The Transversalization of the State? Exploring the Growth and Renewal of Steering and Managerial State Capacities in Comparative Perspective (France, Germany)

For almost two decades, scholars have suggested that NPM reforms have generated a strong trend of reinforcement of state steering capacities ‘from the center’, by emphasizing the growth of functions such as control, coordination, regulation, human resource management, etc. within central governments. This movement has been subject of multiple labeling like ‘the steering state model’ (Peters, 1996), ‘regulation inside government’ (Hood et al., 1999), ‘steering from the center’ (Dahlström, Peters, Pierre, 2011), ‘the self-care of the state’ (souci de soi de l’Etat, Bezes, 2009, 2012) or ‘post-bureaucracy’ (Clegg, 2012 ; Diefenbach, Todnem By, 2012). Disregarding their specificities, all approaches indicate that “transversal” administrative structures have been institutionalizing, resulting in a new development of managerial functions in public bureaucracies. While overall dynamics have been identified, the extent, diversity, and historical evolution of these transversal functions have not often been systematically studied. Based on a novel database, mapping the transformations of the French and German administrative structures from 1980 to 2014 (ORA project SOG-PRO), this paper examines the variety of these so-called transversal functions in two continental states. The paper will study the development of these organizations in time, while trying to map their diversity and to measure their possible growth in the French and German states. The paper will explore the locations of these structures in order to understand whether they evolve in ‘steering’ ministries like Prime Minister Office, Finances, etc. or whether we observe a ‘decentralized’ development in policy-based ministries. Are some functions more developed than others? Are they redesigning structures by shifting organizational boundaries? The paper’s aim is to explore the dynamics of a possible transversalization of the State e.g. the various specialized structures and dynamics aimed at shaping centripetal, inter-ministerial, and transversal forces of steering, coordinating, managing, and/or controlling central governments.