Political Discretion and Administrative Authority: a Comparison of Chief Administrative Officers in 30 Countries

In a meritocratic political environment, the professional duties to manage the organization, other civil servants or substantive policy domains within the ministerial executive is insulated from direct political control and direction. In fact, the position of Chief Administrative Officer (CHAO) is universally regarded as the person in charge of the administrative part of the public service bargain, guarding the meritocratic and non-political nature of bureaucracy which is considered essential for democratic governance. How accurate is this image across different countries in Europe? Based on an original dataset of a diverse sample of 30 countries’ formal-legal framework, , we examine the formal powers of CHAOs in the ministerial hierarchy vis-à-vis other political and bureaucratic actors as well as the degree of political discretion in CHAO appointment and their protection from discretionary removal. The paper seeks to identify distinct patterns and variation in the powers and autonomy of CHAOs. This research will serve as foundation to assess whether distinct models of organization and their insulation from political intervention matter for actual politicization and the bureaucracy’s ability to serve as guardian of core democratic values.