, liberty, and property are essential. The chapter charts this dynamic territory, identifying a set of essential factors at work in shaping the nature of the interface process and the governance architecture dealing with it.

Integrated reporting and change: evidence from public universities

2020 ◽  
Vol 32 (2) ◽  
pp. 291-310 ◽  
Author(s):  
Silvia Iacuzzi ◽  
Andrea Garlatti ◽  
Paolo Fedele ◽  
Alessandro Lombrano
Keyword(s):  
Public Sector ◽  
Analytical Framework ◽  
Integrated Reporting ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Creation Process ◽  
The Public ◽  
A Value ◽  
Service Logic ◽  
Key Aspects ◽  
The University

PurposeThis paper aims to set out the case for integrated reporting (IR) and its potential to lead to change in the public sector by examining it in practice and analyzing the challenges associated with its implementation.Design/methodology/approachThe paper investigates the role of IR in the public sector through the development of a theoretical framework applied to a case study focused on the University of Udine in Italy.FindingsIR can be considered more as an incremental than a groundbreaking transformation of existing arrangements and approaches. The analysis revealed that the vagueness, complexity and intrinsic discrepancy between the IR concept and its operationalization brought the University of Udine to challenge and debate the IR approach and ultimately, to reconceptualize and implement its own version that better fitted its strategic aims, its intended audience and its status as a public entity.Research limitations/implicationsThe application of the findings to other contexts should be further investigated, while the analytical framework should be applied to different settings and could be enriched to add knowledge and sharpen the paradigms of integrated thinking and value co-creation. Moreover, the interviews focused on people directly involved in the preparation of the integrated report, excluding other stakeholders. Further research could explore their perceptions of IR and focus on their understanding of the IR as well as the value co-creation process.Practical implicationsThe findings provide decision makers with insights about how IR can be promoted to enhance its impact on value co-creation. The key processes to be considered for a public organization are integrated thinking and value co-creation, while the key aspects to be investigated in an integrated report for the public sector are materiality and stakeholder engagement. Yet, the IR framework is missing indications on how to account for stakeholders' inputs, outputs and outcomes in a value co-creation process, which is fundamental in a public service logic.Originality/valueThe results shed further light on two fundamental phenomena in the public sector, namely, integrated thinking and value co-creation. The paper also answers the call for more empirical research on IR's rhetoric and practice and on its concrete role in the value creation process.

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