Bureaucratic Politicization and its Effects on the Behaviour of Senior Civil Servants: Findings from an Interview Study with Former Office Holders in Germany

Over the last decade, significant scholarly attention has been paid to the politicization of bureaucracy (e.g. Dahlström/Niklasson 2013; Eichbaum/Shaw 2015; Halligan 2013; Hood/Lodge 2006; Lewis 2009; Meyer-Sahling 2008; Van den Berg 2011). Broadly defined, the politicization of bureaucracy is understood as “the substitution of political criteria for merit-based criteria in the selection, retention, promotion, rewards, and disciplining of the public service” (Peters/Pierre 2004: 2). While this definition is framed in a neutral way, the widespread attention the concept receives in public and academic discourse is fuelled by two aspects: First the negatively perceived observation that politicians or political parties expand their influence over the bureaucracy (e.g. Christensen et al. 2014; Peters 2013; Kopecky et al. 2016) and second the (not yet proven) assumption that politicization indeed changes the behaviour of bureaucrats and hence modifies administrative outcomes. In order to construct a complete picture of the policy-making process and to understand the emergence of administrative decisions (including formal, procedural and policy questions), it is thus essential to not only explore the role perception but also the decision-making behaviour of ministerial officials, its causes, and its consequences. While role perception of senior civil servants (SCS) and politicization received considerable attention in the literature (e.g. Aberbach et al. 1981; Page/Wright 1999; Peters/Pierre 2004), the linkage to the decision-making behaviour of SCS has been largely disregarded. Our paper takes this research gap as a starting point. The research question is: How is bureaucratic politicization linked to the decision-making behaviour of senior civil servants in the policy process? Our qualitative study is based on personal in-depth interviews with former SCS in the three highest hierarchical positions in federal and Länder ministries in Germany that will be conducted from February to May 2017. Methodically, we combine the qualitative interview study with the vignette technique (e.g. Christensen et al. forthcoming), where the interviewees are confronted with typical reality-based dilemma situations in the policy-making process. This refers, for instance, to situations in which SCS have to balance lawfulness against political considerations. The interview data will be combined with data drawn from an analysis of biographical material including career paths, education, social background and political engagement. These findings will provide insights into the decision-making behaviour of SCS as powerful actors in the policy process. Enhanced knowledge of how political responsiveness/loyalty and professional standards are balanced at the top of administrations can help to develop practical recommendations for institutional development, e.g. in terms of recruitment procedures or control mechanisms.