PMR — pp. 1-30 2026-09-16 Original Welfare State Convergence or Robustness? Comparing Nonprofit Marketization Patterns Across Belgium, Sweden and the United States
Ben Suykens, Johan Hvenmark, ChiaKo Hung, Aaron Van Steenlandt, Bram Verschuere
PAR — 2026-09-10
Original Restoring the Deformed Administrative State? Bureaucratic Repair After Illiberal Rule
Michael W. Bauer, Daniel Kovarek, Bárbara Motta, Andrzej Schultz
PA — 2026-04-28
Original Governing the Local Digital Transformation: A European Comparative Perspective
Sabine Kuhlmann, Justine Marienfeldt, Frederico Ganz
Abstract
ABSTRACT This study compares governance structures, policy formulation and implementation of administrative digitalization at the local level in three countries with different administrative traditions: France, Germany and the United Kingdom. A new analytical framework is developed that allows for a systematic comparison of administrative digitalization in different national contexts. To this end, we draw on concepts from comparative public administration and public policy analysis and assess whether and how national political and institutional contexts and ‘initial conditions’ influence local administrative digitalization. Three distinct models of governance are identified that reflect specific administrative traditions: a centralized and coordinated approach in France, a fragmented and multilevel system in Germany, and a centralized and decoupled model in the United Kingdom. Despite these differences, all countries priorities a policy‐making model based on voluntary participation and incentive systems in the digitalization of municipal administration. In terms of the results of the reforms, there are notable differences between countries: high digital maturity in the United Kingdom, medium and low levels of maturity in Germany and France. The continuation of capacity differences is also emphasized, with growing digital divides between municipalities.