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Democratic government, institutional autonomy and the dynamics of change

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  • Johan P. Olsen

Abstract

Against the backdrop of decades of public sector reforms in Europe, this essay aims to make sense of the processes through which institutions, democratic government included, achieve and lose autonomy or primacy and why it is difficult to find a state of equilibrium between democratic government and institutional autonomy. The analytical value of ‘autonomy’ as detachment-from-politics and the apolitical dynamics of change assumed by NPM reformers are challenged. In contrast, the interplay between democratic government and institutional autonomy is interpreted as an artifact of partly de-coupled inter-institutional processes involving struggle for power and status among interdependent and co-evolving institutions that are carriers of competing yet legitimate values, interests and behavioral logics. The problem of finding a stable equilibrium between democratic government, autonomous agencies and non-majoritarian institutions, is illustrated by the cases of public administration and the public university. This article has later been published in West European Politics Vol.32, No.3, pp.439-465

Suggested Citation

  • Johan P. Olsen, 2009. "Democratic government, institutional autonomy and the dynamics of change," ARENA Working Papers 1, ARENA.
    • Handle: RePEc:erp:arenax:p0285
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Tayyeb Ali Khan & Tom Christensen, 2021. "Challenges of Implementing a Performance and Reward System in Higher Education Institutions in Pakistan: Perceptions of Top Leaders in Contending Regulatory Bodies," Public Organization Review, Springer, vol. 21(2), pages 243-262, June.
    2. Christoph Ossege, 2015. "Driven by Expertise and Insulation? The Autonomy of European Regulatory Agencies," Politics and Governance, Cogitatio Press, vol. 3(1), pages 101-113.
    3. Chris Hanretty & Christel Koop, 2013. "Shall the law set them free? The formal and actual independence of regulatory agencies," Regulation & Governance, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 7(2), pages 195-214, June.
    4. repec:bla:jcmkts:v:47:y:2009:i::p:1085-1105 is not listed on IDEAS
    5. Muiris MacCarthaigh, 2011. "Politics, policy preferences and the evolution of Irish bureaucracy: A framework for analysis," Working Papers 201128, Geary Institute, University College Dublin.
    6. Ole Danielsen & Kutsal Yesilkagit, 2014. "The Effects of European Regulatory Networks on the Bureaucratic Autonomy of National Regulatory Authorities," Public Organization Review, Springer, vol. 14(3), pages 353-371, September.
    7. Erik Jones, 2009. "Output Legitimacy and the Global Financial Crisis: Perceptions Matter," Journal of Common Market Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 47(5), pages 1085-1105, November.

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