Murdoch, Zuzana, Connolly, Sara, Kassim, Hussein and Geys, Ben (2021) Legitimacy crises and the temporal dynamics of bureaucratic representation. Governance. ISSN 0952-1895

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Abstract

The representation of specific groups and social interests within (or by) the civil service has long been a concern of public administration scholarship. Yet, much of this literature focuses on representation at a single point in time. In this article, we propose a more dynamic perspective. In terms of theory, we postulate specific temporal relationships between triggering cues (e.g., a crisis event) and the representation decisions of civil servants. We specify two complementary mechanisms underlying these relationships: i.e. a sensemaking process whereby the perceived meaning and relative salience of distinct groups and interests changes over time; and a shift in bureaucrats’ discretion to represent specific groups or interests changes over time. We illustrate these time-dependent processes using interview and survey data from the European Commission.

Item Type:	Article
Uncontrolled Keywords:	crisis,european commission,representative bureaucracy,sensemaking,time
Faculty \ School:	Faculty of Social Sciences > Norwich Business School Faculty of Arts and Humanities > School of Politics, Philosophy, Language and Communication Studies University of East Anglia > Faculty of Arts and Humanities > Research Groups > Political, Social and International Studies
Related URLs:	http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?... https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/...
Depositing User:	LivePure Connector
Date Deposited:	09 Dec 2020 01:07
Last Modified:	10 Feb 2021 01:02
URI:	https://ueaeprints.uea.ac.uk/id/eprint/77916
DOI:	10.1111/gove.12569

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