Autonomy of Public Service Delivery Units in Vietnam: An Institutional Perspective

<p>Intrigued by the burgeoning commercialisation of public services in Vietnam, this research seeks to understand the nature of autonomy that public service delivery units have been given as part of the greater effort of the Government of Vietnam to separate business and service provision from state management. In addressing this objective, the research bases its analysis on historical institutionalism and sociological institutionalism that illuminate insights into institutional factors shaping the autonomy policies and the implementation of the policies in practice. The main data sources the research draws on are legal documents, government reports and in-depth interviews with managers and staff of public service delivery units. The research findings illustrate that autonomy is very limited in many aspects of management because the autonomy reforms are largely influenced by the socialist-oriented market path dependence. Amidst the exhaustion of resources and legitimacy due to the regime’s flawed economic structure and inherent problems of cronyism and corruption, autonomy is utilized primarily as a strategic instrument to mobilize resources indispensable for the socialist survival. This policy direction creates incentives for the various forms of rent-seeking and corrupt behaviour among public service delivery units, occasioning the rapid and aggressive commercialization of public services. While the root of these problems lies in the intent of the policies, these problems are further nurtured by historical and cultural factors, and seriously compounded by the absence of an effective regulatory and accountability system and the lack of political commitment to fight corruption from the top leaders. The research addresses the gap in the academic literature by offering an illuminating insight into the nature of autonomy of a country context and demonstrating the merit of converging historical institutionalism and sociological institutionalism for the study of public policies. The research’s significant contribution to policy-making is that it highlights the need to build institutions to fit in well with the reform ideas, especially when such ideas are borrowed or transferred from advanced countries with well-developed institutional foundations.</p>

Autonomy of Public Service Delivery Units in Vietnam: An Institutional Perspective

<p>Intrigued by the burgeoning commercialisation of public services in Vietnam, this research seeks to understand the nature of autonomy that public service delivery units have been given as part of the greater effort of the Government of Vietnam to separate business and service provision from state management. In addressing this objective, the research bases its analysis on historical institutionalism and sociological institutionalism that illuminate insights into institutional factors shaping the autonomy policies and the implementation of the policies in practice. The main data sources the research draws on are legal documents, government reports and in-depth interviews with managers and staff of public service delivery units. The research findings illustrate that autonomy is very limited in many aspects of management because the autonomy reforms are largely influenced by the socialist-oriented market path dependence. Amidst the exhaustion of resources and legitimacy due to the regime’s flawed economic structure and inherent problems of cronyism and corruption, autonomy is utilized primarily as a strategic instrument to mobilize resources indispensable for the socialist survival. This policy direction creates incentives for the various forms of rent-seeking and corrupt behaviour among public service delivery units, occasioning the rapid and aggressive commercialization of public services. While the root of these problems lies in the intent of the policies, these problems are further nurtured by historical and cultural factors, and seriously compounded by the absence of an effective regulatory and accountability system and the lack of political commitment to fight corruption from the top leaders. The research addresses the gap in the academic literature by offering an illuminating insight into the nature of autonomy of a country context and demonstrating the merit of converging historical institutionalism and sociological institutionalism for the study of public policies. The research’s significant contribution to policy-making is that it highlights the need to build institutions to fit in well with the reform ideas, especially when such ideas are borrowed or transferred from advanced countries with well-developed institutional foundations.</p>

The framing of power in communicative planning theory: Analysing the work of John Forester, Patsy Healey and Judith Innes

In this paper, I analyse the framing of power in streams of communicative planning influenced by American pragmatism, sociological institutionalism and alternative dispute resolution. While scholars have heavily debated Habermasian communicative planning theory, the broader conception of power across these linked, but distinct, streams of the theory remains to be explicated. Through analysis of 40 years’ of publishing by John Forester, Patsy Healey and Judith Innes – widely cited representatives of these three streams – a broader account of the treatment of power in communicative planning is established. The analysis shows that the streams of communicative planning provide distinct approaches to power with a joint focus on criticising conflictual illegitimate power over and developing ideas for how consensual power with might arise through agency in the micro practices of planning. Even if communicative planning thereby offers more for reflections on power than critics have acknowledged, the theory still leaves conceptual voids regarding constitutive power to and legitimate power over.

Analisis Institusionalisasi Kebijakan Dana Kelurahan di Kecamatan Tempe Kabupaten Wajo

Abstrak Institusionalisasi kebijakan dana kelurahan merupakan studi yang mempelajari tentang proses pelaksanaan terhadap kebijakan dana kelurahan yang telah ditetapkan pemerintah. Dana kelurahan dialokasikan pemerintah melalui Peraturan Pemerintah Nomor 17 Tahun 2018 tentang Kecamatan dengan melihat keberhasilan yang dicapai dana desa dalam pembangunan dan pemberdayaan masyarakat. Penelitian ini bertujuan mengkaji dan menganalisis model institusionalisasi kebijakan dana kelurahan di Kecamatan Tempe Kabupaten Wajo. Tipe penelitian yang digunakan adalah kualitatif yang memberikan gambaran faktual mengenai tujuan penelitian. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan: pelaksanaan kebijakan dana kelurahan di Kecamatan Tempe Kabupaten Wajo sesuai dengan model institusionalisasi, yakni Rational Choice Institusionalism, Historical Institusionalism, Sosiologis Institusionalism, Discursive Institusionalism, dan Political Game. Kata Kunci: Institusionalisasi, Dana Kelurahan, Kebijakan, Wajo Abstract The Institutionalization of urban village fund policy is a study to learn about the implementation of the urban village fund policy process. The fund was allocated by the government through Government Regulation Number 17 of 2018 about Sub-Districts for the development of urban village/village facilities, infrastructure, and community empowerment by referring to the success of urban village/village funds. This study aimed to examine and analyze the institutionalization model of urban village fund policy in Tempe District of Wajo Regency. This research used qualitative approach to provide a factual picture of the research objectives. The results showed that the implementation of urban village fund policy in Tempe District of Wajo Regency fulfilled the institutionalization models namely Rational Choice Institutionalism, Historical Institutionalism, Sociological Institutionalism, Discursive Institutionalism, and Political Game. Keywords: Institutionalization, Village Fund, Policy, Wajo

Western centrism, contemporary international law, and international courts

The article unpacks the notion of western centrism in contemporary international law by developing a framework to capture its varied patterns. It argues that western centrism can have three different manifestations – systemic, evaluative, and professional – depending on whether it refers to the rationality, the narratives, or the actors at play in the international legal field. The article then discusses three theoretical approaches that can help scholars dealing with western centrism in international (legal) scholarship. These are: (i) the critical readings of those scholars that explain international law through the lens of power and domination; (ii) the Stanford school of sociological institutionalism, which explains international institutions and norms through the role of culture and global scripts; and (iii) post-Bourdieusian reflexive sociology, which analyses the roles of transnational legal elites in colonial and post-colonial settings. Finally, the article reconstructs the experience of the Caribbean Court of Justice in the light of western centrism, demonstrating that, different from what is often argued in the literature, the Court is not a failed replica of the Court of Justice of the EU, but an institution in its own right, with its own approach to international law, its own successes and failures.

Social innovation in rural planning and development from a sociological institutionalism perspective

Η δημοσιονομική κρίση του 2008, ενισχυόμενη από πολιτικές λιτότητας, προκάλεσε πολλαπλές μορφές περιφερειακής παρακμής σε ολόκληρη την Ευρώπη και ενίσχυσε την περιθωριοποίηση της υπαίθρου. Σε αυτές τις συνθήκες, το νεο-ενδογενές πλαίσιο περιφερειακής ανάπτυξης φαίνεται πιο επίκαιρο από ποτέ, για την ανάπτυξη μια εκλεπτυσμένης ερμηνείας του τρόπου λειτουργίας των διαδικασιών παγκοσμιοποίησης σε διαφορετικές περιφερειακές περιοχές. Η προοπτική νεο-ενδογενούς, περιφερειακής ανάπτυξης μπορεί να ξεπεράσει αυτήν την περιφερειακή περιθωριοποίηση, προσεγγίζοντας την περιφερειακή ανάπτυξη ως τοπικά εμπεδωμένη αλλά εξωτερικά προσανατολισμένη. Η επιτυχία των νεο-ενδογενών στρατηγικών φαίνεται να εξαρτάται σε μεγάλο βαθμό από τις κοινωνικές καινοτομίες. Παρά τη σημαντική πρόοδο στην ακαδημαϊκή έρευνα της κοινωνικής καινοτομίας, ο ρόλος των κοινωνικών καινοτομιών στη διάσπαση της περιφερειακής περιθωριοποίησης παραμένει ελλιπώς διερευνημένος. Σε αυτή την κατεύθυνση, αυτή η μελέτη εκπονήθηκε με στόχο να διερευνήσει πώς η κοινωνική καινοτομία στον περιφερειακό σχεδιασμό και την ανάπτυξη προωθείται ή παρεμποδίζεται εντός των χώρων περιφερειακής διακυβέρνησης. Η διατριβή αντλεί από κοινωνιολογικές θεσμικές προσεγγίσεις όπως αναπτύχθηκαν στους τομείς της πολιτικής ανάλυσης και του σχεδιασμού, για την ανάπτυξη ενός ολοκληρωμένου μεθοδολογικού εργαλείου για τη διερεύνηση των θεσμικών ιδιοτήτων που προωθούν την κοινωνική καινοτομία. Το εργαλείο εφαρμόστηκε μέσω μιας συγκριτικής έρευνας μεικτών μεθόδων που πραγματοποιήθηκε στις περιοχές Mühlviertel στην Αυστρία, Baixo Alentejo στην Πορτογαλία και Phthiotis στην Ελλάδα. Οι διαπεριφερειακές συγκρίσεις έδειξαν τις παραμέτρους αυτού του περιβάλλοντος: α) μια αποκεντρωμένη, χαμηλής έντασης διακυβέρνηση, η οποία επιτρέπει μια καινοτόμο αξιοποίηση των ενδογενών, θεσμικών πόρων, β) μια διαπεριφερειακή δικτύωση που διαδραματίζει καθοριστικό ρόλο στην καλλιέργεια αυτών των πόρων και στη μείωση των επιπτώσεων των εξωγενών πιέσεων, γ) μια θεσμοποίηση κοινωνικών επιχειρήσεων που μπορεί να αμφισβητήσει τη συστηματική κλειστότητα του θεσμικού πλαισίου, δ) μια οργανωτική σταθερότητα και συνέπεια προκειμένου να εμπεδωθούν η δημιουργικότητα και η καινοτομία, καθώς και ε) έναν μακροπρόθεσμο ορίζοντα σχεδιασμού και μια μακροπρόθεσμη πολιτική, τα οποία αυξάνουν τα υψηλότερα συνολικά οφέλη για τα ενδιαφερόμενα μέρη.Αυτές οι προτάσεις πολιτικής προωθούν μια κοινωνική καινοτομία που έχει ένα πιο επιστημονικό υπόβαθρο μια κοινωνική καινοτομία που παράγεται «ορθολογικά» παρά απλώς συμβαίνει. Οι κοινωνικά καινοτόμες μορφές διακυβέρνησης-πέρα-από-το-κράτος δεν έχουν ακόμη κωδικοποιήσει τους ακριβείς τομείς ισχύος, κανόνες και κανονισμούς και έτσι φαίνεται συχνά να ευνοούν μια εξατομικευμένη ευθύνη, καθώς και μια νεοφιλελεύθερη ατζέντα. Παρ 'όλα αυτά, η προτεινόμενη, εξορθολογισμένη κοινωνική καινοτομία μπορεί τελικά να συνθέσει και να κωδικοποιήσει τις νέες μορφές και θεσμικές λογικές στη βάση ηθικών προτύπων˙ ο ενισχυμένος εκδημοκρατισμός, η συμμετοχικότητα και η ενδυνάμωση μπορούν να είναι τα μακροπρόθεσμα αποτελέσματα αυτής της διαδικασίας.

Agency in historical institutionalism coalitional work in the creation, maintenance, and change of institutions

Institutionalism gives priority to structure over agency. Yet institutions have never developed and operated without the intervention of interested groups. This paper develops a conceptual framework for the role of agency in historical institutionalism. Based on recent contributions following the coalitional turn and drawing on insights from sociological institutionalism, it argues that agency plays a key role in the creation and maintenance of social coalitions that stabilize but also challenge institutions. Without such agency, no coalition can be created, maintained, or changed. Similarly, without a supporting coalition, no contested institution can survive. Yet, due to collective action problems, such coalitional work is challenging. This coalitional perspective offers a robust role for agency in historical institutionalism, but it also explains why institutions remain stable despite agency. In addition, this paper forwards several portable propositions that allow for the identification of who is likely to develop agency and what these actors do.

NGO’s Authority: A Discussion in the Global Environmental Governance

As non-governmental organizations (NGOs) assume incrementally important roles in global environmental governance, literature regarding their functions also multiplies. Studies are available about their features, structural advantages or impacts. However, very few have sufficiently explained what makes them tick in the international system as non-state actors. In this article, we argue that NGOs’ important position in global governance lies in its authority. We build our analysis on sociological institutionalism and the principal–agent models, arguing that NGOs are independent and autonomous with both inherent authority and granted authority by sovereign states or inter-governmental organizations (IGOs). It is through this authority that NGOs could function independently and autonomously in global governance instead of being the affiliated or appendant actors of parties. To shed some new light on understanding NGOs in the international system from a theoretical perspective, we employ cases from environmental governance domain as evidence for illustration.

Historical Institutionalism in the Study of European Integration

Since the 1990s, historical institutionalism has established itself as a frequently used approach in the study of European integration. One basic tenet of those who use this approach is to take history seriously in the study of European integration—in particular how historical choices on institutionalizing particular procedures and policies explain subsequent patterns of agency. Looking at the manner in which time and institutional structures affect outcomes is central in this approach. In the context of the European Union (EU), the works that have adopted this approach have typically examined developments in policies and institutions over time. While sharing with other institutionalist approaches (such as rational choice and sociological institutionalism) the recognition that “institutions matter,” historical institutionalism introduced particular concepts such as “path dependence” and “critical juncture” into the study of the EU. The distinct contribution here is the capacity of historical institutionalism to explain the persistence of institutional structures and the continuity of policies as well as the reasons for change. In the study of European integration, this approach has been adopted in many areas of research, ranging from studies about the legal foundations of the EU, the workings within institutions of the EU, the process of enlargement, to analyses of various sectors of EU policy-making, and the study of the multiple crises confronting the integration project in the 2010s.