JPART 36/3 pp. 378-392 2026-03-15 Original Reversing the accountability chain: how relational power can shape accountability in public encounters
Sara C Closs-Davies, Koen P R Bartels, Doris Merkl-Davies
GOV 39/2 2026-03-15
Original Beyond Democratic Backsliding: Bureaucracy, Elite Dynamics and Administrative Change in Authoritarian Transitions
Kutsal Yesilkagit, Johan Christensen
Abstract
ABSTRACT This paper examines how political and administrative elites shape regime transformations under authoritarian rule, proposing an elite‐centered analytical perspective that complements prevailing accounts of “democratic backsliding.” We show how embedding political–administrative relations within a broader elite‐theoretical framework clarifies the mechanisms through which elite reconfiguration underwrites institutional erosion. Drawing on classical and contemporary elite theory, we argue that shifts in elite coalitions among politicians, bureaucrats, and economic actors drive regime changes more than institutional erosion or ideological movements. Through comparative historical analysis of interwar Italy and Germany, we illustrate distinct elite‐driven pathways to authoritarian consolidation: Mussolini's Italy involved strategic alliances with traditional elites, while Hitler's Germany pursued radical elite replacement. Our findings highlight the critical role of elite realignments in transforming institutions and economic policies, often maintaining a façade of electoral legitimacy. This elite‐theoretical approach offers nuanced insights into contemporary shifts toward autocratic governance, emphasizing the importance of analyzing elite networks and interactions to comprehend the deeper mechanics of political transformation. Our findings thus contribute to public administration scholarship by theorizing how elite realignments transform bureaucratic structures and alter the nature of political‐administrative relationships under authoritarian conditions.
PMR — pp. 1-29 2026-03-13 Original Local civil servants and democratic innovations: do role conceptions matter for the assessment of participatory decision-making instruments?
Willem Goutry, Tessa Haesevoets, Kristof Steyvers, Bram Verschuere
PAR 86/4 pp. 891-900 2026-03-12 Original Updating Tocqueville's Remedies Against Democratic Despotism: Civic Engagement, Local Self‐Governance, and Public Administration
PA — 2026-03-11
Original Understanding Accountability in AI Use Within the Public Sector: Insights From State Governments in the United States
Tzuhao Chen, Mila Gasco‐Hernandez, J. Ramon Gil‐Garcia
JCC — pp. 1-18 2026-03-11 Original Trust Chains and the Resilience of Patronage Networks :The Use of Indirect Guanxi Under Anti-Corruption
Ji Ruan, Yuanyuan Lu, Shizhan Ruan
PAR 86/5 pp. 1407-1419 2026-03-11 Original Regulatory Offsetting Schemes as Effective Governmental Self‐Binding Device? Lessons From the German Experience
PA — 2026-03-10
Original Social Equity Through Women's Empowerment: Women's Participation in Local Politics, Budgeting and Decision‐Making in Bangladesh
PA — 2026-03-10
Original How Do Strikes and Lockouts Affect Applications to Danish Public Service Professional Education Programs? A Synthetic Control Analysis
Christian Heide, Florian Keppeler
PAR 86/3 pp. 581-594 2026-03-09 Original Practice Without Theory? The Wonder of Bethpage Black
Odd J. Stalebrink
Abstract
ABSTRACT Bethpage State Park's Black Course offers a rare historical case of administrative capacity emerging under conditions of uncertainty, fiscal constraint, and urgent public purpose during the Great Depression. Built with relief labor and without the benefit of fully developed public administration or budgeting doctrines, the project required administrators to invent workable practices as construction unfolded. Drawing on extensive archival records, this article reconstructs Bethpage as a historical case of administrative capacity emerging through practice rather than formal design. The analysis identifies four interrelated mechanisms through which capacity developed: alignment of ambition and necessity, coordination through routine budgeting and reporting, discipline embedded in oversight, and endurance through institutional memory. Together, these mechanisms show how effective governance can arise from improvisation, constraint, and learning under pressure. The case demonstrates that administrative discipline and creativity need not be opposites and offers practical insights for contemporary public managers facing complex, uncertain, and time‐sensitive challenges.