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The core executive and small states: Is coordination the primary challenge?
Author(s) -
Corbett Jack,
Veenendaal Wouter,
Connell John
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
public administration
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.313
H-Index - 93
eISSN - 1467-9299
pISSN - 0033-3298
DOI - 10.1111/padm.12682
Subject(s) - dominance (genetics) , corporate governance , core (optical fiber) , adaptation (eye) , linkage (software) , politics , political science , work (physics) , focus (optics) , executive summary , sociology , public relations , positive economics , business , management , economics , psychology , computer science , law , engineering , optics , neuroscience , gene , finance , mechanical engineering , telecommunications , biochemistry , chemistry , physics
This article interrogates three key arguments derived from the functional approach to studying the core executive: (1) that coordination is the primary problem that confronts executive decision‐makers; (2) that improved coordination will lead to better governance; and (3) that linkage problems dissipate as policy systems consolidate. Drawing on the experience of hitherto understudied small states, including 112 interviews with political elites, we show how the effects of country size create governance challenges in the form of leader dominance, patronage systems and capacity constraints. Our findings support the call to broaden the focus of functional analysis beyond its traditional emphasis on coordination. For scholars of small states we synthesize existing empirical findings and provide a theoretical justification for future work using an adaptation of the core executive approach.