Bridging the Archipelago: Toward an Integrative Approach to Studying Bureaucratic Politicization
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Date
2025-06-01
DOI
Open Access Location
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
International Public Policy Association
Rights
(c) 2025 The Author/s
CC BY 4.0
CC BY 4.0
Abstract
Despite ample attention to bureaucratic politicization in the public administration literature, most research remains siloed, focusing on individual forms of politicization (formal, functional, or administrative) and limited to single-country analyses. When a comparative stance is adopted, it often concentrates on comparing countries with the same administrative tradition (e.g., Westminster countries). This paper advocates for a comprehensive comparative research approach that integrates all forms and spans administrative traditions, treating the three forms of politicization as analytically distinct but empirically interdependent. Drawing on semi-structured interviews with senior civil servants (n=27) in four countries with distinct administrative tradition - Ireland (Westminster), the Netherlands (Germanic), Norway (Scandinavian), and Spain (Napoleonic) – the study introduces an integrated typology and applies it to demonstrate how politicization manifests across various administrative contexts. The findings reveal that politicization is best understood as a composite phenomenon shaped by institutional rules, organizational practices, and civil servants’ interpretive behaviors. This study provides a cross-dimensional, comparative lens that not only bridges conceptual silos, but also offers a more nuanced, context-sensitive understanding of how politicization unfolds in practice.
Description
Keywords
bureaucratic politicization, civil service, administrative traditions, political-administrative relations, bureaucracy
Citation
Belloir A, Shaw R, Van den Berg C. (2025). Bridging the Archipelago: Toward an Integrative Approach to Studying Bureaucratic Politicization. International Review of Public Policy. 7. 2.