Open AccessPublic administration reform and political will in cases of political instability: Insights from the Israeli experience
Author(s) -
Nissim Cohen
Publication year - 2022
Publication title -
public policy and administration
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.589
H-Index - 37
eISSN - 1749-4192
pISSN - 0952-0767
DOI - 10.1177/09520767221076059
Subject(s) - politics , political instability , administration (probate law) , context (archaeology) , public administration , political science , political economy , work (physics) , economics , law , mechanical engineering , paleontology , biology , engineering
How do public administration reforms develop in cases of political instability? Administrative reform has always been on the agenda of governments. Ample literature discusses its necessity and the factors that are associated with both its successes and failures worldwide. Nevertheless, only a few studies discuss the impact of political instability on public administration reform. Focusing on the Israeli experience, we explore public administration reform in the context of political instability. Using content analysis and in-depth interviews, we highlight how political instability adds more costs to politicians’ cost-benefit calculations about actively promoting public administration reform, as well as how it blocks their desire to engage in mundane work when large, visible reforms have been proposed. Our findings indicate that the problems of non-governability and political instability that create the need for administrative reform also create powerful barriers to it—particularly the lack of political will.