Top journal articles on administrative ecology

This article explores the background, methods, results, and conclusions of digitalization in public services, focusing on its impact on the social administration ecology. It examines the rapid adoption of e- government and ICT (information and communication technology) by public administrations worldwide since 2020, investigating both opportunities and risks. Methods include a systematic literature review and qualitative case studies drawn primarily from peer-reviewed journals published between 2020 and 2024. The results show that digitalization in public services offers significant benefits: improved efficiency, transparency, citizen participation, reduced corruption, and enhanced environmental governance. However, it also presents risks, in particular widening digital divides, loss of human aspects in administrative interaction, ethical concerns (data privacy, algorithmic bias), regulatory and infrastructural challenges, and potential exclusion of marginalized groups. The discussion elaborates on how these opportunities and risks reshape the ecology of social administration defined here as the interplay of structures, actors, norms, technologies, and environment in public administration. In conclusion, the paper argues that digitalization must be managed with attention to equity, ethical governance, infrastructure readiness, and regulatory safeguards. Key recommendations include fostering digital literacy, inclusive design, transparency in data and algorithmic processes, and participatory governance.  

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ABSTRACT The administrative state, originally coined by Dwight Waldo, emphasizes the distinct role of public administration in democratic governance. Yet, public administration research has insufficiently theorized how administrative structures at one level of government may be consequential for public governance at another level. This study theorizes how the administrative state has transcended its mere domestic role in democracy, and suggests how future research should study multilevel administrative systems. Departing from the invitation and lessons of Waldo, the article theorizes how ways of organizing the administrative state at one level of government bias public governance across levels of authority.

Biology's increasing applicability to the social sciences can inspire new approaches to public administration research and practice. Drawing on advances in behavioral genetics, genomic public administration may push its frontiers by examining the genetic foundations of administrative behaviors. While public administration scholars have pioneered the use of the twin design to assess the heritability of public‐sector employment and public service motivation, they may also use molecular genetics to explore how specific genes interact with environmental factors to shape administrative attitudes, traits, and behaviors. We highlight how relevant studies in management and political science may serve as models for similar explorations in public administration. We also outline four research agendas for genomic public administration. In addition to complementing traditional public administration theory by examining the genetic roots of administrative behaviors and practices, genomic public administration may enrich genetic inquiries by adding public‐sector applications.This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

Abstract This paper explores the intersection of public administration and its administrative state, transnational and global policy, and international sports governance. We start by exploring autonomy and self-governance in international sport before sharing the structures, legal personalities, and nature of transnational private law interaction with international sport. The implications are illustrated through three examples. The first is the legal-policy interactions of the FIFA World Cup 2022 with Qatar. The second are new interactions of human rights with future World Cups and future Olympics. The third is the role of the Court of Arbitration for Sport and the World Anti-Doping Agency. This leads to three implications for administrative scholarship: lex sportiva implications for public administration, a stretching of the autonomy and self-governance concepts, and expanding the evaluation stage of a policy cycle to include the governance legacies of mega sports events.

The article provides a theoretical and methodological analysis of public-administrative discourse as a type of communication between public administration institutions and the public. The author describes the main approaches to understanding the concept of "discourse", which are not limited to purely linguistic issues, but have a wider scope of application in such fields of knowledge as linguistics, political science, philosophy, psychology, pedagogy, journalism, cultural studies, art history, mathematics, and public administration. The article reveals that "discourse" and its variant "institutional discourse" are a system of actions, roles and norms of behaviour in the process of communication (communication), according to the following main criteria: communication subjects (public authorities, civil society institutions, representatives of a particular social group, the public) communication goals. Its components are "administrative discourse" and "public-administrative discourse". The author determines that the specificity of "administrative" discourse is communication within the framework of status-role relations, i.e., speech interaction between representatives of executive authorities (civil servants) performing executive and administrative functions and citizens. The main functions of administrative discourse are prescriptive, controlling and evaluative, the essence of which is to assess the work of performers. It is substantiated that "public-administrative discourse" is a type of communication, communicative interaction between public authorities (public managers) and civil society institutions and the public at different communicative levels in different socio-political conditions. Thus, "public-administrative discourse" is a tool for realising the practical interests of the State, i.e., it contributes to the democratisation of society and improvement of the quality of life of the population.

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The article analyses the experience of the management structures of Ancient Greece using the example of the People’s Assembly, the Council of Five Hundred, and the courts of Athens. It is noted that the main feature of political communication in Attica was the direct participation of free citizens in solving problems that ensured the interests of the inhabitants of the polis. At the same time, the issue of the activity of the People’s Assembly, which had a wide range of legislative powers and effective levers of state control, was revealed. The activity of the Council of Five Hundred, which as a representation of the territorial communities of Attica concentrated in its hands part of the powers of the executive power and state control, was studied. The peculiarities of the work of the judicial system, which not only resolved property disputes of citizens, but also partially controlled the political life of the polis, were analysed. It is emphasized how important the birth of the institution of advocacy in the Athenian judicial system became, without which it is impossible to imagine justice in modern Europe. It was noted that the active involvement of free citizens in the work of the mentioned institutions, combined with the personnel rotation system, was supposed to prevent corruption and form the most effective and transparent system of government, with legal and moral legitimacy in the eyes of the free population of Athens. At the same time, it is emphasized that the mass involvement of citizens in administrative structures revealed a number of problems typical for both ancient times and modern Europe. Among them are issues of the professional competence of officials, the level of their civic consciousness, the ability to resist the influence of political technologies, etc. It is noted that the negative phenomena associated with the peculiarities of Athenian democracy were perceived by contemporaries and were lively discussed. This, in particular, is evidenced by monuments of oratory and works of ancient Greek drama. It is emphasized that in ancient Athens, scientific studies of the forms of state power were conducted. In particular, in Aristotle’s writings we find theoretical generalizations of state-building processes both in Ancient Greece in general and in Athens in particular. Some of them still have not lost their relevance. Among them is the problem of raising a conscious and comprehensively developed citizen, the idea of forming a qualified democracy and the importance of the middle class as a guarantee of an effective and stable society, protected from social and political upheavals.

As governments pursue digital transformation to improve service delivery and administrative efficiency, AI chatbots have emerged as a promising innovation in smart public administration. However, their adoption remains limited, particularly in transitioning countries where institutional, organizational, and technological conditions are complex and evolving. This study aims to empirically examine the key aspects, challenges, and strategic implications of AI chatbots’ adoption in public administration of Uzbekistan, a transitioning government in Central Asia. The study offers a novel contribution by employing an extended technology–organization–environment (TOE) framework. Data were collected through a survey among 501 public employees and partial least squares structural equation modeling was used to analyze data. The results reveal that perceived usefulness, compatibility, organizational readiness, effective accountability, and ethical AI regulation are key enablers, while system complexity, traditional leadership, resistance to change, and concerns over data management and security pose major barriers. The findings contribute to the literature on effective innovation in public administration and provide practical insights for policymakers and public managers aiming to effectively implement AI solutions in complex governance settings.

Brazil's public administration (PA) has sought to strengthen democratic governance through an emphasis on social inclusion. Since democratization in 1988, reforms have aimed to address entrenched inequalities along with decentralization and professionalism spurring innovations in social inclusion. This article examines Brazil's PA and highlights its key PA innovations, specifically: (a) inclusive public policy councils with substantial oversight of implementation; (b) legislative public accountability bodies with authority to impose penalties; (c) devolution granting far‐reaching administrative, political, and financial constitutional autonomy to cities to enhance responsiveness and innovation; and (d) wide‐ranging guaranteed income programs to reduce poverty. This article also draws attention to co‐existing PA “islands of excellence” and efforts to address such challenges as rule‐bound bureaucracies, clientelism, and weak institutional capacities in the Global South. It concludes with implications for strengthening public managers' leadership in democratic governance.

Populism has been perhaps the most popular explanation for the difficulties that have been besetting contemporary governments. But despite the intense interest in populism as a political phenomenon, very little has been written assessing the implications for governance and even less on the implications for public administration. Focusing on the United States, but adding some comparative analysis, this article examines the implications of populist politics for public administration and the role of the bureaucracy in governance.

This article presents an in-depth exploration of conceptual and legal approaches to public administration reform in European countries amid the digital transformation of the public sector. The primary aim is to analyze how classical administrative traditions, the New Public Management paradigm, and the emerging model of Good Governance are evolving under the influence of digital technologies and to determine how legal frameworks support this transition. The study is grounded in the need to understand how institutional modernization can balance efficiency, accountability, and democratic legitimacy in rapidly changing information environments. The research applies a comparative legal and administrative methodology, synthesizing structural-functional analysis with systematization of legal norms and institutional practices. The analysis considers regulatory developments at both the European Union and national levels, as well as structural adjustments in public administration aimed at incorporating digital innovations. The methodology includes the classification of governance models, critical assessment of legislative instruments, and contextual evaluation of their operational impact in practice. The findings of the study reveal that the digital transformation of public administration in Europe does not replace traditional governance models but rather stimulates their hybridization. The classical model remains relevant where legal stability and procedural formality are essential, but it has been enhanced through digital document management and automation. New Public Management, while facilitating efficiency and performance orientation, integrates digital tools such as e-services and online performance metrics, though it faces criticism for potentially undermining democratic inclusivity. Good Governance emerges as a value-based response, incorporating digital platforms for transparency and participation, supported by robust legal safeguards like data protection, identity verification, and open data regulations. Each model shows adaptability when reinforced by targeted legal provisions that enable responsiveness to technological advancements while upholding the principles of rule of law and administrative justice. The study concludes that the future of European public administration lies in combining legal robustness with technological flexibility, ensuring that digital transformation serves public interest through transparent, inclusive, and accountable governance systems.

Although the results of paradigmatic change are a common focus of the literature, significantly less attention has been paid to the process through which public administration reform takes place. In particular, the role of meso‐level induced changes has only recently started to receive some attention, and not much is yet known about how collaborative systems at the managerial level affect pathways of administrative reform. Here we compare the two most significant periods of reform in New Zealand in the past 50 years. The 1988–1989 reforms were based on simple (arguably simplistic) assumptions, amenable to rapid and politically led top‐down reform. In contrast, the 2012–2020 reforms conceived of public administration as a complex social system suited to incremental managerially induced change that was mainly driven by the bureaucratic elite. Our article shows that collective leadership may result in extensive paradigmatic changes through endogenous feedback and meso‐level induced processes.

This study examines the impact of administrative autonomy and the separation of roles in public policy on organizational capacity within hybrid public administration systems, particularly in Colombia. It explores the dynamics between elected officials and civil servants, focusing on how the division of responsibilities and the autonomy granted to bureaucrats influence public administration performance. The research employs a typology of bureaucracies to classify politics‐bureaucratic relationships and uses a database of Colombian public agencies to analyze the relationship between autonomy, role separation, and organizational capacity. Findings suggest that greater administrative autonomy and clearer role separation can enhance organizational capacity, though the effects vary depending on the specific context and constraints. The study highlights the importance of considering both formal and informal institutional arrangements in understanding the politics‐administration dichotomy and its implications for public sector efficiency and effectiveness.

This paper examines the administrative dimension of digital health policy in Germany, focusing on the transformation of the Gematik and the capacity-building initiatives within the Ministry of Health. It highlights the shift from a public governance model to digital era governance and discusses the challenges of both vertical and horizontal integration. The study underscores the political nature of administrative reforms by distinguishing between various governance models and between governance as a structure and governance as a process. The findings emphasize the need for integrating public administration research into policy analysis to better understand the complexities of digital health governance.

Public Natural Resource Management (NRM) agencies operate in complex social-ecological domains. These complexities proliferate unpredictably therefore investigating and supporting the ability of public agencies to respond effectively is increasingly important. However, understanding how public NRM agencies innovate and restructure to negotiate the range of particular complexities they face is an under researched field. One particular conceptualisation of the social-ecological complexities facing NRM agencies that is of growing influence is the Water–Energy–Food (WEF) nexus. Yet, as a tool to frame and understand those complexities it has limitations. Specifically, it overlooks how NRMs respond institutionally to these social-ecological complexities in the context of economic and organisational challenges—thus creating a gap in the literature. Current debates in public administration can be brought to bear here. Using an organisational cultures approach, this paper reports on a case study with a national NRM agency to investigate how they are attempting to transform institutionally to respond to complexity in challenging times. The research involved 12 elite interviews with senior leaders from Natural Resources Wales, (NRW) and investigated how cultural narratives are being explicitly and implicitly constructed and mobilised to this end. The research identified four distinct and sequential cultural narratives: collaboration, communication, trust, and empowerment where each narrative supported the delivery of different dimensions of NRW’s social-ecological complexity mandate. Counter to the current managerialist approaches in public administration, these results suggest that the empowerment of expert bureaucrats is important in responding effectively to complexity.

Persistent bureaucratic pathologies—such as corruption, inefficiency, nepotism, and resistance to change—continue to undermine public sector performance in many countries. Conventional bureaucratic reform approaches, which often emphasize structural adjustments and procedural compliance, have shown limited effectiveness in addressing these deeply rooted dysfunctions. This article introduces Eco-Government as a novel conceptual framework for understanding and responding to bureaucratic pathology by viewing bureaucracy as part of a dynamic governance ecosystem. Drawing on insights from organizational ecology and public administration theory, the study conceptualizes bureaucracies as adaptive systems shaped by continuous interactions between internal organizational factors and external political, socio-cultural, legal, and technological environments. Through a comprehensive review of the literature and illustrative empirical cases, the article demonstrates how ecological conditions can either reinforce or mitigate bureaucratic dysfunction. The analysis highlights key mechanisms—adaptation, innovation, resistance, connectivity, and feedback loops—that influence bureaucratic behavior within governance ecosystems. The study contributes theoretically by reframing bureaucracy as a living system rather than a static administrative apparatus, and practically by offering ecologically informed policy recommendations that move beyond mechanistic reform strategies. By emphasizing environmental alignment, systemic interdependence, and institutional learning, the Eco-Government framework provides a holistic and context-sensitive approach to fostering sustainable bureaucratic reform and resilient governance.

This study aims to analyze the strategy of local government in building food security through policy synergy and public administration in Merauke Regency, a border area that has agricultural potential as well as socio-ecological complexity. Using a descriptive qualitative approach with data collection techniques through in-depth interviews, participatory observation, and documentation studies, this study reveals various structural and institutional obstacles in the implementation of regional food policies. The findings show that food security in Merauke is not optimal due to institutional fragmentation, weak bureaucratic capacity, and the lack of synchronization of central and regional policies. In addition, the role of indigenous peoples who have local knowledge in food management has not been formally integrated into the policy system. Based on this analysis, a strategic improvement direction is formulated which includes the establishment of a cross-sectoral coordinating forum, strengthening public administration capacity, implementing adaptive decentralization, recognizing customary-based food systems, and developing a spatial data-based food information system. This study contributes theoretically to the study of regional food governance and practically provides policy recommendations for strengthening inclusive and resilient food security in peripheral areas.

Public service is a tangible manifestation of the state's function in meeting the needs and basic rights of the community but, in practice, public services in Indonesia still face various challenges such as rigid bureaucracy, low quality of services, and weak coordination between institutions. The ecological approach to administration exists as a new paradigm that emphasizes the interrelationships between bureaucratic structures, the social environment, culture and Natural Resources.The development of public services through an ecological perspective in Indonesia emphasizes the importance of conformity between the bureaucratic system and the conditions of the social environment in order to create adaptive, participative, and sustainable public services. This method used is a descriptive qualitative study by examining a variety of legal literature, as well as the practice of service innovation in some in Indonesia.Public service innovation based on ecology administration is able to create harmony between government, society and the environment and encourage the creation of adative governance and responsive to local needs through this application to strengthen collaboration across several sectors.

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The public agenda is an ecosystem in which public issues interact and compete to gain public attention. Whether this ecosystem is primarily competitive or cooperative is an unsettled question in the literature on agenda-setting. This study employs an ecological approach to explicate interissue relationships. It quantifies the nature and evolution of the issue ecosystem and examines the roles of the value orientations of issues and of individuals’ education levels and political partisanship in interissue relationships. The study compiled and analyzed the Gallup Most Important Problem polls in the United States from 1958 to 2020. The findings indicate that the issue ecosystem of the American public is essentially competitive and that the balance of competition and cooperation has remained unchanged over time. The interaction between public issues involving materialistic values was more likely to be competitive and the interaction between issues involving postmaterialistic values was more likely to be cooperative.

The article aims to evaluate the presence of courses associated with the Post New Public Management (Post-NPM) approach in Chile’s curricula of public administration programs. For this purpose, a comprehensive review of 22 institutions offering Public Administration training in Chile was conducted. Content analysis methodology is used to determine the presence of principles associated with post-NPM. The research develops an extensive theoretical discussion on the transition between the New Public Management perspective to the Post-New Public Management paradigms, as well as empirically finding a limited presence of courses related to Post-NPM in the higher educational training system of public administrators in Chile, showing an intense persistent and influence of New Public Management. The paper contributes to an issue that the specialized literature on public administration education has identified as the most significant challenge: the promotion of democratic values and the influence of the political context on academic programs.

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While transdisciplinarity—a combination of interdisciplinary work and coproduction of knowledge with practitioners—has become increasingly popular in various disciplines as a research approach to investigate and tackle wicked problems, its application in public administration research is still limited. Transdisciplinary research contains elements of well-known approaches for impactful research in our field. The notion of transdisciplinarity provides added value by explicitly addressing the combination of interdisciplinary and coproductive knowledge creation and by grounding the approach in the philosophy of science of applied research. This article discusses the value of transdisciplinarity for public administration research and illustrates what it means to do transdisciplinary work in the public sector. More specifically, we develop a conceptual model of transdisciplinary knowledge integration in the public sector with an identification of limiting factors and capacities for overcoming them. We conduct empirical research to test the value of this model: a case of science-government collaboration around datafication in regional and local government in the Netherlands. The empirical test of the conceptual model highlights its value for developing and assessing transdisciplinary research and extends our understanding of the transdisciplinary capacity of public organizations as an essential condition for knowledge integration.

Although the Triple Helix model has been widely analysed in the context of innovation ecosystems, its contribution to fostering the adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) within public administration remains insufficiently explored. This study addresses this research gap by examining how interactions among universities, industry, and government facilitate AI integration into digital governance across selected EU countries.Purpose: The main research objectives are to: (a) assess the digital maturity of the selected EU countries; (b) evaluate how Triple Helix interactions shape AI adoption in public administration; (c) analyse the interrelationships among the three actors within the context of AI governance; and (d) explore the connections between each country’s AI strategy and its broader governance mechanisms.Design/Methodology/Approach: The research combines both quantitative and qualitative methods, utilizing data from AI Watch, the European Commission, Eurostat, Oxford Insights, and the OECD. Findings: The findings reveal significant disparities among the selected EU member states and identify critical factors that either facilitate or constrain AI integration within public administration, offering new insights into the evolving role of the Triple Helix model in the era of algorithmic governance.Practical Implications: The results are particularly relevant for public sector decision-makers, researchers in governance and innovation studies, and policymakers seeking sustainable models for digital transformation and collaborative innovation.Originality/Value: This research presents the first cross-national empirical study linking Triple Helix dynamics to AI-driven innovation in the public sector, incorporating a range of indicators. The originality of this research lies in its conceptual integration of the Triple Helix framework with the transformative capacities of artificial intelligence in reconfiguring public governance and innovation dynamics within a few EU countries.

This study endeavors to examine Fred W. Riggs' Prismatic model within the framework of Nepal's contemporary public administration and democratic system. It analyses the discrepancy between the ideals of democracy and the reality of governance in the Nepali experience, which began after the fall of the Rana autocracy in 1951. With the use of qualitative methods, interpretive techniques, and a systematic review of scholarly literature, the study identifies Riggs' model as a key theoretical foundation in comparative public administration for studying developing administrative structures and processes. The research conceptualizes Nepal as a prismatic society, wherein traditional norms and modern administrative practices coexist, generating institutional hybridity and structural overlap. Despite a history of democratic reforms, including the establishment of a federal republic under the 2015 Constitution, Nepal remains, as Riggs posited, in a transitional phase. Structural imbalances, such as hierarchical rigidity, weak institutional capacity, nepotism, and favoritism, have produced administrative instability and inefficiency. Key features of the prismatic model, including heterogeneity, formalism, and overlapping functions, are evident as formal democratic institutions are often undermined by informal patronage networks and socio-cultural expectations. This hybridity erodes public trust in governance. Riggs' prismatic model thus becomes a critical analytical instrument to examine Nepal's political-administrative development and the persistent challenges in achieving a fully integrated, transparent, and accountable society. Unchecked nepotism, patronage, and corruption in Nepal’s administration will inevitably deepen the nation’s crisis, eroding public trust, stalling development, and damaging its global standing.

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The paper aims at analyzing the relevance of Prismatic Sala Model to village administration. Village administration in Uganda was formalized by Article 181 of the Constitution of the Republic of Uganda (1995), and CAP 243 of the Local Government Act (1997). Conceptually, in Kamdini village, traditional elements of village administration covered the field of agriculture, health and environment. Heterogeneity was categorized under constructs such as political diversity, religious affiliations, literacy levels, and employment status while village administration was looked at the elements of mobilization and conflict resolution. The Prismatic Sala Model was highly considered to guide the development of this paper. Despite having over 70,626 villages in Uganda, there are currently limited empirical researches that provide comprehensive analyses of in-house challenges of village administration, thus this paper was premised with a view of analyzing the relevance of Prismatic Sala Model to village administration with two specific objectives set: to identify the traditional elements posing threats to Kamdini village administration, and to analyze the effects of heterogeneity on the administration of Kamdini village. The paper adopted a mixed research approach and descriptive design. It targeted the entire population of Kamdini village but purposively sampled the 20 elders, 09 Local Council One executive members and 01 Parish Chief to provide interview and avail the necessary secondary data. Data was analyzed using computer generated software, notably SPSS and STATA to generate both descriptive and inferential statistics. In the first study objective, the finding reveals that Kamdini village is still majorly a traditional community, and that tradition negatively affects the village administration in the study area. In the second study objective, the finding from correlation analysis reveals that heterogeneity positively affects village administration where political diversity (r=.811; p-value = 0.05) was found to be positive, very strong and statistically significant at the 0.05 alpha level; that religious affiliation (r=.449; p-value = 0.05) was positive, moderate and statistically significant at the 0.05 alpha level; that literacy level (r=.614; p-value = 0.05) was positive, strong and statistically significant at the 0.05 alpha level; and that employment status (r=.179; p-value = 0.05) was positive, very weak and statistically significant at the 0.05 alpha level. The paper concludes that traditional practices negatively affect the administration of a village; and that having heterogenic village is more conducive in enhancing better village administration. The study recommends that a spirited campaign be made to transform villages from the elements of prismatic societies to a modernized society.

F. W. Riggs initiated seminal areas of enquiry and research right from the beginning of his journey as an author and a theorist in public administration. His lifetime publications testify to a search for an ‘authentic’ model for analysing the administrative structures and behaviour of developing countries since the 1960s. Riggs pursued what is known as the ‘ecological’ study of public administration which presumes that public administration, functioning in different environments, influences and is influenced by the environment in which it functions. Scholars of comparative public administration have long been familiar with the ‘fused– prismatic–diffracted model’, which was later reformulated by Riggs to exert enormous influence on the understanding of public administration and organisational behaviour in different parts of the world. In the wake of the tremendous transformation with diverse developmental strategies in the Third World and South Asia in particular, in the last fifty years, it becomes important to re-examine Riggs’ models both in the Indian and other developing country contexts today.

This study explores the governance of coffee patent rights and local wisdom to improve farmers’ welfare in Banyuwangi, as coffee production plays a strategic role in the local economy and therefore requires strong innovation protection. The objectives include describing domestic coffee patent governance, evaluating technology distribution, and analysing policies that safeguard traditional knowledge to ensure a clear scope of inquiry. The research applies a qualitative approach based on literature analysis and secondary data, while the theory of development administration and Riggs’ Prismatic Model (1964) serve to interpret interactions between traditional and modern norms, and gaps in innovation and technology ownership are identified in accordance with Maidina et al. (2021). The findings show the dominance of foreign patents, stable productivity of about 904.4 kg/ha, and the potential of local wisdom to increase added value, making regulatory and local innovation integration necessary. The discussion stresses the importance of village administrative capacity, benefit-sharing, and geographical indications to strengthen sustainability and competitiveness. The study concludes that communal intellectual property governance fosters participation, preserves heritage, and builds resilience, with recommendations on legal literacy, training, collaboration, and heritage-based innovation

The region of Asia has a great history of religion and culture. It is a host of a number of strong cultures such as East Asian culture, Indian culture and Islamic culture. These cultures shape and influence people's lifestyle and way of living. India has a great history of traditional beliefs, customs and culture. It is interesting for us to analyse the influence of Indian culture on the administration, governance and public service delivery since time immemorial. The study adopts the methodology which is primarily qualitative in nature where secondary literature has been studied in details to get an idea about the impact of traditions and culture on Indian administration. Before getting into the study of the Indian administration it is essential to have a deeper understanding about the contributions of pioneers such as Fred Riggs and John Gaus on the administrative theories. Through this study we would identify and trace how Indian culture in particular has shaped the administrative practices. The governance structure is also not devoid of traditional beliefs and customs. In order to analyse the administration of any region an important prerequisite is to have a meticulous understanding of the impact of beliefs and customs in the governance. Within Public Administration, public value holds profound importance. The concept of public value states that it is value that guides citizens in the operation of public organization on delivery of public services. Therefore, in this study, the focus would also be in analysing the relationship between ethical culture and public value; in special reference to Indian administration. Through this study it would also be important to have an idea of a culturally diverse society like Asia as a region in general and India in particular along with have an indepth understanding of what different challenges India faces in public administration as well as the solutions to these problems in order to ensure greater accountability and ethical conduct.

This article analyzes the management of zakat (almsgiving) in Indonesia, focusing on the genealogy of legal politics and its relationship with state policies in centralizing zakat management. Given the variations in zakat management systems among Muslim countries, Indonesia’s direct participation in zakat management has provoked resistance within Islamic civil society. They do not desire any state intervention in zakat management, as it contradicts their longstanding practice before Indonesia’s independence. This article employs a historical approach and analyzes data using Fred W. Riggs’ prismatic legal theory. The authors find that the state’s argument for centralizing zakat management in Indonesia aims to optimize the efficient utilization of zakat funds. However, this policy hurts the participation of Islamic civil society in managing zakat according to their genealogical traditions. Therefore, the article argues that the state’s centralization of zakat management is inappropriate, as it overlooks the integral zakat practices rooted in Islamic civil society’s history and culture in Indonesia.

This research aims to identify the implementation of bureaucratic reform, while presenting solutions to improve license management services. The research method used is a qualitative approach with an informative case study that focuses on the Licensing Service Agency in Bone Regency covering several aspects. From an institutional perspective, licensing services have developed into a One Stop Service. However, from the aspect of human resources, employee qualifications do not match the needs of the organization, and employee discipline and responsibility are still low. In terms of systems and procedures, there are delays in completing permits, discrimination and contradictions. This study also confirms the concept of formalism as a characteristic of prismatic society described by Fred W. Riggs. This phenomenon has been confirmed in research as “Regulatory Heresy.” Thus, this research not only identifies the problems of implementing bureaucratic reform, but also contributes to the verification of relevant concepts and theories in the context of this research.

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(ProQuest: ... denotes non-US-ASCII text omitted.)I learned about the May 22, 2014 coup d'etat by the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) under the leadership of the then commander-in-chief of the Royal Thai Army, General Prayut Chan-o-cha, the day it occurred. I was at a workshop comparing recent political developments and protests in Turkey and Thailand at the London School of Economics. The first thing that came to mind when I heard the news was a sentence I had come across long ago in my reading of Marx's writings on the state, in the preface to the second edition of his celebrated work on Louis Bonaparte's coup, dated 1869 (1974, 144):I show how, on the contrary, the class struggle in France created circumstances and conditions which allowed a mediocre and grotesque individual to play the hero's role.It struck me as an apt portrayal of the gist of the political crisis that had been plaguing Thailand for the past decade, namely, a mutually dissipating and destructive, protracted class conflict that had aggravatingly undermined its governing institutions and political civility, leading occasionally to partial state failures and anarchy in its administrative and business centers. With that class conflict reaching yet another impasse and stalemate in 2014, the NCPO's coup then presented itself as a statist or bureaucratic politic (a la Fred Riggs's Bureaucratic Polity in Riggs, 1966) solution to it in the Bonapartist manner.However, from the time of the preceding Thai Bonaparte-Field Marshal Sarit Thanarat, whose military absolutist rule lasted from 1958 to 1963-to the current one, much has changed in Thailand. Its population has more than doubled, from 28 million to 65 million; its GDP has increased 239-fold, from 54 billion to 12,910 billion baht; and its civil society has produced at least two successful popular uprisings, in 1973 and 1992, that managed to topple the military government of the day (Riggs 1966, 16; Pasuk and Baker 1995, 162; Baker and Pasuk 2005, xvii-xviii, 24, 201; Bank of Thailand 2015). Therefore, if the hugely corrupt and bullying womanizer of yesteryear who drank himself to death was still capable of producing some real tragedies, his latter-day sober and chaste if no less bullying aspirant seems more prone to making boastful, careless, farcical statements that have often landed his military administration in troubles both domestic and international (Thak 1979, 193-205; Grossman et al. 2009, 133; Anderson 2014, 52-53; Hookway 2015).1) He does indeed fit Marx's description of a Bonapartist hero insofar as mediocrity and grotesqueness are concerned.2)What I propose to do in this brief paper is to take a big picture and a long historical perspective of the current conflict and mass movements in Thailand, focusing on their class-related dimension, political dynamics, and royalist framing. Instead of focusing on the NCPO's coup per se, with its multifarious details and still ongoing eventuation, I would rather try to understand and assess it against the country's historical and cultural political backdrop.Power Shifts in Modern Thai Political HistoryIf one takes a long historical view of modern Thai politics since the late nineteenth century, one can't help but notice a recurrent pattern of major power shifts in modern Thai history. Its basic trajectory follows much the same logic:- It begins with the partly pressured, partly voluntary opening up of the economy to the outside world, and the resultant rapid economic growth;- That is followed by a big social change, especially the emergence and upward mobility of new social groups and classes in connection with the newly liberalized and expanding sector of the economy;- This leads to a political contest between the old elites and their privileged allies on the one hand, and the rising new groups and classes on the other;- Eventually, all this leads sooner or later to a regime change. …

The Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development (MLGRD) in Zambia plays a pivotal role in enhancing local governance, facilitating rural development, and promoting sustainable socioeconomic progress. This study examines the implementation of the Ministry’s mandate in Kabwe District, focusing on its governance structures, institutional dynamics, and decentralization practices. Using Public Administration, Decentralization, Good Governance, Institutional, Development, and Political Ecology theories as analytical frameworks, the research investigates how effectively the MLGRD fulfills its responsibilities. The study employs literature review of other scholars to assess the Ministry's operational efficiency, policy implementation, and community impact. Key findings reveal challenges such as limited institutional capacity, resource constraints, and the influence of political dynamics, which hinder effective service delivery and rural development initiatives. The review highlights the need for enhanced institutional frameworks, participatory governance mechanisms, and strategic resource allocation to strengthen the Ministry’s performance. The findings contribute to the broader discourse on decentralization and local governance in Zambia, offering actionable recommendations for improving policy and practice. This study underscores the critical role of the MLGRD in driving equitable and sustainable development at the local level, with Kabwe District serving as a microcosm of broader national challenges and opportunities.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) has become one of the most prominent topics in public policy and administration studies over the last years. Despite the attention to AI in this field isn’t entirely new, the universality of these group of technologies has radically increased the attention of scholars around the globe. This expansion of AI in the public sector entails the exploration of renovated foundations of analysis, not only to understand the novelty of these technologies, but also to connect these processes of adoption and implementation with other debates in public policy and administration. To do so, in this article we debate the need of an analytical framework of AI in the public sector based on the three levels of public administration: macro, meso, and micro. Also, we review the state-of-the-art in the field using the articles presented in the special issue on Artificial Intelligence and Public Administration: Actors, Governance, and Policy. Form here, we propose studying AI using a combination of macro, meso, and micro levels of public administration. We assume this will help to broadly apprehend how and why people, policies, and institutions interrelate with AI in public sector settings, and which effects can be expected from these processes in public administration.

Based on archival data, this study utilizes the theoretical framework of policy transfer to conduct a case analysis of the history of PACH's transnational dissemination of its unique networking ideas, institutional models, and practices in the mid‐20th century. The findings indicate that during the two stages before and after World War II, PACH's transnational transfer activities demonstrated different features in terms of motives, actors, content, routes, degrees, constraints, and facilitating factors for transfer. Our analysis shows the transnational transfer capabilities possessed by professional organizations as a special type of non‐state actor, as well as the dual influence of professional mission and geopolitical factors on its transfer processes. This study provides a complementary perspective and empirical evidence for explaining the network formation in the field of public administration. The findings may help contemporary public administrative organizations consider how to adopt more effective strategies to participate in global governance through transnational cooperation.

This research explains the reality of moving the capital city of Indonesia from Jakarta to Ibu Kota Nusantara (IKN) in North Penajam Paser, East Kalimantan Province, and the opportunities for the dynamics of ecological balance in public administration that will be formed for West Java Province using the equilibrium model from Fred W. Riggs. The previous research has not yet found publications on IKN using the ecological perspective of public administration and utilitarianism. Reserachers uses qualitative research methods uses prospective case studies as a form of research. The research results show that there will be a change in equilibrium in the public administration system. The policies produced by the political system in the form of moving the country's capital from DKI Jakarta to IKN, changing DKI Jakarta to DKJ, and expanding the agglomeration area are predicted to shift the ecological balance of West Java Province's public administration. Viewed from the perspective of Jeremy Bentham's pleasure and pain utilitarianism, the West Java Provincial Government can take a development policy direction that is based on the reality of human resource conditions and geographical advantages.

ABSTRACT This introduction to the special issue on future directions of Public Administration research addressing fundamental issues and questions, reflects on some selected subjects emerging from the accepted articles. We outline some main themes and place aspects of the single articles within them. The topics covered are theoretical development in Public Administration, the significance of the political and normative context of transboundary public administration, the importance of temporal context, and increased focus on specific policy areas such as crisis management and digitalization in a comparative perspective. It concludes by pointing to the importance of understanding and meeting the challenges of democratic backsliding, regime-threatening populism, and autocratic government.

Post-war recovery is increasingly moving beyond purely material reconstruction and emerging as a comprehensive transformation aimed at restoring and building the capacity of public authorities to ensure security, provide basic services continuously, and strengthen social cohesion in conditions of prolonged uncertainty, recurring threats, and resource constraints. With this approach, the decisive result is not only the volume of reconstructed objects, but above all the stability of the management system — the ability of institutions to act consistently, coherently and fairly, maintaining public trust and the manageability of public processes. The purpose of this article is to provide a scientific justification for the mechanisms through which humanitarian policy can act as a factor in the institutional renewal of the public administration system, as well as to develop proposals for their practical implementation in the context of post-war transformation. The methodological basis of the study is a conceptual generalisation and interdisciplinary synthesis of scientific works devoted to the reform of public administration in post-conflict conditions, the manageability of humanitarian interaction, the restoration of social cohesion, crisis management and the institutional adaptation of public authorities. Analytical tools are proposed — a matrix of «humanitarian policy → institutional renewal» and a management cycle of humanitarian policy, which make it possible to build evidence-based reform design, aligning humanitarian priorities with levers of institutional capacity (regulatory framework, programme and budget planning, human resources, information systems, coordination, accountability). The practical significance of the work lies in the formation of packages of management decisions aimed at transitioning from fragmented interventions to consistent policies: from integrated assessment of needs and risks to the introduction of service standards and delivery routes, the creation of coordinated registries and data to ensure targeting, the establishment of inter-agency and inter-level coordination, the strengthening of accountability and quality control, and the institutionalisation of «system learning» through regular evaluation of results and adjustment of management procedures.

Introduction One Health (OH) can be considered a complex emerging policy to resolve health issues at the animal–human and environmental interface. It is expected to drive system changes in terms of new formal and informal institutional and organisational arrangements. This study, using Rift Valley fever (RVF) as a zoonotic problem requiring an OH approach, sought to understand the institutionalisation process at national and subnational levels in an early adopting country, Kenya. Materials and methods Social network analysis methodologies were used. Stakeholder roles and relational data were collected at national and subnational levels in 2012. Key informants from stakeholder organisations were interviewed, guided by a checklist. Public sector animal and public health organisations were interviewed first to identify other stakeholders with whom they had financial, information sharing and joint cooperation relationships. Visualisation of the OH social network and relationships were shown in sociograms and mathematical (degree and centrality) characteristics of the network summarised. Results and discussion Thirty-two and 20 stakeholders relevant to OH were identified at national and subnational levels, respectively. Their roles spanned wildlife, livestock, and public health sectors as well as weather prediction. About 50% of national-level stakeholders had made significant progress on OH institutionalisation to an extent that formal coordination structures (zoonoses disease unit and a technical working group) had been created. However, the process had not trickled down to subnational levels although cross-sectoral and sectoral collaborations were identified. The overall binary social network density for the stakeholders showed that 35 and 21% of the possible ties between the RVF and OH stakeholders existed at national and subnational levels, respectively, while public health actors’ collaborations were identified at community/grassroots level. We recommend extending the OH network to include the other 50% stakeholders and fostering of the process at subnational-level building on available cross-sectoral platforms.

This study maps European countries’ resilience to cognitive warfare by developing a cross-national composite measure. The framework integrates three pillars: information ecology, institutional-digital capacity, and socioeconomic context—drawing on a systemic perspective linking social structures to societal functions. Publicly available secondary indicators are compiled from online sources for EU (European Union) and EEA (European Economics Area) states. The dataset is examined through descriptive analysis, association testing, multivariate modelling, dimensionality reduction to derive a composite resilience score, and unsupervised clustering to produce a country typology. Indicators capture governance effectiveness, e-government maturity, public-sector AI (Artificial Intelligence) readiness, digital connectivity and infrastructure, media freedom and broader media-ecosystem quality, academic freedom, and socioeconomic vulnerabilities such as youth labour market exclusion. Results show that resilience aligns most strongly with institutional capacity and governance performance; a healthy ecology acts as a reinforcing layer. Digital infrastructure appears necessary but insufficient without capable, credible institutions and coherent public policy. Socioeconomic vulnerabilities tend to erode resilience and heighten susceptibility to hostile cognitive influence. The study concludes that policy efforts should prioritise governance integrity and effectiveness, end-to-end digital government, responsible public-sector AI capability, and safeguards for media and academic autonomy, alongside measures that improve youth inclusion.

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Building on research examining state financing for higher education, our qualitative comparative case study investigates state policymakers’ decisions for funding public higher education during the COVID-19 crisis in California and Texas. These states were purposively selected based on the size of their postsecondary sector, state partisanship, and higher education funding responses during the pandemic. Moreover, these states represent two of the largest public postsecondary enrollments nationally and serve a racially and ethnically diverse student population. Guiding our study is the Hearn and Ness (2018) framework investigating the ecology of state higher education policymaking, which offers four contextual categories that influence state policy decisions: socioeconomic context, organizational and policy context, politico-institutional context, and external context. This framework suggests underlying factors influencing the state funding process, while also providing an opportunity to expand on this theory through the unique COVID-19 context. We used deductive and inductive techniques to analyze 28 interviews with a range of actors, including state elected officials, state government staff, and higher education officials. We also examined 69 documents (state budgets, news articles, and state executive orders) to triangulate and verify our interview data. Two areas served as key events that ultimately influenced higher education funding decisions in California and Texas: (1) the preference of certain higher education institutions and (2) the availability and application of federal dollars. Furthermore, the organizational and policy context and the politico-institutional context, as defined by the Hearn and Ness framework, provided additional state-level factors that resulted in distinct responses. This study offers practical and theoretical contributions to higher education policy and practice, including highlighting the decision-making and prioritization processes of state policymakers when facing an unprecedented pandemic and crisis, and discussing common and unique factors influencing higher education policymaking in two different state contexts.

For large public libraries, the development of digital technologies poses challenges that have yet to be fully explored. While library sector rhetoric rightly imagines that digital technologies bring change to all aspects of library operations, it is not enough to focus on the technologies. Using the State Library of Victoria in Australia as a case example, this paper identifies two key challenges for large public libraries in the new millennium. The first is to obtain a thorough understanding of the nature of the environment in which they operate; in particular, an understanding of the ways in which both the ecology and economy of information are changing. The second challenge is for libraries to develop a policy framework that clarifies institutional goals and brings coherence to diverse and sometimes conflicting policy demands in rapidly changing technological and service settings.

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PurposeThe scaling of social initiatives is of immense importance for public innovation. A key factor in the scaling process is the institutional environment, which plays a key role in supporting and coordinating the scaling process. This environment can be either homogeneous or heterogeneous, i.e. dominated by a few or a variety of public organizations, norms and practices. Both environments have advantages and challenges. However, the academic understanding of the influence of the institutional environment is limited, and a systematic empirical assessment of the relationship between the type of environment and scaling is lacking. The purpose of this paper is to explore the influence of homogeneous and heterogeneous environments on the scaling process of social initiatives.Design/methodology/approachA comparative qualitative study was conducted in the Dutch social sector, including 48 in-depth interviews with initiators and organizations operating in three different domains – a homogeneous, heterogeneous or mixed environment – in the public sector.FindingsHomogeneous environments are less supportive of scaling social initiatives than heterogeneous environments, as sharing best practices and collaborating with less-familiar organizations is not common. Heterogeneous environments, however, do not provide coordination of the scaling process, with the risk that public funds are used less efficiently and effectively. Institutional environments with a balance of homogeneity and heterogeneity are best suited for scaling social initiatives.Originality/valueBy combining literature from different research areas and conducting extensive empirical research in different domains of the social sector, the authors' study provides a broad and nuanced picture and brings precision to the authors' understanding of the relationships between the institutional environment and scaling in the public sector.

While the concept of hybridisation (blending of different organisational forms, logics, or identities) in public administration has gained traction, its interplay with principal‐agent dynamics, especially within development cooperation, remains underexplored. Recent shifts towards the “whole‐of‐society” paradigm in Swedish development cooperation introduce complexities in the inter‐organisational dynamics between actors involved. However, our understanding of how these dynamics influence the manifestation of hybridisation in everyday practices is limited. Drawing on the development cooperation experience of Swedish national authorities and data collected from interviews, focus group discussions, and archival documents, this study identifies the interplaying dynamics of three coexisting logics (managerialist, collaborative, and developmental), and two types of hybridisation (specialisation‐centric and integration‐centric). These findings shed light on the challenges and opportunities the inter‐organisational dynamics induce for translating the “whole‐of‐society” policy paradigm into development practice and outcomes. The study's theoretical and practical implications for hybridisation in public administration and development studies are discussed.

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ABSTRACT This article examines the effective adoption of innovation at the local level of government. Despite technological advancements and societal challenges having amplified the transformative role of local governments, the conditions for successfully developing innovation remain unclear. Applying the comparative perspective based on the Most Different Systems Design (MDSD) logic, and mixed methods, this study identifies three distinct innovation strategies and the common factors driving their success. The results underscore the importance of institutional, political and socio-economic antecedents in initiating innovation, while highlighting leadership, collaboration, and learning as key implementation mechanisms. The research contributes to public sector innovation literature and practice.

Background: The adoption of outcome-based approaches (OBAs) in South Africa’s public sector aims to improve accountability, align policy with developmental priorities and enhance evidence-informed governance. Yet despite comprehensive frameworks such as the Government-Wide Monitoring and Evaluation System (GWMES) and National Evaluation Policy Framework (NEPF), implementation has remained fragmented and inconsistent.Aim: This study critically examines the systemic, operational and cultural barriers impeding the institutionalisation of OBA in South Africa and explores why these approaches remain policy ideals rather than operational realities.Setting: South Africa’s public sectors.Methods: Using a scoping review approach, the study reviewed policy documents, evaluation reports and peer-reviewed literature. Themes were identified using a structured coding process, allowing for analytical synthesis of institutional challenges.Results: Findings reveal persistent barriers, including institutional inertia, limited internal capacity, fragmented data systems and weak integration between evaluation, budgeting and planning. Additionally, cultural resistance to accountability undermines the use of evaluation for adaptive learning and policy reform.Conclusion: For OBA to be institutionalised meaningfully, South Africa must transition from compliance-based reporting to adaptive, learning-oriented governance. This includes integrating monitoring and evaluation (ME) into fiscal planning cycles and investing in internal capacity to reduce reliance on consultants.Contribution: This study contributes to governance scholarship by offering a context-specific analysis of OBA failures and proposing actionable reforms. It shifts the discourse from policy intent to implementation dynamics and introduces a revised model for embedding OBA within South Africa’s developmental state paradigm.

This research investigates the contribution of an integrated approach, encompassing theoretical, empirical, and applied aspects, to the reinforcement of Government Accounting Standards and national financial management in Indonesia. Utilizing a sequential exploratory mixed-methods design, this study examines over one hundred scholarly publications from 2010 to 2025 through a structured literature review, performs panel data regression analysis on 150 regional government entities and ten central agencies (2020-2024), and gathers qualitative insights from 22 strategic informants and three in-depth case studies. Theoretical analysis reveals complex interactions among New Public Management concepts, Institutional Theory, and Accountability Theory, signaling a disconnect between formal Government Accounting Standards application for legitimacy and essential operational execution. Empirically, a positive association is observed between conceptual alignment, the accrual implementation rate (averaging 72 percent), workforce capabilities, and information system optimization with advancements in audit opinions and standard compliance rates. Qualitative findings highlight cultural resistance, deficiencies in competency development programs for recent Statement of Government Accounting Standards (No. 16 and 17), and information technology integration challenges as principal field-level impediments. The amalgamation of these three perspectives substantiates all proposed propositions, affirming that Government Accounting Standards's efficacy depends on a thorough comprehension of these components. This research yields a cohesive conceptual model alongside practical proposals for the Government Accounting Standards Committee and The Institute of Indonesia Chartered Accountants. to refine Government Accounting Standards, thereby advancing national financial administration that is more transparent and accountable. 

The management of the security and defense sector in democratic states requires an effective system of civilian control to ensure accountability, transparency, and the alignment of armed and security forces with democratic values, the rule of law, and national interests. Civilian control serves as a critical mechanism to prevent the usurpation of power by the military, excessive militarization of policy, and to maintain a balance between security effectiveness and democratic governance. The United States represents a classic example of a country where civilian control over the military and security institutions has historically developed and functions effectively through a combination of constitutional, legislative, institutional, traditional, and informal mechanisms that enable the interaction of civilian and military institutions while upholding democratic principles. This article examines the foundations, mechanisms, and contemporary challenges of the civilian control system in the U.S. security and defense sector. Particular attention is given to the paradox of civil-military relations, in which military force simultaneously protects the state and may potentially threaten democratic governance. Key conditions for effective civilian control are discussed, including the rule of law, accountability to civilian institutions, professionalism, and political neutrality of the armed forces, as well as the necessity of competent and well-prepared civilian leadership. The article also analyzes the subjective nature of civilian control, which largely depends on the knowledge, experience, and strategic competence of civilian officials, and identifies major threats to its effectiveness, such as the concentration of power, external and internal crises, gradual weakening of control due to public distrust in civilian institutions, and deficiencies in political governance. The findings of this study can inform the improvement of Ukraine’s national system of civilian control over the security and defense sector, particularly under conditions of martial law and post-war reconstruction, through the adaptation of selected elements of the U.S. model.

BackgroundIn order to analyse the institutional capacity for health workforce policy development and implementation in countries in the South-East Asia region, the WHO facilitated a cross-sectional analysis of functions performed, structure, personnel, management and information systems of human resources for health (HRH) units in Ministries of Health.Case presentationA self-assessment survey on the characteristics and roles of HRH units was administered to relevant Government officials; the responses were validated through face-to-face workshops and by the WHO staff. Findings were tabulated to produce frequency distributions of the variables examined, and qualitative elements categorized according to a framework for capacity building in the health sector.Ten countries out of the 11 in the region responded to the survey. Seven out of 10 reported having an HRH unit, though their scope, roles, capacity and size displayed considerable variability. Some functions (such as planning and health workforce data management) were reportedly carried out in all countries, while others (inter-sectoral coordination, research, labour relations) were only performed in few.Discussion and conclusionsThe strengthening of the HRH governance capacity in countries should follow a logical hierarchy, identifying first and foremost the essential functions that the public sector is expected to perform to optimize HRH governance. The definition of expected roles and functions will in turn allow identifying the upstream system-wide factors and the downstream capacity requirements for the strengthening of the HRH units. The focus should ultimately be on ensuring that all the key strategic functions are performed to quality standards, irrespective of institutional arrangements.

Abstract The article takes an in-depth look at integrity management reforms in the context of Central and Eastern European post-communist transformation. Despite the centrality of integrity management for post-communist administrative change, there is only limited longitudinal research on the topic and no ready-made theoretical frameworks available for analysis. The article tackles both gaps. By relying on an analytical framework that combines values-based and compliance-based systems, integrity management functions, and factors of institutional change, the study examines the institutionalisation of public sector integrity management in Estonia. The article concludes that the development of the Estonian system and its evolution from an initial compliance-based approach towards a more values-based approach has been shaped by a combination of factors: the desire to overcome the country’s communist legacy, pressure and examples from the international level, and the strategies of politico-administrative actors. Reliance on a system with “softer” instruments has been facilitated by radical changes in the initial phase of transformation, a decrease in the level of corruption, the constraints of a decentralised administrative system, and an increase in administrative capacity and expertise.

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This study focuses on the prevalence of nonprofit sector support organizations (NSSOs)—a form of nonprofit organization (NPO) devoted to providing services and resources to support grassroots development. Contrary to previous studies that emphasize the importance of institutions in shaping the NPO population through their effect on citizens and nonprofit managers, this study links three institutional pressures—coercive, mimetic, and normative pressures—to the decisions of public agencies to establish NSSOs. This study examines this claim using a newly constructed dataset of NSSOs across 330 Chinese cities between 2012 and 2021 (N = 2385). The results indicate that cities with greater pressure from provincial governments, neighboring cities, and professional associations are more likely to promote the establishment of NSSOs. This study advances the understanding of the impact of institutions on the dynamics of the NPO population by demonstrating their effect on public agencies.

This study explores the interrelation between the implementation of two key national projects of the Russian Federation - the Comprehensive Plan for the Modernization and Expansion of Main Infrastructure (CPMI) and the Ecology project. It identifies the specific institutional and legal mechanisms that either facilitate or hinder their coordinated implementation. Particular attention is paid to both the role of these large-scale projects in the country’s economic development and the contradictions that arise during the accelerated realization of infrastructure initiatives under weakened environmental control requirements. These contradictions manifest in reduced procedural transparency, increased violations of environmental legislation, and the degradation of specially protected natural areas. The study provides concrete examples of negative impacts, as well as positive cases that demonstrate the potential for synergy - from the modernization of transport and industrial facilities to the restoration of disturbed ecosystems. It offers a set of recommendations for institutional and regulatory measures aimed at achieving a balance between economic development and environmental safety: reinstating the mandatory state environmental review (SER), introducing strategic environmental assessment (SEA), digitalizing procedures, developing damage compensation mechanisms, and preventing changes to the boundaries of protected areas without public consent. Thus, the integration of the goals of the CPMI and Ecology projects into future national and federal initiatives in this domain may serve as a foundation for sustainable territorial development, provided that environmental priorities are upheld and effective stakeholder engagement is ensured.

This study aims to investigate the influence of the language of management concepts on resistance to change, exemplified by the adoption of agility within public administration. We draw our conclusions from a pre-registered survey experiment among German civil servants (n = 4,196). In the survey experiment, civil servants were presented with one out of four different options for a change initiative. The four options varied in terms of the vocabulary used to describe the planned change initiative (either agile or public sector contextualized) and their label (whether or not the description of the change initiative contained the term “agile”). Our findings suggest that using vocabulary typical of management concepts in the private sector leads to higher resistance to change. In contrast, using vocabulary contextualized to public organizations reduces resistance to change. However, the mere labeling of the change initiative as “agile” has no effect on resistance to change. This study contributes to institutional translation theory by providing causal evidence that linguistic framing is an effective way of overcoming resistance. It introduces “linguistic incompatibility” as a new barrier to public sector reforms, linking macro-level institutional theory with micro-level behavior. In terms of change communication, the findings highlight that successful implementation of new management concepts depends on linguistic contextualization, shifting the focus from the content communicated to its translation for the public sector context.

This article examines the factors that shape both the attraction to and avoidance of public sector employment among highly skilled professionals in weak institutional contexts. Using Colombia as an exploratory case, it seeks to understand how motivations, career trajectories and institutional conditions interact to influence sectoral job decisions. The study addresses a gap in the public administration literature, which has largely focused on stable, merit-based systems, by analyzing career choices in a fragmented governance environment marked by politicization and clientelism. The study adopts a qualitative research design based on in depth semi structured interviews with highly skilled professionals who pursued graduate education abroad and subsequently made career decisions across public, private and nonprofit sectors. An abductive analytical approach was employed, combining categories derived from existing literature with themes emerging from the interview data through iterative coding. This approach allows for a contextualized analysis of motivations, experiences and institutional constraints that shape sectoral choices in complex public employment systems. The findings identify three key drivers that shape public sector attraction and avoidance: the availability and quality of public sector jobs, the long-term influence of early career decisions on sectoral trajectories and socialization processes that reinforce or weaken public service motivation. While intrinsic motivations such as commitment to the common good remain relevant, they are often undermined by structural conditions including clientelism, political patronage and precarious employment arrangements. Talented professionals navigate these tensions in different ways, sometimes reinforcing their public service commitment and in other cases exiting the public sector. The article contributes to public administration research by offering an exploratory qualitative analysis of public employment attractiveness in a weak institutional context. It extends existing debates on public service motivation by showing how ethical commitment, career trajectories and institutional conditions interact in politicized environments. By focusing on highly skilled professionals and identifying overlooked drivers of sectoral choice, the study provides new insights for theory and policy on public employment strategies in fragmented governance systems.

Prior research has documented involvement of government and civil society actors in governance processes, but has largely neglected a key player: corporate business interests. Combining insights from social-ecological systems, organizational systems theory, theories of governance and power, interest group rule-making participation, and non-state alternative environmental governance, we examine corporate involvement and power in environmental governance systems. Drawing on a sample of Twitter messages about fuel economy standards, posted between 2012 and 2020, we offer a sector-level discourse analysis of corporate power and its interaction with the sociopolitical environment. The results suggest that business interests are gaining increasing power in the participation arena of U.S. fuel economy governance processes. The results likewise indicate corporations’ response to a changing political landscape in the U.S. Taken together, our analysis advances current scholarship on power dynamics in governance processes and on empirical assessment of power, offering implications for governance system design and implementation.

The study provides a system-theoretical generalization of scientific approaches to regional development in the context of forming a new managerial paradigm for Ukraine’s post-war recovery. It analyzes the transition from neoclassical and Keynesian to institutional, endogenous, cluster, and spatial-functional approaches, identifying their advantages and limitations in integrating economic, social, environmental, and digital factors into the system of public administration. Based on this synthesis, a hybrid-synergistic approach is proposed, combining institutional quality, cluster interaction, endogenous potential, and spatial balance of territories. The concept envisions a shift from a centralized compensation policy to an integrated growth system that ensures coherence between regional self-development, strategic planning, and digital analytics. Particular attention is given to the harmonization of legislation on decentralization, spatial planning, sustainable development, and digital territorial identification. It is proven that the hybrid-synergistic approach will form the foundation for an integrated architecture of regional policy aimed at reinforcing economic, social, and environmental effects in Ukraine.

Decentralization is often regarded as a panacea for achieving good governance. Yet few studies have explored how devolution (to subnational governments) affects policy agendas. In this article, we investigate how devolution affects two aspects of public service provision—economic growth and environmental protection based on the experience of China. The results show that the devolution simultaneously promotes local economic development and damages the environment. These mixed effects can be attributed to the administrative mechanism of the interaction between devolution and the distribution of government attention, which is more concerned with outcomes that can be observed in the short run rather than the long run. Our results highlight the complexity of governance and demonstrate the architecture for an effective policy framework design.

Conflict is integral to human interaction with the surrounding natural environment. In modern society, the decisive role belongs to the state administration as a regulator of political, social, economic, and other spheres of public life, which also affects people's social activities. Human influence on the natural environment has global dimensions, there are a number of issues related not only to the protection of natural resources and the prevention of environmental pollution but also to the careful and rational use and consumption of natural resources. The basis of human interaction and the use of such a type of natural resource as forests is the implementation of needs and interests, which are often mutually exclusive: on the one hand, the satisfaction of the economic needs of users of the forest industry, and on the other hand, ecological needs aimed at ensuring the integrity of this ecosystem, its protection and reproduction of forest natural resources. The relevance of the topic of the research is due to the fact that the nature of conflicts in the field of public administration in general, and in the field of forestry management in particular, is complicated by the presence of power in the management bodies, therefore communication and dialogue with public officials is extremely difficult, sometimes impossible. Alternative means of conflict resolution, in particular mediation as a tool for dialogue and communication, can prevent the emergence or resolution of already existing conflicts in the field of forestry management. The purpose of the study is to review the features of state management of forestry and to clarify the possibilities of mediation as an alternative method of resolving disputes that arise during the implementation of this type of management. The methodological basis of the research was the methods of analysis and synthesis, as well as complex, functional methods, and a analysis of the scientific literature on the subject of the article. The obtained scientific results consist in elucidating the causes of conflict situations during the interaction of authorized enterprises for the sale of forest products with intermediaries and buyers, substantiating the feasibility and effectiveness of using methods of conflict resolution alternative to court proceedings, in particular mediation, recommendations for the promotion of alternative methods of conflict resolution in the field of state management of the forest industry, their popularization, and stimulation of the participants of these relations to the wide use of such tools. Prospects for further research are the popularization of non-traditional or alternative to court decision tools for resolving conflict issues in various spheres of state administration, namely: clarification of the nature of state administration, the status of subjects of state administration in its various spheres, criteria for the predictability of dispute resolution, where one of the parties an entity endowed with powerful powers in one or another sphere of state administration acts.

This literature review examines the intersection of engineering, environmental policy, and public administration in shaping sustainable urban development, using Baguio City as a case study within the framework of the City Beautiful Movement. The legacy of Daniel Burnham’s early 20th-century urban vision continues to influence Baguio’s development, with the city’s spatial identity reflecting a complex balance between historical preservation and modern urbanization. The review employs the concept of architectural dialogue—the relationship between buildings, landscapes, and public spaces—as a key lens for analyzing the city’s transformation. By comparing Baguio’s urban trajectory to international models such as Paris, Kyoto, and Medellín, the review highlights successful strategies for integrating heritage conservation, sustainable architecture, and community engagement. It identifies significant challenges facing Baguio, including unregulated urban growth, the erosion of green spaces, and the commercialization of cultural heritage sites. The findings emphasize the role of participatory urbanism in fostering inclusive, culturally reflective, and sustainable urban environments. Ultimately, the review advocates for a shift towards a more adaptable, community-centered urban planning approach, proposing recommendations such as strengthened zoning laws, sustainable tourism initiatives, improved pedestrian infrastructure, and the establishment of cultural centers like the proposed Cordillera Cultural Center. This review calls for a redefined urban strategy that balances historical preservation, environmental sustainability, and modern urban demands, ensuring Baguio’s built environment continues to reflect its unique cultural identity.

Sustainable development is a key topic on today's global agenda due to the threats posed by climate change, environmental pollution, and other ecological issues. Governments and international institutions aim to achieve a balance between economic growth, social welfare, and environmental protection. In this context, new technologies and support for green innovations, which have the potential to enhance environmental safety, play a particularly important role. Effective public administration must adapt to these challenges by actively implementing environmental policies and promoting sustainable development. International cooperation is also critical for integrating global commitments into national strategies. The purpose of this article is to demonstrate how environmental policy can support sustainable development through the improvement of the public administration system. The study provides a detailed analysis of international legal frameworks that regulate environmental policy and sustainability in public administration. Based on a systems approach, the complex interrelationships between government, society, business, and environmental factors are explored, allowing for a deeper understanding of how these elements interact. Using Switzerland as an example, one of the leading countries in environmental governance, the article identifies key elements for integrating environmental principles into public administration. This example demonstrates specific approaches and tools that other countries can adopt. Additionally, the statistics highlight not only global trends in plastic production and consumption but also the number of countries that have implemented environmental policy instruments between 2010 and 2023. This helps assess the scale of environmental initiatives at the global level. A SWOT analysis was conducted to assess the strengths and weaknesses of existing environmental policies, as well as to identify opportunities and threats for future development. This analysis helped outline the key directions for improving environmental policy to further support sustainable development. As a result, it was found that environmental policy within public administration has significant potential for growth, but its success depends on the establishment of an effective monitoring system, the intensification of international cooperation, the adoption of advanced technologies, and active public participation.

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Ukraine is currently in a state of radical changes. Changes are taking place both at the level of public consciousness and in the reforming of public administration institutions. And it is very important that these two movements complement and not go against each other. The formation of communicative interaction of the main institutions of social organization, namely, government bodies and institutions of civil society, is an important prerequisite for the democratization of public life and the system of public administration. The directions of strengthening the public-authority influence on the democratization of the public administration system of Ukraine are defined and substantiated. The course of social and political life proves the need not only to co-opt individual activists to government bodies, but also to develop mechanisms for regular public-authority communication, and ultimately, to implement the principles of real peopleʼs rule filled with practical content. The basis of the development of functional social-authority interaction should first of all be the principles of self-organization, self-regulation, proportionality, and mutual integration. The most influential aspect is the proportional relationship in the context of centralization and decentralization of power between state and civil organizations, the center and regions. Thus, in the end, a certain self-regulatory system should be formed as a result of the consensual integration of the interaction of the state and civil spheres. The basis of such a self-regulatory system is feedback between state and civil elements, thereby ensuring the ability for sustainable development of society as a whole.

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Climate change is already a reality, and it is affecting the lives and livelihoods of many people globally. Many scientists argue that adaptation is, therefore, necessary to address the impact of climate change on life-supporting systems. Climate change adaptation, however, is a complex process that involves transformations implemented through governance at multiple levels. In this paper, the barriers to climate change adaptation in South Africa are presented and analysed. Semi-structured, in-depth interviews were conducted telephonically and online via Microsoft Teams with 13 government officials working at the Department of Forestry, Fisheries, and the Environment; the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Economic Development and Environmental Affairs; and the uMkhanyakude District Municipality. The findings suggest that the barriers to climate change adaptation in South Africa include inadequate financial resources, a lack of human capacity at the provincial and local levels, limited political will at the local level, limited understanding of climate change adaptation issues by communities, inadequate coordination across government levels and sectors, no legal mandate at the local level, no climate change unit at the district and local levels, a lack of knowledge by some staff members tasked with environmental duties at the local level, not enough climate change plans in place at the local level, and outdated information on climate change used in the IDPs. This paper, therefore, recommends that climate change be a standing item in the Integrated Development Plan for local governments, which will ensure that climate change is budgeted for appropriately. In addition, this paper suggests that a mandate for climate change adaptation be developed for all three government levels. There is also a need for the government to invest in capacity development and improve horizontal and vertical coordination to strengthen the weak climate governance capacity that exists.

The issue of waste has transformed from a mere technical problem of disposal into a systemic challenge for public administration in developing cities. The waste management crisis at the Kopi Luhur landfill in Cirebon City is a manifestation of the unpreparedness of the public administration system in dealing with the surge in waste volume triggered by population growth and linear consumption patterns. The purpose of this study is to analyze waste management using the lens of public administration ecology to examine the natural, non-natural, and digital dimensions. The methodology used is descriptive qualitative based on literature review by collecting data from official agency websites, books, and scientific journals to ensure the validity of the findings. The findings show severe groundwater pollution with a Fecal Coliform concentration of 12,000 Jml/ml and a BOD level that exceeds the safe threshold for public consumption.

This research investigates drought risk in Grobogan Regency, Central Java Province, by linking spatial evidence, social capacity, and legal frameworks to the advancement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). A hazard–vulnerability–capacity approach, grounded in Geographic Information Systems (GIS), is combined with surveys, Focus Group Discussions (FGDs), and policy analysis. The study generates a risk map identifying priority subdistricts for intervention. Findings indicate fragmented capacity and institutional arrangements across regions, which undermine the effectiveness of drought response. Regulatory analysis reveals implementation gaps between national legal provisions on water resource and disaster management and their operationalization at the regional and village levels. A Comparative analysis of water resource management practices in Malaysia identifies opportunities to harmonize policies and legal instruments, thereby facilitating the translation of spatial findings into actionable local policies. Policy recommendations include strengthening local regulations (Perda) for emergency water allocation, integrating risk maps into the Regional Medium-Term Development Plan (RPJMD) and village development plans, operationalizing community-based early warning systems (EWS), and establishing hybrid financing mechanisms (APBD–APBDes–grants) for water conservation infrastructure. The primary contribution is the demonstration of integrating spatial analysis and legal studies to inform drought adaptation policies that support SDG indicators, particularly SDG 6 (Clean Water and Sanitation), SDG 2 (Zero Hunger), and SDG 13 (Climate Action). Implementation recommendations encompass measurable monitoring indicators, local capacity-building, periodic evaluations, cross-sector collaboration, and transparent public reporting.

Given the persistent drought disasters, the Amathole District Municipality grapples with severe water scarcity issues, particularly affecting local municipalities such as Raymond Mhlaba and Ngqushwa. Consequently, the municipalities are challenged by severe climate change and governance-related water scarcity. Thus, investigating climate change adaptation policy formulation and governance from the perspective of local communities can provide valuable insights into effective climate change adaptation governance. Employing a mixed research approach, this study investigates stakeholders’ perceptions of the formulation process and approaches to climate change adaptation policy and governance in the water sector using narrative analysis and descriptive statistics survey data. The study revealed that policy formulation is challenged by a bureaucratic water governance system, as most of the respondents (70%) were uncertain about their roles in climate change adaptation policy formulation, compared to 30% who were able to partially articulate their roles. Thus, 66% of respondents indicated that they were not involved in climate change adaptation in water resource management. This underscores that most stakeholders are ‘locked out’ from divulging their decisions in climate change adaptation policy formulation. This study will help municipalities develop proper climate change adaptation strategies based on local knowledge to enhance their resilience against climate change disasters.

Island territories are particularly vulnerable to climate change due to their geographical isolation and environmental characteristics, as highlighted in the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Sixth Assessment Report. In the Canary Islands, sea‐level rise is a critical impact of climate change, affecting several coastal ecosystems, including beaches, dunes, and wetlands, as well as infrastructure and residential areas, which in turn significantly impacts tourism and housing. This study examines the existing climate change legislation and norms, focusing particularly on the islands’ adaptation to sea‐level rise as a socio‐ecological system. It also analyses the intentionality and substantiality of these measures within a multilevel governance framework. Accordingly, this research provides an initial approach to constructing and studying the main governance network concerning sea‐level rise in the Canary Islands through a combination of experiences, events, and mechanisms. Conflicts were identified between legislation and the implementation of adaptation measures, where the timescale for the latter is not aligned with the climate emergency. The study highlights coordination gaps that hinder effective adaptive management in the face of climate change. The findings emphasize the need for enhanced inter‐institutional collaboration and propose mechanisms to harmonise policies, mitigate conflicts, and improve governance. Strengthening governance capacities in the Canary Islands could provide a model for other island territories facing similar challenges and contribute to global efforts to address the climate emergency and ensure sustainable development in vulnerable coastal regions. This is the first study to focus on the coastal governance in the Canary Islands in relation to sea‐level rise.

In increasingly complex dynamic environments, traditional bureaucratic organizations face a fundamental challenge: how to maintain stability while simultaneously developing the capacity for rapid adaptation to emergent changes. This paper explores the role of adaptive leadership in managing complex adaptive systems (CAS) through the lens of Complex Leadership Theory (CLT), focusing on the transformation of bureaucratic structures. Through a critical synthesis of classical and contemporary theories, the paper reveals the essential tension between bureaucratic systems, based on hierarchy and control, and the principles of CLT, which recognize leadership as a distributed, emergent process. The analysis emphasizes how bureaucratic organizations, despite their advantages in stable conditions, become vulnerable in complex environments because of their delayed response to changes and institutional inertia. In contrast, CLT offers a framework in which adaptive leadership acts as a catalyst for organizational transformation, fostering self-organization, collaboration, and innovation through the interactions of multiple actors. The paper illustrates how adaptive leaders, through strategies such as supporting experimentation and tolerance for uncertainty, enable systems to develop dynamically without completely abandoning structural frameworks. In conclusion, the research offers practical guidelines for the application of CLT in bureaucratic organizations, emphasizing the need for a cultural transformation, redistribution of responsibilities, and the development of leaders capable of managing the paradox of "control and creativity." This research contributes to leadership theory by reinterpreting the role of leaders in CAS, highlighting that adaptive leadership is not an alternative to bureaucracy, but a tool for its restructuring under the demands of complexity.  

The article examines the transformation of Ukraine’s public administration system in the context of a full-scale war, in particular the impact of the armed aggression of the russian federation on the functioning of government institutions, management processes and institutional stability of the state. It is emphasised that the war has changed the established notions of governance, shifting the emphasis from classical bureaucratic models to crisis, adaptive and strategically oriented practices. In the special conditions of wartime, the issues of preserving state legitimacy, effective response to threats, risk management and ensuring the continuity of state functioning are becoming more relevant. The author analyses the phenomenon of institutional resilience, which in modern Ukrainian realities ceases to be an abstract concept and acquires practical significance. In times of war, state institutions are forced to demonstrate not only the ability to formally perform their functions, but also the ability to quickly adapt to changes, mobilise resources, maintain public trust and guarantee basic services even in situations of large-scale destruction. In this context, the role of local self-government, horizontal coordination, flexible management models and innovative thinking is growing as never before. Public administration in times of war is emerging as a living mechanism that operates at the intersection of strategy, flexibility and responsibility to society. It is this model that enables the state not only to survive, but also to form the basis for post-war recovery and modernisation.

In response to the challenges posed by the fragmentation of habitats and loss of native biodiversity, climate change adaptation and mitigation, diverse agri-environmental measures have been initiated across the European Union (EU) with the aim of fostering agricultural ecosystem service delivery. Previous studies adopting a governance perspective have identified various determinants of successful agri-environmental measures. However, the explanatory value of these studies is limited as the causal processes through which context and scheme design affect implementation success remain grey -boxed. This article uses a mechanism-based approach to uncover the causal processes that underlie actions and interactions within agri-environmental governance arrangements and provides insights into the role the interplay between context and scheme design plays in the successful implementation of agri-environmental measures. The empirical focus is the governance of a successful collective agri-environmental scheme in the Netherlands. In opening the grey box of the causal mechanisms that link contextual and scheme design with their results, the paper applies theory building process tracing methods. Results show that implementation success in the case is explained by the interplay between social learning and trust-building mechanisms. We argue that EU and domestic decision-makers aiming to improve the contribution of agri-environmental measures to climate change adaptation and mitigation must consider the contextual conditions that facilitate increased cooperation between stakeholders and, ultimately, successful implementation of measures.

The article examines the current problems of managing the sustainable development of the competitive potential of Russia's regional ecosystems in the context of global transformations. Based on the synthesis of institutional, evolutionary, and spatial economic theory, a conceptual model has been developed that integrates the environmental imperative, technological sovereignty, and social homeostasis as the basic principles of balanced development. Empirical analysis revealed significant imbalances between regions: an 8.6-fold gap in GRP, a 4.8-fold lag in innovation potential, and a concentration of 85.7% of investments in the most developed territories, which indicates a violation of the principles of sustainable development. Special attention is paid to the adaptation mechanisms of the regions in the context of a dual crisis – the COVID-19 pandemic (as an exogenous shock) and geopolitical instability (as a structural transformation). A system of balancing mechanisms is proposed, including strategic sustainability indicators, operational monitoring tools, and compensation equalization measures. The results of the study allow us to rethink traditional approaches to regional development and propose a new paradigm of «balanced competitiveness» that takes into account both the current challenges of the global economic architecture and long-term trends in technological transformation and greening of the economy.

China restructured its environmental protection agencies in 2019 to address environmental governance challenges. The restructuring aimed to reorganize the bureaucracy by transferring local environmental monitoring responsibilities to provincial departments, thereby breaking the traditional governance structure in which local governments are both "athletes" and "referees". Since the reform involved functional reorganization, realignment of interests, and redistribution of institutional authority, local governmental departments and reassigned personnel actively participated in the negotiation process, to safeguard their own interests. A case study in G City, southern China, this paper explored limited negotiation between the municipal Environmental Protection Bureau and the Provincial Department of Ecology and Environmental Protection. Within China's authoritarian system, constrained negotiation showed distinct operational logic and characteristics. Key negotiation strategies included "weapons of the weak," "threat withdrawal," and "collusion" to advance reform. However, in order to maintain the authority of their superiors and respect the legal relationship of the bureaucratic structure, the subordinates ultimately use the ambiguity of the central documents as the dividing line for the limited negotiation space between the two parties.

Turbulence of the bureaucratic environment as a result of the efficiency of the public sector budget in the Regional Secretariat of South Buton Regency. The importance of this research lies in the fact that budget efficiency is not just a fiscal instrument, but also a source of environmental turbulence that has direct implications for the stability and performance of regional bureaucracies. To answer these problems, this study uses a qualitative approach based on the theory of bureaucratic environmental turbulence. Data was collected through in-depth interviews, observations, and documentation, then analyzed qualitatively through the process of reduction, presentation, and a conclusion drawn. The results of the study show that the turbulence of the bureaucratic environment is driven by budget efficiency, which is characterized by increasing economic policy uncertainty, political pressure, public and media demands, and regional fiscal limitations. This turbulence forces the bureaucracy to make rapid adaptations that are not always followed by structural readiness and organizational capacity

The environmental protection inspection system has undergone four stages of evolution: the initial cultivation phase of "bureaucratic transmission", the trial period of "regional corporate monitoring", the mobilization and transitional phase of "national government oversight", and the accelerated transitional phase of "party and government co-inspection". Examining the environmental protection monitoring framework through the lens of historical institutionalism, it has been discovered that the inspection system in my country has been impacted by broader changes in history. There are four crucial junctures of institutional transformation, including the passing of the "Environmental Protection Law" and the establishment of regional monitoring centres. The maintenance of system stickiness is reliant on factors influencing the paths of sunk cost and internalization. Drawing on historical experience, the environmental protection inspection system should adopt an active approach to exploring both "bureaucratization" and "de-bureaucratization" bi-regulation coupling mechanisms, while simultaneously enhancing relevant legal safeguards and the external inspection and participation systems.

Dynamic Adaptive Policy Pathway (DAPP) maps are used to plan management decisions in contexts of high uncertainty, such as those driven by environmental changes affecting critical assets. Recent discussions emphasize their relevance for addressing complex common-pool resource challenges, where diverse species, actors, and ecosystem services are intricately connected. However, designing DAPPs for such multifaceted social-ecological systems (SES) is challenging due to the extensive range of potential adaptation options. This study presents a general method to address these challenges by leveraging Ostrom’s theoretical frameworks for the governance of common pool resources—the Institutional Analysis & Development framework (IADF), the social-ecological systems framework (SESF), and the coupled infrastructure systems framework (CISF). These frameworks were used to design nested DAPP maps that structure a large number of adaptation actions across multiple levels of institutional arrangement (operational, collective-choice, constitutional), and then develop a mathematical model to analyze the dynamic robustness of a SES across all potential pathways. The method was applied to predict and understand DAPP maps for supporting the collective management of hedgerow networks delivering diverse ecosystem services. DAPP maps for two SES were compared—one rural and one peri-urban—in France’s agro-ecological landscapes of the Auvergne region. We further modeled the impact of climate change on hedgerows characterized by different size and species richness, revealing the sensitivity of these DAPP maps to transit between nine nested institutional arrangements. We discuss the methodological and practical implications of this approach for managing SES characterized by greater diversities of interconnected species, actors, and ecosystem services, highlighting its strengths and challenges in guiding adaptation under deep uncertainty.

Climate change represents a multidimensional challenge that extends beyond environmental disruption to profoundly reshape social systems, economic structures, and governance arrangements. This study critically synthesises interdisciplinary literature to examine how climate impacts interact with societal vulnerabilities, adaptive capacities, and institutional frameworks to shape resilience outcomes across regions and sectors. Moving beyond technocratic and sector-specific approaches, the analysis emphasises that vulnerability is socially produced through unequal exposure, sensitivity, and most critically, adaptive capacity. Marginalised populations, including low-income households, women, Indigenous communities, smallholder farmers, older adults, and informal urban residents, experience disproportionate climate risks due to limited access to resources, political representation, and decision-making power. The study highlights how adaptation is inherently social, embedded within cultural norms, governance structures, and development trajectories rather than confined to discrete environmental interventions. While resilience-building strategies can reduce short-term risks, the findings demonstrate that incremental adaptation alone is insufficient under escalating climate pressures. Instead, transformative pathways, encompassing institutional reform, inclusive governance, integration of local and Indigenous knowledge, climate-smart infrastructure, and equitable finance mechanisms, are required to address structural drivers of vulnerability. Cross-sectoral impacts on ecosystems, health, infrastructure, and livelihoods reveal strong interdependencies that demand coordinated and justice-oriented responses. The study further identifies persistent barriers to effective adaptation, including governance fragmentation, knowledge gaps, financial constraints, and exclusionary planning processes. By situating climate adaptation within broader questions of equity, social capital, and political economy, this analysis underscores that resilience is not merely a technical outcome but a contested social process. Effective climate action therefore requires transformative, participatory, and inclusive strategies that align adaptation with sustainable development and social justice goals.

This study examines significant developments in the field of governance, tracing its transition from a classical paradigm dominated by hierarchical structures and rigid bureaucracy to a more dynamic and responsive model. Amidst the complexity of global challenges such as economic uncertainty, environmental crises, and technological disruptions, traditional governance approaches are often sharply criticized for their limitations in providing adaptive and sustainable solutions. This abstract analyzes how criticism of the classical model has become a catalyst for innovation, driving the adoption of New Public Governance (NPG), which emphasizes partnerships, multi-actor networks, and the creation of shared public value. In addition, this study explores the transformative role of Digital Governance in revolutionizing the way governments interact with citizens and provide services, increasing efficiency, transparency, and inclusion through the use of information and communication technology. With a focus on innovation and adaptation, this article aims to understand how governance systems strive to remain relevant and effective amid an ever-changing global landscape. This analysis not only highlights the historical and conceptual journey but also provides crucial insights into the need for a flexible, collaborative, and future-oriented governance framework to address the multidimensional challenges of the 21st century.

This study presents a comparative review of health system resilience in Mauritius and Madagascar amid growing environmental stressors driven by climate change. As small island developing states in sub-Saharan Africa, both countries face increased health risks from extreme weather events, shifting disease patterns, and food insecurity. This review highlights the disproportionate impact on vulnerable populations, particularly women and girls, emphasising the need for anticipatory and flexible health systems to manage these challenges effectively. Methodologically, the study synthesises evidence from government and international agency assessments, peer-reviewed literature, and recent policy reports focused on health system adaptation frameworks. Special attention was paid to the World Health Organisation’s Vulnerability and Adaptation Assessment applied in Mauritius and the Climate-Smart Public Health model piloted in Madagascar. Thematic document analysis was conducted to assess governance, surveillance, infrastructure, community engagement, and equity. The results reveal contrasting yet complementary approaches. Mauritius benefits from robust institutional capacity, universal health coverage, and an advanced Early Warning Alert and Response System anchored in an equally robust multi-sectoral partnership framework. Despite resource limitations, Madagascar has demonstrated innovation through data-driven surveillance, artificial intelligence, and targeted infrastructure upgrades, supported by international cooperation. However, both countries share key lessons on the importance of predictive surveillance, multi-sectoral governance, and community participation in building resilient health systems. In conclusion, this review highlights that effective adaptation requires context-specific, equity-focused strategies that merge strong governance with technological innovation. Additionally, sustained financing, gender-responsive policies, and enhanced inter-sectoral collaboration are critical for future resilience. These insights offer valuable guidance for health systems in vulnerable settings that face escalating climate hazards.

Indonesia’s Job Creation Law (Law No. 11 of 2020) represents a major reform in national environmental governance aimed at streamlining bureaucracy and accelerating investment; however, it has simultaneously raised concerns about ecological accountability and public participation. This study examines how the top-down implementation of the law has reshaped Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) procedures and the broader structure of environmental governance. The research aims to analyze the implications of bureaucratic simplification, centralization of authority, and restricted public engagement for sustainable policymaking. Employing a qualitative descriptive-analytical approach, the study collected data from legal documents, policy briefs, and interviews with governmental and civil society actors to explore institutional dynamics across central and regional levels. Findings indicate that while risk-based licensing and the Online Single Submission (OSS) system have improved efficiency and coherence in licensing processes, they have concurrently weakened preventive oversight, diminished local autonomy, and curtailed participatory mechanisms. The centralization of decision-making has standardized procedures but reduced flexibility and contextual responsiveness, leading to governance gaps between policy design and local execution. Moreover, the narrowing of public involvement in EIA processes has eroded transparency and legitimacy, undermining the principles of democratic environmental governance. The study concludes that the effectiveness of top-down implementation remains contingent upon institutional capacity, intergovernmental coordination, and inclusivity. It recommends adopting a hybrid governance model that combines hierarchical efficiency with participatory accountability to ensure that economic reform aligns with ecological sustainability and social legitimacy in Indonesia’s environmental policy landscape

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A common argument is that the comprehensive implementation of the river chief system (RCS) is a clear indication of the Chinese government’s strong commitment to overcoming the problem of water pollution. Scant attention, nonetheless, has been afforded to systematically examining the economic and social effects of this pioneering policy. Based on news reports and data from regions in which the RCS was piloted, this paper fills in a critical literature gap by unpacking the environmental, economic, and societal benefits accrued from this river-based management approach. Specifically, by employing a difference-in-differences (DID) method, this study shows that (1) overall, the adoption of the RCS has significantly reduced the discharge of sewage per unit of GDP and improved water quality to a considerable extent; (2) the RCS, functioning under China’s top-down bureaucratic structure, coupled with increasing encouragement of bottom-up oversight and citizen participation, has provided local governments with strong incentives to improve water quality in a timely manner in their respective jurisdictions through the introduction of a plethora of measures, ranging from increased investment in wastewater treatment to faithful enforcement of environmental regulations; (3) the positive changes anticipated as a result of the RCS cannot be materialized in regions that have difficulties sustaining economic growth or facilitating cross-boundary policy coordination; and (4) the long-term effectiveness of the RCS is based on its ability to compel local enterprises to innovate their modes of operation, ultimately leading to regional industrial upgrading. The paper concludes by discussing how these empirical findings can help policymakers devise feasible tactics for confronting the causes of China’s current environmental predicament in the context of improving the alignment of individual officials’ political aspirations with targeted environmental outcomes.

ABSTRACT Authoritarian regimes share an architecture of power that shores up unilateral control from the top while weakening bottom-up initiatives organised independently of central support. This kind of collective choice environment entails administrative options and policy strategies unanticipated by standard theories that explain public administration where the exercise of power is circumscribed by the separation of powers and political representation. How public administration in authoritarian regimes is shaped by radically different patterns of elite power play and state-society interactions is set out in ten propositions, with a focus on why governance solutions that seem inadequate or even impracticable in liberal democracies would be favoured and how variations in leadership style can cascade into broader disparities in administrative behaviour. The conclusion offers an example of how public policy theories originally developed to account for administrative processes and outcomes in the US and other democracies can be comparatively adapted to non-democratic systems.

This study investigates the relationship between AI-driven innovation and democratic accountability in public administration, exploring stakeholder perspectives on navigating trade-offs between technological efficiency and democratic values. The research develops a framework for responsible AI governance that balances innovation with public accountability. Using a mixed-methods approach, this research combines conjoint analysis surveys measuring citizen preferences regarding AI transparency versus effectiveness trade-offs, interviews with public managers and Chief Information Officers, and comparative case studies across multiple jurisdictions. The analysis examines individual, organizational, and institutional factors influencing AI governance outcomes. Preliminary findings reveal that citizens are willing to sacrifice transparency for modest efficiency gains, challenging assumptions about democratic preferences. Public managers demonstrate varying levels of AI readiness, with organizational capacity and previous technology experience as key determinants. Trust in AI systems transfers through existing institutional trust relationships. Successful AI implementation requires deliberate design choices that embed democratic accountability mechanisms from inception. Organizations need comprehensive governance frameworks addressing technical transparency, legal compliance, and social oversight. The research provides evidence-based recommendations for policymakers developing AI governance policies while maintaining democratic legitimacy.Keywords:Artificial Intelligence, Public Administration, Democratic Governance, Algorithmic Accountability, Digital TransformationThi$s study i$nvesti$ga$tes the rela$ti$onshi$p between A$I$-dri$ven i$nnova$ti$on a$nd democra$ti$c a$ccounta$bi$li$ty i$n publi$c a$dmi$ni$stra$ti$on, explori$ng sta$keholder perspecti$ves on na$vi$ga$ti$ng tra$de-offs between technologi$ca$l effi$ci$ency a$nd democra$ti$c va$lues. The resea$rch develops a$ fra$mework for responsi$ble A$I$ governa$nce tha$t ba$la$nces i$nnova$ti$on wi$th publi$c a$ccounta$bi$li$ty. Usi$ng a$ mi$xed-methods a$pproa$ch, thi$s resea$rch combi$nes conjoi$nt a$na$lysi$s surveys mea$suri$ng ci$ti$zen preferences rega$rdi$ng A$I$ tra$nspa$rency versus effecti$veness tra$de-offs, i$ntervi$ews wi$th publi$c ma$na$gers a$nd Chi$ef I$nforma$ti$on Offi$cers, a$nd compa$ra$ti$ve ca$se studi$es a$cross multi$ple juri$sdi$cti$ons. The a

The rapid advancement of artificial intelligence (AI) technologies has profoundly transformed virtually all areas of human activity, and public administration is no exception. The integration of AI into public management systems opens up unprecedented opportunities to increase efficiency, transparency, and responsiveness in the provision of public services. This article examines the potential, challenges, and prospects of using artificial intelligence in public administration, focusing on ethical, legal, and organizational aspects. It emphasizes that AI tools—from data analytics and machine learning to natural language processing and automated decision-making systems—can significantly contribute to improving the quality of political planning, resource allocation, and citizen participation. Through predictive modeling, intelligent data processing, and real-time monitoring, AI enables evidence-based decision-making and strengthens the adaptability of public institutions to a dynamic socioeconomic environment. At the same time, the implementation of AI in public administration presents several complex challenges. Key issues include algorithmic bias, data protection violations, a lack of transparency regarding automated decisions, and insufficient digital literacy among public sector employees. The article emphasizes that without a clear ethical framework and appropriate regulatory mechanisms, the use of AI could exacerbate social inequalities and undermine citizens’ trust in government institutions. Therefore, the development of clear governance standards for the use of AI in the public sector is essential to ensure accountability, fairness, and human oversight in all decision-making processes. The study also analyzes international experiences in AI governance, particularly in the European Union, the United States, and leading Asian countries, and identifies best practices that can be transferred to national contexts. It argues that the strategic implementation of AI should be based on the principles of open government, inclusivity, and human-centered digital transformation. The article also emphasizes the need for continuous training and development measures for public sector employees to ensure competent use of AI-based tools and the interpretation of algorithmic results. In conclusion, it is concluded that artificial intelligence represents both a challenge and an opportunity for modern public administration. It can optimize administrative processes and strengthen democratic governance, but at the same time requires new legal safeguards, ethical standards, and institutional competencies. The success of integrating AI into public administration depends crucially on the balance between technological innovation and the protection of human rights, transparency, and accountability. The future of AI in the public sector therefore lies not solely in technological progress, but in the development of responsible and sustainable political strategies that align innovation with the public interest and democratic values.

The article presents a detailed analysis of public governance practices in the socio-economic development of territorial communities under conditions of increasing their financial capacity. The study emphasizes the importance of financial autonomy, institutional capacity, and the professional competencies of local self-government bodies as key strategic factors that determine the effectiveness of management processes, stimulate socio-economic development of communities, and enhance their competitiveness. Particular attention is paid to the role of financial management, budget planning, transparency in resource utilization, and the ability of local self-government bodies to respond promptly to changes in the economic and social environment. A comparative analysis of contemporary approaches shows that effective governance of socio-economic development is achieved through the comprehensive integration of strategic planning, transparent financial management, the use of digital platforms for monitoring and control, as well as the development of inter-municipal cooperation and resource sharing. The experience of Ukrainian amalgamated territorial communities demonstrates that optimizing budget processes, attracting grant and investment resources, implementing modern digital management tools, and stimulating local economic activity contribute to more efficient use of financial resources and improved management performance. The results allow us to summarize those successful practices of public governance of territorial communities are based on a combination of stable financing, digital transformation, development of institutional capacity, and managerial competencies, including leadership skills of community leaders and professional development of local government personnel. The proposed approach can ensure increased efficiency in resource utilization, support sustainable socio-economic development of territories, optimize the implementation of strategic local development programs, and enhance citizens’ trust in authorities. Such a comprehensive approach is a prerequisite for the formation of a resilient, competitive, and self-sufficient local governance system in Ukraine, aligned with modern European standards of territorial management and ensuring balanced development of all communities at the national level.

Abstract In the academic literature, there has yet to be a firm consensus on the type of link between conflict and public administration. This article investigates if/how conflict influences post-conflict public administration performance in selected conflict-affected states in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE), namely Croatia, Georgia, Kosovo, and Serbia. However, the selected countries do not demonstrate a tangible global impact of conflict on public administrative performance. This finding suggests that a “one-size-fits-all” global link between conflict and public administration performance does not exist. From this perspective, a country’s actual circumstances and the internal and external environment are the deciding factors.

The aim of this study is to analyze the relationship between internal population migration and the processes of digital transformation in public administration in Ukraine, within the context of socioeconomic changes caused by the ongoing war and global digitalization. The work is intended to identify management factors that determine the efficiency of the adaptation of internally displaced persons in the digital environment and to develop new approaches to public administration, as well as to assess the impact of digital technologies on social stability, economic activity, and community territorial cohesion. The methodological framework is based on system, institutional, and socioeconomic approaches, as well as methods of comparative analysis, statistical generalization, and the conception of digital mobility. The study relies on official data from the State Statistics Service, the Ministry of Digital Transformation, and the International Organization for Migration, as well as on contemporary theoretical research in public administration, digital economy, and social geography. The main findings include identifying key trends in the scale of internal migration and the role of digital tools in facilitating mobility and the integration of internally displaced persons. The conception of digital mobility is proposed as a new governance resource of the State, combining territorial and informational adaptation of citizens. The practical significance lies in the possibility of using these results to develop integrated national and regional policies in the fields of digitalization, social protection, and regional development, as well as to enhance the efficiency of e-governance at the local level. The social impact of the study includes enhancing digital inclusion, population mobility, and community adaptability. Its originality lies in combining migration and digital processes within a single analytical model for mobility management. Further research should focus on developing indicators to assess the «digital readiness» of regions for managing internal migration, creating efficient mechanisms for interregional digital interaction, and identifying new approaches to integrating technologies into social programs.

Temporal aspects of studying almost any object enrich the theoretical basis of scientific research. The temporal foundations of the public administration system, temporality in public administration are practically not studied by legal science. The purpose of the article is the theoretical and legal substantiation of the temporal aspects of public administration. The objectives of the study are to identify approaches to positioning time in the public administration system and their theoretical and legal characteristics, as well as to identify the prospects for using temporal categories in further scientific research. When working on the topic of the article, such special methods as comparative legal, legal analysis method, formal legal method, and institutional analysis method were used. Four relatively independent scientific approaches to the theoretical and legal positioning of time in the public administration system are identified: time as an external environment in relation to the management system, an element of administrative procedures, a criterion for the effectiveness of public administration, a factor in taking into account previous management experience. The substantiation of the identified options for using temporal categories in public administration allowed us to conclude that it is necessary to take into account temporal parameters both when assessing the effectiveness of public administration mechanisms and when taking into account positive management experience in reforming the public administration system. The need to take into account and preserve domestic legal and management traditions that allow for ensuring national identity is proven. Based on the results of the study, a definition of temporality in public administration is given, which is positioned as an integral property of the latter, having external and internal expression, allowing for considering public administration in dynamics. Conclusions are made about the prospects for using temporal characteristics in research on public administration problems, and industry and interdisciplinary approaches to using the category of time in modern scientific research are highlighted.

In conditions of rapidly changing external environment, increasing international tension, and more complicated public policy, the theory of public administration must quickly adapt. Traditional models of public administration based on strict hierarchical subordination are extremely ineffective, which necessitates their radical rethinking and redesign. These changes affect the requirements for the qualification profile of civil servants. The key trend is the rejection of team management methods in favor of methods based on participation, involvement, effective motivation. The purpose of the study is to analyze the theory of public administration basic concepts (models); to establish the functions and tasks of civil servants and arrange them; to identify key trends in the society development that affect the qualification profile of civil servants. The research is based on scientific works, statistical data of national and foreign agencies and institutes, empirical data. Scientific methods: literature analysis, comparative analysis, synthesis, generalization, observation; methods, used in the article are of scientific abstraction and abstract thinking. The novelty of the research lies in the conclusion that the paradigm of public administration shifts towards social partnership and decentralization of public administration, increasing the responsibility of civil servants.

Public administration and governance must adapt to the changing socio-economic environment, improving quality, process efficiency, and collaboration. Hence, public administration and public governance models have been significantly modified multiple times, resulting in differences in public governance practices. This paper examines different public governance models’ principles in Slovene and Japanese public administration. It quantifies elements based on the models' principles and applies them to an empirical case using a survey of 55 Slovene and 135 Japanese public managers. The independent samples t-test examines the differences in characteristics of public governance practices between state administration and local government in Slovenia and Japan. The results show that state administration institutions in both countries are strongly characterised by the (Neo)Weberian model’s principles, while Slovenia's local government leans towards Digital-era governance (DEG) and good governance (GG) principles. Japan's state and local administrations show equal presence of New public management (NPM), DEG, and GG models. The study aims to bridge a research gap by providing new findings on how different public governance models can be found at various Slovene and Japanese public administration levels and offers insights for public managers and policymakers for future public administration reforms.

This study analyzes the legislative and revisionary process of the Act on Special Cases Concerning the Punishment, etc. of Child Abuse Crimes as a case of child welfare policy through the lens of Kingdon’s Multiple Streams Framework. The rising incidence of child abuse, accompanied by shifts in public awareness and growing demands for legal and policy reform, significantly influenced the enactment and repeated amendments of the law. By situating these developments in relation to the Child Welfare Act, this study seeks to examine broader directions in child welfare policy. Through a comparative analysis of key events, policy streams, and political contexts across different periods, the research finds that policy entrepreneurs vary over time, reflecting changes in the surrounding policy environment. Furthermore, it concludes that to ensure substantial and sustainable policy transformation, long-term deliberation and institutional support are essential beyond the enactment of legislation. This study holds academic and policy relevance in highlighting how responses to child abuse are shaped through the interplay of diverse actors and complex policy dynamics.

This article examines the impact of the institutional environment on life expectancy and quality of life in Kazakhstan. The study utilizes methods of systemic and comparative analysis, official statistical data from the Republic of Kazakhstan, and data from the World Bank and WHO. It focuses on the effectiveness of public administration, the accessibility and development of the healthcare system, and the quality of education and social infrastructure. The analysis revealed that inadequate institutional mechanisms reduce the effectiveness of the healthcare sector, which negatively impacts life expectancy. Furthermore, it was established that regional inequality, environmental factors, and socioeconomic differences directly impact demographic indicators. The study's findings demonstrate the importance of equitable resource distribution, expanded digitalization, strengthened preventive measures, and improved human resources policies to increase life expectancy.

This paper examines how network structure and coordinating mechanisms in the US power transmission system affect the integration of wind energy through comparative case studies. The two transmission network cases represent two major transmission network governance models in the US power sector. Using archival data from all network participants and interviews with key stakeholders, we find that a centralized transmission network coordinated by an independent network administrative organization (NAO) is more effective in integrating wind power than a less centralized structure. Particularly, the concentration of decision-making authorities is a more substantial determinant than the structural centrality of the core agency. The two cases also highlight that hierarchy, collaboration, and market mechanisms coexist in a transmission network to manage the tension between stability and flexibility. When the network operates in a turbulent environment with great uncertainties, different coordinating mechanisms complement each other to improve system resilience.

This study explores how Vietnamese civil servants address the complex paradoxes created by the “iron cage” of bureaucracy, particularly within the volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous (VUCA) environment of modern public administration. Using in-depth qualitative interviews with 30 public officials from diverse regions and roles, this study uncovered a nuanced spectrum of adaptive strategies, including compliance, accommodation, collectivization, inertia, and distortion. By integrating classical and contemporary bureaucracy theories with real-world accounts, this study highlights how traditional hierarchical cultures and rigid procedures simultaneously support stability and impede effective adaptation. Comparative analysis of global and regional public sector reforms reveals both the unique and shared dilemmas faced by Vietnamese officials. The findings have significant implications for policy reforms, organizational change, and future research on state capacity, accountability, and innovation in developing countries. This paper argues that successful bureaucratic adaptation in a VUCA world requires balancing institutional orders with responsible discretion and fostering a culture of learning, resilience, and ethical public services.

The article is dedicated to creating a promising methodology for developing long-term strategies in Russia. A comparative analysis of long-term strategies in Russia and in Western countries was carried out according to the following criteria: declared values, understanding of progressiveness, a place and a role in the society, content, indicators. The essential difference between domestic and foreign documents is demonstrated. Thus, a key focus of foreign strategies is human-oriented development, the creation of an environment of equal opportunities in which each resident will be able to maximize their potential. In Russia strategies are more oriented at achieving indicators of higher documents, full compliance with higher documents and formal provisions of laws. The fundamental distinction is a completely different approach to understanding progress. In the developed countries’ strategies the progress is perceived as sustainable development, improving the quality of life, maintaining the vitality of ecosystems and creating an environment for unlocking human potential, in many Russian ones it is seen as economic growth, industrial development and attracting investments at any cost. Such a mismatch leads to the discrepancies in the set of indicators, the quality and composition of structural blocks, key development tools, its nature, etc. It is shown that a promising methodology of strategic planning can be based on an environmentally-oriented (research program of ecological economics) and human-oriented approaches, as well as integrate modern tools of direct democracy. This methodology was used by the authors in designing strategies for the socio-economic development of Russian regions and cities in recent years.

This study explores how administrative culture shapes institutional resilience and adaptive governance in South Africa’s volatile policy environment. Confronted with service delivery failures, governance instability, and public trust deficits, the public sector requires adaptive capacity to withstand systemic shocks. Using a comparative case study of selected national and provincial departments, the research integrates interviews with senior officials, policy document analysis, and survey data. Findings show that collaborative ethos, openness to innovation, and internal accountability strengthen resilience, while rigid hierarchies and siloed decision-making impede responsiveness. Departments with inclusive, learning-oriented cultures adapt more effectively to disruption. By positioning administrative culture as a pivotal enabler of adaptive governance, the study contributes to public administration theory from a Global South perspective and offers actionable guidance for reform. Practically, it underscores that cultivating resilience-oriented cultures can enhance service delivery, rebuild trust, and stabilize governance systems in South Africa’s ongoing institutional reform efforts.

The study discusses the issues related to the institutional mechanisms of integration of the Kherson region into the political, administrative and socio-economic space of the Russian Federation. The authors analyze the complex process of embedding a new subject of the Russian Federation into the system of public administration, the legal, financial and managerial environment of the country. The authors compare the integration processes of the Kherson region with the experience of integrating the Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol in 2014-2016, revealing both common features and significant differences due to the military-political situation, personnel shortages and infrastructure problems. The research uses both general and specialized academic methods, such as synthesis, deduction, comparative analysis, sociological survey, as well as analysis of the legal framework and scientific literature. Based on the analysis of regulatory acts and a sociological survey conducted by 131 experts in the field of public administration (civil servants, teachers, heads of authorities of the Kherson region) the main barriers to integration have been identified, including staff shortages, problems with information systems and legal regulation. The experts emphasize the need for a systematic personnel policy, professional development, transition to Russian standards for the provision of public services, and enhanced cooperation with the federal government. Special importance is attached to measures and tools that contribute to the legitimization of the new government - the restoration of infrastructure, transparency of governance and public involvement in integration processes. The study emphasizes that successful integration requires not only the technical adaptation of the newly annexed region to federal standards, but also a comprehensive systemic transformation aimed at such results as managerial efficiency, social legitimacy and strategic planning. The conclusions and recommendations obtained are of interest to specialists in the field of economics, political science, state and municipal administration and may be in demand when developing state policy in the field of management of new territories.

This article addresses a critical issue in evidence‐informed policymaking: the challenge of translating knowledge into policy outputs amidst the complex interplay between research and politics. It discusses the concept of “blocked learning,” where individual‐level learning fails to scale up to organizational and policy levels, thus impeding evidence‐informed policymaking. The analysis identifies three primary factors that obstruct this knowledge transfer: weak organizational capacity characterized by a rigid and fragmented administrative environment, difficulties in data collection, and a lack of policy evaluation culture; the over‐politicization of expertise and public administration; and the absence of collaboration between public sector actors and civil society. Drawing on secondary literature and empirical data from a study of policy learning within European soft law instruments in Greece, Italy, and Spain, the article offers a comparative analysis of these factors. Furthermore, the article discusses solutions to unblock learning and to improve the integration of evidence into policy practices.

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