Tobias Bach

• Bach, Tobias (2020). Top Officials’ Careers and the Relationship between Politics and Administration. NISPAcee Journal of Public Administration and Policy.  ISSN 1337-9038.  13(2), s 35- 48 . doi: 10.2478/nispa-2020-0013 Vis sammendrag

  This essay elaborates how the analysis of administrative careers – both as dependent and independent variables – can be leveraged to gain a more systematic understanding of the relationship between politics and administration. It highlights how the analysis of administrative careers can provide answers to pertinent questions about the relationship between politics and administration, including civil service politicization, politicians’ motivations in patronage decisions, the interplay of organizational characteristics and top officials’ careers, and performance effects of administrative careers. It also includes suggestions on how to move forward in terms of research methods and how the systematic analysis of administrative careers can strengthen the comparative analysis of the relationship between politics and administration.

• Bach, Tobias; Verhoest, Koen & Wynen, Jan (2020). The interaction of administrative tradition and organisational characteristics: the case of agency personnel management autonomy. International Review of Administrative Sciences.  ISSN 0020-8523. . doi: https://doi.org/10.1177/0020852319889674 Fulltekst i vitenarkiv. Vis sammendrag

  Comparative scholars emphasise that public administration should be understood in terms of context-bound patterns of organising and decision-making. Agencies in the same context will display more commonalities than those in another. At the same time, there is good empirical evidence for organisational-level variation in decision-making. For instance, not all agencies in one country are delegated similar levels of personnel management autonomy. This article develops a theoretical argument about how administrative tradition moderates the effect of organisational drivers of personnel management autonomy. We identify the degree of uniformity embedded in administrative tradition as a key explanatory factor for this relationship. In empirical terms, the article compares the perceived personnel management autonomy of agencies in 10 European countries nested in three country clusters (Scandinavian, Latin-Napoleonic and Continental). The analysis confirms theoretical expectations about the context-specific effects of organisational characteristics on personnel management autonomy in agencies.

• Bach, Tobias & Wegrich, Kai (2020). Politicians and Bureaucrats in Executive Government, In Rudy B. Andeweg; Robert Elgie; Ludger Helms; Juliet Kaarbo & Ferdinand Müller-Rommel (ed.),  The Oxford Handbook of Political Executives.  Oxford University Press.  ISBN 9780198809296.  Chapter 26.  s 525 - 546 Vis sammendrag

  Political executives depend on bureaucrats in the formulation and implementation of public policy. This raises fundamental questions about the balancing of bureaucratic autonomy and political control. The chapter primarily focuses on the relationship between political executives and public officials tasked with policy development (‘policy bureaucrats’). It provides an overview of the main scholarly debates: the recruitment and replacement of public officials; sources of bureaucratic power; and interactions between policy bureaucrats and political executives. We also provide an overview of the main theories on politico-administrative relations, including political economy and Public Service Bargain (PSB) perspectives. The chapter then highlights key developments in current research, including comparative analyses, the study of ministerial advisers, and the politicization of regulatory agencies. We conclude with a research agenda on the impact of increasingly complex problems and political polarization on role understandings and patterns of decision-making, as well as on the motivations and effects of politicization.

• Lichtmannegger, Christina & Bach, Tobias (2020). The interaction of multiple drivers of intra-organizational change in ministerial administrations: A study of three decades of structural reforms in the Austrian Ministry of Agriculture. Public Policy and Administration.  ISSN 0952-0767.  s 1- 22 . doi: 10.1177/0952076720904439 Fulltekst i vitenarkiv. Vis sammendrag

  Administrative reform policies cutting across several sectors are commonplace in the public sector. However, reform policies do not necessarily result in organizational change. This article examines intra-organizational change within the Austrian Ministry of Agriculture in a longitudinal case study covering a period of three decades, which allows us to study short-term and long term-effects of administrative reforms. Whereas existing research mainly uses single-factor explanations for inter- and intra-organizational change, this article emphasizes the interplay of various drivers of organizational change within government organizations. In analytical terms, we draw on the multiple streams framework to study intra-organizational decision-making which is embedded in government-wide administrative reform policies. We find that reform leads to intra-organizational change when a political entrepreneur is able to couple solutions and problems in a decision window, which may happen decades after the initial reform attempts, underscoring that short-term reform failure may turn into success in a long-term perspective.

• Bach, Tobias; Boon, Jan; Boye, Stefan; Salomonsen, Heidi Houlberg; Verhoest, Koen & Wegrich, Kai (2019). In the Line of Fire: European Financial Regulators before, during, and after the Crisis. Der moderne Staat.  ISSN 1865-7192.  12(1), s 5- 29 . doi: 10.3224/dms.v12i1.03 Fulltekst i vitenarkiv. Vis sammendrag

  A key argument in recent theorizing on the drivers of bureaucratic behaviour is that agencies seek to establish and maintain a unique reputation. While recent years have witnessed substantial empirical support for this claim, the field lacks comparative examinations of the dynamics of reputation and its management throughout crisis periods. This article draws on a systematic media content analysis to explore the exposure and communication responses of the German, Belgian and Danish financial regulators to reputational threats before, during, and after the financial crisis. Our results point at the dynamic and context-sensitive nature of reputation management.

• Bach, Tobias & Wegrich, Kai (2019). Blind Spots, Biased Attention, and the Politics of Non-coordination, In Tobias Bach & Kai Wegrich (ed.),  The Blind Spots of Public Bureaucracy and the Politics of Non‐Coordination.  Palgrave Macmillan.  ISBN 978-3-319-76671-3.  Chapter 1.  s 3 - 28 Vis sammendrag

  Bach and Wegrich introduce the key theme of the volume, which revolves around understanding how routine processes of decision-making in public sector organizations potentially lead to problematic outcomes in terms of coordination and problem solving. Instead of viewing those outcomes as the result of organizational or individual pathologies, the chapter traces the origins of non-coordination within and between organizations to intentionally rational organizational behaviour. Conceptualizing blind spots as part of a larger universe of biases in organizational attention, based on established theoretical notions of bounded rationality and institutionalized organizations, the authors show how different types of attention biases provide novel insights into seemingly irrational or uncoordinated administrative behaviour.

• Bach, Tobias & Wegrich, Kai (2019). Das Verhältnis von Regierung und Verwaltung aus internationaler Perspektive, I: Adrian Ritz; Theo Haldemann & Fritz Sager (red.),  Blackbox Exekutive.  NZZ Libro.  ISBN 978-3-03810-401-8.  Chapter 3.  s 65 - 87
• Bach, Tobias & Wegrich, Kai (2019). How to Deal with the Blind Spots of Public Bureaucracies, In Tobias Bach & Kai Wegrich (ed.),  The Blind Spots of Public Bureaucracy and the Politics of Non‐Coordination.  Palgrave Macmillan.  ISBN 978-3-319-76671-3.  Chapter 12.  s 241 - 261 Vis sammendrag

  This concluding chapter addresses two ‘so what?’ questions raised throughout the volume. First, if attention biases are a pertinent factor in organizational life in political contexts, what can be done about them? Bach and Wegrich discuss three public sector reform approaches (joined-up government, impact assessment, and behavioural insights) in terms of how, and how successfully, they address different attention biases. Second, how can research on organizational attention biases take the role of institutional context systematically into account and explore particular different institutions’ vulnerabilities to organizational attention biases? Two ideal-type institutional modes of coordination—hierarchical and negotiated coordination—are discussed in terms of their susceptibility to attention biases. Taken together, the discussion of these two questions outlines an agenda for future research the volume seeks to stimulate.

• Bach, Tobias & Wegrich, Kai (2019). The politics of blame avoidance in complex delegation structures: the public transport crisis in Berlin. European Political Science Review.  ISSN 1755-7739.  11(4), s 415- 431 . doi: 10.1017/S1755773919000213 Fulltekst i vitenarkiv. Vis sammendrag

  The article analyses the public attribution of blame and the use of presentational strategies of blame avoidance in complex delegation structures. We theorize and empirically demonstrate that complex delegation structures result in the diffusion of blame to multiple actors so that a clear allocation of responsibility becomes more difficult. The article shows that public attribution of blame follows a distinct temporal pattern in which politicians only gradually move into the centre of the blame storm. We also find that blame-takers deploy sequential patterns of presentational management and use blame shifting to other actors as a dominant strategy. However, the analysis suggests that complex delegation structures impose limitations on blame-takers’ use of blame avoidance strategies, and that sequential presentational management becomes less useful over time. The article uses media content analysis to study blame games during a major crisis of the public transport system in Berlin, Germany.

• Bach, Tobias; Hammerschmid, Gerhard & Löffler, Lorenz (2018). More delegation, more political control? Politicization of senior-level appointments in 18 European countries. Public Policy and Administration.  ISSN 0952-0767.  35(1), s 3- 23 . doi: 10.1177/0952076718776356 Fulltekst i vitenarkiv. Vis sammendrag

  This article contributes to the literature on the politicization of appointments to increase political control over public bureaucracies with often substantial managerial and policy autonomy. Using data from a large-scale executive survey from central government ministries and agencies in 18 European countries, the article provides a comprehensive cross-national and cross-organizational analysis of the autonomy-politicization conundrum and the drivers of the politicization of senior-level appointments. We find that national patterns of politicization correspond fairly well to country families as defined by administrative traditions, with some traditions being more coherent than others. At the organizational level, we find no evidence of efforts by politicians to compensate for extended autonomy by politicizing senior-level appointments, yet we provide evidence of differential effects of both formal and informal organizational characteristics on patterns of politicization. Our analyses show that politicization of senior appointments is lower in organizations with agency status, higher organizational social capital, higher financial autonomy and more extensive use of management tools. The article thereby not only offers comprehensive evidence of cross-country differences in politicization; it also adds to the literature on sub-national variation, by fleshing out an organizational perspective to the study of politicized appointments in the European context.

• Bach, Tobias & Veit, Sylvia (2018). The determinants of promotion to high public office in Germany: Partisan loyalty, political craft, or managerial competencies?. Journal of public administration research and theory.  ISSN 1053-1858.  28(2), s 254- 269 . doi: 10.1093/jopart/mux041 Fulltekst i vitenarkiv. Vis sammendrag

  The politicization of bureaucracy is a widespread strategy to increase the political control of ministerial departments in parliamentary democracies. It is, however, largely unknown why executive politicians promote some officials rather than others to high public office. Based on a unique dataset of all senior officials in German federal ministries and agencies that held office in the period 1997–2015, this article investigates whether partisan loyalty, political craft, and managerial competencies influence the chance of promotion to the highest civil service position in Germany (state secretary). We apply event history modeling to draw inferences on the relative importance of different selection criteria used by ministers when recruiting state secretaries from a candidate pool of senior officials. A key finding is that ministers consistently prefer politically loyal to nonloyal candidates. Although ministers also consider candidates’ political craft and selected managerial competencies, they are likely to trade-off partisan loyalty against those qualifications. The article contributes to the literature on politicization in the public sector by comparing potential and actual office holders and by including a broad set of selection criteria, moving beyond the literature’s dominating focus on partisan loyalty. The methodological approach developed in this article may well be transferred to other institutional contexts and used for comparative studies in this area.

• Bach, Tobias & Ruffing, Eva (2017). The Transformative Effects of Transnational Administrative Coordination in the European Multi-level System, In Edoardo Ongaro & Sandra van Thiel (ed.),  The Palgrave Handbook of Public Administration and Management in Europe.  Palgrave Macmillan.  ISBN 978-1-137-55268-6.  Chapter 39.  s 747 - 763
• Bach, Tobias; van Thiel, Sandra; Hammerschmid, Gerhard & Steiner, Reto (2017). Administrative Tradition and Management Reforms: A Comparison of Agency Chief Executive Accountability in Four Continental Rechtsstaat Countries. Public Management Review.  ISSN 1471-9037.  19(6), s 765- 784 . doi: 10.1080/14719037.2016.1210205 Fulltekst i vitenarkiv.
• Veit, Sylvia; Hustedt, Thurid & Bach, Tobias (2017). Dynamics of Change in Internal Policy Advisory Systems: The Hybridization of Advisory Capacities in Germany. Policy sciences.  ISSN 0032-2687.  50(1), s 85- 103 . doi: 10.1007/s11077-016-9266-9 Fulltekst i vitenarkiv. Vis sammendrag

  Recent scholarship on advisory systems has focussed on the externalization of advisory capacities and sectoral dynamics of change, whereas changes of internal policy advisory systems have not yet been approached systematically. This article proposes an analytical concept for exploring change dynamics in internal policy advisory systems by means of three logics for assessing policy advice (political salience, credibility and representativeness). The approach is illustrated by analysing changes within the internal policy advisory system of the German federal government (1990–2015). The analysis relies on three original datasets on ministerial departments, research agencies and governmental advisory bodies. We find that the internal advisory system of the German federal government is characterized by a differentiated hybridization of advisory logics, which has changed the nature of policy advice.

• Bach, Tobias (2016). Administrative Autonomy of Public Organizations, In Ali Farazmand (ed.),  Global Encyclopedia of Public Administration, Public Policy, and Governance 2016.  Springer.  ISBN 978-3-319-31816-5.  Kapittel. Vis sammendrag

  Administrative autonomy refers to public organizations’ ability to determine their own preferences and to translate those preferences into authoritative actions. The concept describes a relationship between an organization and a set of actors outside the organization, most importantly elected officials and executive politicians.

• Bach, Tobias; de Francesco, Fabrizio; Maggetti, Martino & Ruffing, Eva (2016). Transnational Bureaucratic Politics: An Institutional Rivalry Perspective on EU Network Governance. Public Administration.  ISSN 0033-3298.  94(1), s 9- 24 . doi: 10.1111/padm.12252
• Bach, Tobias & Wegrich, Kai (2016). Regulatory Reform, Accountability and Blame in Public Service Delivery: The Public Transport Crisis in Berlin, In Tom Christensen & Per Lægreid (ed.),  The Routledge Handbook to Accountability and Welfare State Reforms in Europe.  Routledge.  ISBN 978-1-472-47059-1.  Chapter 16.  s 223 - 235
• Bach, Tobias (2015). Brunsson, Nils/Olsen, Johan P. (1993): The Reforming Organization, I: Stefan Kühl (red.),  Schlüsselwerke der Organisationsforschung.  Springer VS.  ISBN 978-3658090678.  Chapter.  s 133 - 136
• Bach, Tobias (2015). Wie "tickt" die öffentliche Verwaltung? Autonomie, Reputation und Responsivität von Regulierungsbehörden am Beispiel des Bundesinstituts für Risikobewertung, I: Marian Dohler; Jochen Franzke & Kai Wegrich (red.),  Der gut organisierte Staat.  Nomos.  ISBN 9783848720620.  Chapter.  s 161 - 179
• Bach, Tobias; Ruffing, Eva & Yesilkagit, Kutsal (2015). The Differential Empowering Effects of Europeanization on the Autonomy of National Agencies. Governance. An International Journal of Policy, Administration and Institutions.  ISSN 0952-1895.  28(3), s 285- 304 . doi: 10.1111/gove.12087
• Bach, Tobias (2014). The autonomy of government agencies in Germany and Norway: explaining variation in management autonomy across countries and agencies. International Review of Administrative Sciences.  ISSN 0020-8523.  80(2), s 341- 361 . doi: 10.1177/0020852313514527
• Bach, Tobias & Ruffing, Eva (2014). Bürokratische Koordination im europäischen Mehrebenensystem: Die Einbindung nationaler Regulierungsbehörden in europäische Verwaltungsnetzwerke. Der moderne Staat.  ISSN 1865-7192.  7(1), s 75- 94 . doi: 10.3224/dms.v7i1.16237
• Bach, Tobias & Ruffing, Eva (2014). The transformative effects of Europeanization on national administrations. Public. ESADE's Institute of Public Governance & Management (IGDP) e-bulletin.  ISSN 2013-2530.  (30)
• Wegrich, Kai & Bach, Tobias (2014). Unter Stress: Regierung und Verwaltung in stürmischen Zeiten, I: Helmut Anheier & Klaus Hurrelmann (red.),  Die Hauptstädter - Berlin 25 Jahre nach dem Mauerfall: Die Hertie Berlin Studie 2014.  HOFFMANN UND CAMPE VERLAG.  ISBN 978-3455503395.  Chapter 6.  s 203 - 253
• Bach, Tobias & Ruffing, Eva (2013). Networking for autonomy? National agencies in European networks. Public Administration.  ISSN 0033-3298.  91(3), s 712- 726 . doi: 10.1111/j.1467-9299.2012.02093.x
• Bach, Tobias (2012). Autonomie und Steuerung verselbständigter Behörden: Management, Regulierung und die Bedeutung formaler Strukturen. Politische Vierteljahresschrift.  ISSN 0032-3470.  53(1), s 79- 97 . doi: 10.5771/0032-3470-2012-1-79
• Bach, Tobias (2012). The involvement of agencies in policy formulation: explaining variation in policy autonomy of federal agencies in Germany. Policy & Society: Journal of public, foreign and global policy.  ISSN 1449-4035.  31(3), s 211- 222 . doi: 10.1016/j.polsoc.2012.07.003
• Bach, Tobias & Fleischer, Julia (2012). The parliamentary accountability of European Union and national agencies, In Jarle Trondal (ed.),  The agency phenomenon in the European Union.  Manchester University Press.  ISBN 978-0-7190-8554-3.  Chapter 8.  s 152 - 171
• Bach, Tobias; Niklasson, Birgitta & Painter, Martin (2012). The role of agencies in policy-making. Policy & Society: Journal of public, foreign and global policy.  ISSN 1449-4035.  31(3), s 183- 193 . doi: 10.1016/j.polsoc.2012.07.001
• Bach, Tobias & Verhoest, Koen (2012). The Influence of Agencies on Policy-Making. NISPAcee Journal of Public Administration and Policy.  ISSN 1337-9038.  5(2), s 143- 151
• Bach, Tobias & Verschuere, Bram (2012). Executive agencies, ministers and departments: Can policy and management ever be separated?. Administration & Society.  ISSN 0095-3997.  44(2), s 183- 206 . doi: 10.1177/0095399711412918
• Bach, Tobias (2010). Policy and Management Autonomy of Federal Agencies in Germany, In Per Lægreid & Koen Verhoest (ed.),  Governance of public sector organizations : proliferation, autonomy and performance.  Palgrave Macmillan.  ISBN 978-0230-23820-6.  Chapter 5.  s 89 - 110
• Bach, Tobias & Jann, Werner (2010). Animals in the administrative zoo: organizational change and agency autonomy in Germany. International Review of Administrative Sciences.  ISSN 0020-8523.  76(3), s 443- 468 . doi: 10.1177/0020852310372448

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• Bach, Tobias & Wegrich, Kai (ed.) (2019). The Blind Spots of Public Bureaucracy and the Politics of Non‐Coordination. Palgrave Macmillan.  ISBN 978-3-319-76671-3.  269 s.
• Bach, Tobias (2014). Autonomie und Steuerung verselbständigter Behörden. Eine empirische Analyse am Beispiel Deutschlands und Norwegens. Springer VS.  ISBN 978-3-658-04298-1.  338 s.
• Bach, Tobias; Fleischer, Julia & Hustedt, Thurid (2010). Organisation und Steuerung zentralstaatlicher Behörden. Agenturen im westeuropäischen Vergleich. Edition Sigma.  ISBN 978-3836072342.  95 s.

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• Bach, Tobias; Meyer-Sahling, Jan-Hinrik & Staroňová, Katarína (2020). Top officials in Turbulent Times: Converging Research Agendas in Europe East and West. NISPAcee Journal of Public Administration and Policy.  ISSN 1337-9038.  13(2), s 25- 34 . doi: https://doi.org/10.2478/nispa-2020-0012
• Bach, Tobias; Trondal, Jarle & Aars, Jacob (2020). Kampen mot surveymonsteret begynner. Stat og styring.  ISSN 0803-0103.  s 56- 59 Vis sammendrag

  Norsk forvaltningspanel representerer en ny tilnærming til innsamling av forskningsdata om forvaltningens virkemåte. Panelet vil gi mer aktuell og relevant kunnskap og dermed også gi et mer solid grunnlag for beslutningstaking i politikk og forvaltning.

• Bach, Tobias (2019). Siefken, Sven (2018). Parlamentarische Kontrolle im Wandel. Theorie und Praxis des Deutschen Bundestages. Baden-Baden: Nomos. 461 Seiten. ISBN: 978-3-8487-4966-9. Der moderne Staat.  ISSN 1865-7192.  12(1), s 232- 235
• Bach, Tobias (2018). Agencies, I: Sylvia Veit; Christoph Reichard & Göttrik Wewer (red.),  Handbuch zur Verwaltungsreform.  Springer VS, Wiesbaden.  ISBN 978-3-658-21571-2.  Living reference work entry.
• Bach, Tobias (2018). Organizing Leviathan: Politicians, bureaucrats, and the making of good government (Carl Dahlström, Victor Lapuente. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 2017, 270 pp., £22.99 (hb), ISBN: 9781316630655). Public Administration.  ISSN 0033-3298.  96(3), s 626- 627 . doi: 10.1111/padm.12519
• Bach, Tobias & Veit, Sylvia (2018). Verwaltungspolitik und Verwaltungsreform, I: Sylvia Veit; Christoph Reichard & Göttrik Wewer (red.),  Handbuch zur Verwaltungsreform.  Springer VS, Wiesbaden.  ISBN 978-3-658-21571-2.  Living reference work entry.
• Bach, Tobias; Wegrich, Kai & Lodge, Martin (2018). De-biasing administrative behaviour?. Risk and Regulation.  ISSN 1473-6004.  (36), s 31- 32
• Bach, Tobias & Ruffing, Eva (2016). The Multi-Level Administration of the EU: Transnational Coordination Through National and Supranational Bureaucracies. Tarn Working Papers. 3.
• Bach, Tobias; Philipps, Axel; Barlösius, Eva & Dohler, Marian (2013). Governance von Ressortforschungseinrichtungen, I: Edgar Grande; Otfried Jarren; Arie Rip; Uwe Schimank & Peter Weingart (red.),  Neue Governance der Wissenschaft. Reorganisation – externe Anforderungen – Medialisierung.  Transcript Verlag.  ISBN 978-3837622720.  Chapter.  s 139 - 162
• Bach, Tobias (2012). Germany, In Koen Verhoest; Sandra van Thiel; Geert Bouckaert & Per Lægreid (ed.),  Government agencies: Practices and Lessons from 30 Countries.  Palgrave Macmillan.  ISBN 9780230354364.  Chapter 16.  s 166 - 178
• Bach, Tobias & Huber, Etienne (2012). Comparing agencification in continental countries, In Koen Verhoest; Sandra van Thiel; Geert Bouckaert & Per Lægreid (ed.),  Government agencies: Practices and Lessons from 30 Countries.  Palgrave Macmillan.  ISBN 9780230354364.  Chapter 19.  s 203 - 210
• Bach, Tobias; Jantz, Bastian & Veit, Sylvia (2011). Verwaltungspolitik als Politikfeld, I: Bernhard Blanke; Frank Nullmeier; Christoph Reichard & Göttrik Wewer (red.),  Handbuch zur Verwaltungsreform.  VS Verlag für Sozialwissenschaften.  ISBN 978-3-531-17546-1.  Chapter.  s 527 - 536
• Bach, Tobias; Jantz, Bastian & Veit, Sylvia (2010). Verwaltungspolitik auf Bundesebene: Eine Bilanz der großen Koalition, I: Christoph Egle & Reimut Zohlnhöfer (red.),  Die zweite Große Koalition. Bilanz der Regierung Merkel.  VS Verlag für Sozialwissenschaften.  ISBN 978-3-531-16796-1.  Chapter.  s 463 - 486
• Bach, Tobias & Jann, Werner (2009). Structure and governance of agencies in Germany: A lot of continuity and little change, In Paul G. Roness & Harald Sætren (ed.),  Change and Continuity in Public Sector Organizations. Essays in Honour of Per Lægreid.  Fagbokforlaget.  ISBN 978-82-450-0754-1.  Chapter 7.  s 127 - 147
• Bach, Tobias (2007). Agencies in Norwegen. Steuerung und Organisation zentralstaatlicher Behörden, I: Werner Jann & Marian Dohler (red.),  Agencies in Westeuropa.  VS Verlag für Sozialwissenschaften.  ISBN 978-3-531-15422-0.  Chapter 6.  s 172 - 211

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