LIST OF WORKSHOPS

Objectives:

This panel aims to bring together scholars from different regions that study street-level bureaucracy and frontline work in contexts of low trust, social inequality, and limited state capacity. The objective is to generate new insights about the way systemic conditions shape the nature of frontline work, develop a clearer focus on the coping mechanisms frontline workers and citizens develop in contested contexts, and open up research in low-trust contexts to the mainstream academic debate.

Research Context and Questions:

Most of the theory about street-level bureaucracy has been developed in the US and in Western European countries, under conditions related to liberal democracies, strong institutions and, in some cases, welfare states with low inequalities (Lipsky 1980, Maynard-Moody and Musheno, 2003, Hupe and Hill, 2007, Hupe, 2019, Hill, Hupe and Buffat, 2015). However, it is problematic to extrapolate some of the findings from this literature into contexts where conditions are strikingly different, such as countries characterized by weak democratic institutions and low state capacity, scarcity of resources, conservative societies, and high socio-economic inequality. Working with the concept of ´weak institutions´ (Brinks et al., 2020), this panel invites scholars from especially Africa, the Middle East, South Asia, South-East Asia, and Latin America to contrast their findings and insights with existing theory building on street-level bureaucracy and frontline work.

We invite papers that address the following questions:

-     What happens to street-level bureaucracy in countries with weak institutions? How do these characteristics affect discretion and accountability?

-     How do characteristics of low trust countries, such as corruption, clientelism, and patronage, affect frontline work?

-     How do frontline workers cope with working in contexts of high inequalities, scarcity of resources, and weak institutions?

-     To what extent do frontline workers compensate for institutional deficiencies or, on the contrary, abuse discretionary spaces?

We invite papers that analyze different types of frontline settings (social programs, enforcement, desk work, and so on); using different methods (qualitative, quantitative or mixed) and different approaches to frontline work. We also invite comparative studies.

Expected impact on public policy research:

We expect the panel to contribute to street-level bureaucracy theory through evidence from contexts and countries different than those already studied by the literature. We expect that these studies contribute to fill a gap in our understanding of street-level bureaucracy in different contexts and test some of the theories already proposed by mainstream literature. Discussions may also contribute to the literature about development and developing countries, improving the knowledge about challenges in public service delivery and rule enforcement.

Tentative output suggestions:

The panel aims to impact the debate on frontline work, street-level bureaucracy, and state-citizen interactions in Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the broader international academic community. The ambition is to become an international reference for studies on street-level bureaucracy and citizen-state interactions. More specifically, the panel will pursue various publication outlets, including the possibility of an international book project and a special issue in a prominent international journal on public administration. The panel will also seek to be a platform for researchers to participate in the broader international academic community, such as academic conferences on street-level bureaucracy. Finally, the panel aims to foster exchange of researchers among universities and institutes.

The vast majority of what we know about street-level bureaucracy and frontline work comes from studies in advanced democracies. But what happens in different social, political, and administrative contexts? Implicit assumptions about professionalism, state capacity, and social trust shape the way we have come to understand frontline work and citizen-state interactions. In this workshop, we invite scholars to address the challenges of frontline work under conditions of low trust, social inequality, and limited state capacity. The objective of the workshop is to generate new insights about the way systemic conditions shape the nature of frontline work, develop a clearer focus on the coping mechanisms frontline workers and citizens develop in contested contexts, and open up research in low-trust contexts to the mainstream academic debate.

For the 3rd edition of this panel, we hope to bring together scholars from especially Africa, the Middle East, South Asia, South-East Asia, and Latin America with a shared interest in frontline work in contexts of low trust, social inequality, and limited state capacity. We invite papers that analyze different types of frontline settings (social programs, enforcement, desk work, and so on) and use different methods (qualitative, quantitative, or mixed). One of the ambitions of the workshop is to develop collaborative publications, such as a book project or a journal special issue.

Questions that should guide the papers:

-     What happens to street-level bureaucracy in countries with weak institutions and low trust? How do these characteristics affect discretion and accountability?

-     How do characteristics of low trust countries, such as corruption, clientelism, and patronage, affect frontline work?

-     How do frontline workers cope with working in contexts of high inequalities, scarcity of resources, and weak institutions?

-     To what extent do frontline workers compensate for institutional deficiencies or, on the contrary, abuse discretionary spaces?

-     How is the interaction between frontline workers and citizens affected by these characteristics?

Main Topics:

-     Frontline work in weak institutions

-     Administrative burdens

-     Social inequality and service delivery

-     Low trust and citizen-state interactions

-     Professionalism and accountability

-     Street-level corruption, patronage, and clientelism

The vast majority of what we know about street-level bureaucracy and frontline work comes from studies in advanced democracies. But what happens in different social, political, and administrative contexts? Implicit assumptions about professionalism, state capacity, and social trust shape the way we have come to understand frontline work and citizen-state interactions. In this workshop, we invite scholars to address the challenges of frontline work under conditions of low trust, social inequality, and limited state capacity. The objective of the workshop is to generate new insights about the way systemic conditions shape the nature of frontline work, develop a clearer focus on the coping mechanisms frontline workers and citizens develop in contested contexts, and open up research in low-trust contexts to the mainstream academic debate.

Rik Peeters is a research professor at the public administration department of the Centre for Research and Teaching in Economics (CIDE) in Mexico City. His main research interests are bureaucratic dysfunction, administrative burdens, e-government and citizen-state interactions. He holds a PhD in public administration from Tilburg University in the Netherlands.

Gabriela Lotta is a Professor of Public Administration and Government of the Getulio Vargas Foundation (FGV), Brazil. Her research interests are policy implementation, frontline workers and the (re)production of social inequalities. She holds a Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of Sao Paulo, Master and graduated in Public Administration from FGV. Coordinator of the Bureaucracy Studies Center at FGV. Coordinator of the State and Public Policy Thematic Area of the Brazilian Association of Political Science (ABCP) and research director of the National Association of Teaching and Research of the Public Affairs. 

Fernando Nieto is associate professor of public administration at the Center for International Studies at El Colegio de Mexico in Mexico City. His research interests include change and organization of the public sector, administrative corruption, bureaucratic pathologies and professionalization of frontline public servants. He holds a doctorate in sociology from the University of Groningen in the Netherlands. More information at www.nietomorales.com.