Reforming the European Commission (Palgrave Studies in European Union Politics)

Cover......Page 1
Title......Page 4
Copyright......Page 5
Contents......Page 8
List of Tables......Page 13
List of Diagrams......Page 14
List of Abbreviations......Page 15
Acknowledgements......Page 17
Foreword by The Rt. Hon. Neil Kinnock......Page 18
Preface......Page 20
Defining the Commission......Page 22
Administration de mission or administration de gestion?......Page 24
Historical institutionalism: an overview......Page 26
Continuum and critical junctures: the value of Kingdon’s model......Page 28
Theoretical significance......Page 30
Research design and case studies......Page 31
Conclusion......Page 33
2 1950–1984: Constructing the Administrative Commission......Page 34
1950–1964: an ephemeral administration de mission......Page 35
Formal structures and organisation......Page 36
Processes and procedures......Page 38
Norms and culture......Page 41
1965–1984: the challenge of a ‘representative’ bureaucracy......Page 44
Formal structures and organisation......Page 45
Processes and procedures......Page 47
Norms and culture......Page 51
Conclusion......Page 54
3 1985–1998: The Foundations for the Kinnock Reforms......Page 56
Formal structures and organisation......Page 57
Processes and procedures......Page 60
Norms and culture......Page 63
Formal structures and organisation......Page 65
Processes and procedures......Page 69
Norms and culture......Page 73
Conclusion......Page 76
4 A Novel Strategy for Reform......Page 77
The systemic environment: the Commission’s legitimacy deficit in the institutional triangle......Page 78
The historical resignation: miscalculations andopportunism of actors of change......Page 80
Problem stream: the emergence of mismanagement as a problem......Page 84
Policy stream......Page 89
Political stream......Page 90
Leadership: significant symbolic measures of change from the top......Page 93
Accommodating external and internal pressure......Page 95
Learning from past mistakes: more communication,different communication......Page 96
Conclusion......Page 98
5 Reforming Public Administrations: New Public Management and the White Paper......Page 99
A contested concept......Page 100
Developing NPM dimensions......Page 105
The content of the reform: the details of the White Paper......Page 111
Activity- Based Management......Page 112
Human resources policy......Page 114
Financial management......Page 115
The White Paper and its grounding in NPM......Page 116
The White Paper with regards NPM’s organisational dimension......Page 117
The White Paper with regards NPM’s political dimension......Page 119
Procedures: bureaucratised legitimacy......Page 10
6 From Policy to Practice: Operationalising NPM......Page 123
7 The Secretariat- General: a Case Study in Innovation......Page 144
8 DG Regional Policy: a Case Study in Adaptation......Page 167
Keys to interviews......Page 11
9 DG Transport and Energy: a Case Study in Resistance......Page 188
10 Conclusions: Understanding Heterogeneous InstitutionalChange in the Commission......Page 210
Sources......Page 232
Commission documents relating to the 1995–1999 reform package......Page 12
Index......Page 250