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Functionele politisering en politieke fragmentatie

Ontwikkelingen in de ambtelijke top in de periode 2007-2021

Trefwoorden polarization, functional politicization, senior civil servants, bureaucratic powers, civil service scrutiny
Auteurs Caspar van den Berg en Alexandre Belloir
DOI
Auteursinformatie

Caspar van den Berg
Caspar van den Berg is hoogleraar Global and Local Governance aan de Rijksuniversiteit Groningen en bijzonder hoogleraar Transities in de Publieke Sector aan de Universiteit Leiden.

Alexandre Belloir
Alexandre Belloir is promovendus bij het Departement Global and Local Governance van de Rijksuniversiteit Groningen.
  • Samenvatting

      Functional politicization – political activities and capacities taken on by bureaucrats within their administrative function – has received increased academic attention over recent years. Regardless, the factors and determinants behind this phenomenon remain a point of uncertainty and debate. Within this study, we explore whether increased political polarization and fragmentation in the Dutch political landscape from 2007 to 2019 and functional politicization are related. To do so, we analyze data from surveys conducted in 2007, 2013 and 2019 and semi-structured interviews conducted in 2019 to establish which skills – political-strategic insight, substantive expertise (Fachwissen), or procedural knowledge (Dienstwissen) – are perceived by senior civil servants to be the most prevalent in exercising their profession. The data depicts the prevalence of political astuteness in the profession and highlights three causal dimensions: institutional, organizational, and interpersonal dynamics. It however fails to highlight a cross-time evolution, which is hypothesized to be due to a ceiling effect of this competence having constantly been perceived as the most prevalent. The latter adds a theoretical dimension to the notion of functional politicisation, as it aligns with other academic findings that suggest senior civil servants are now subject to heightened pressures due to being increasingly monitored and in the (public) spotlight.

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