Bureaucracy in International Relations I: Bureaucratic Representation

Session Submission Type: Full Paper Panel

Session Description

This is the first panel of a three-panel series on bureaucratic politics in international relations. The papers in this panel investigate the role of bureaucratic representation—the extent to which individuals in public administration reflect the demographic attributes of the populations they serve. Lindsey, Malis, and Thrall examine how gender bias has impacted women’s career trajectories in the U.S. Foreign Service. Suong studies the consequences of the Foreign Service’s lack of representativeness on the perceived legitimacy of U.S. foreign policy among international audiences. Gray and Kim consider how the international environment shapes the self-selection of bureaucrats into international bureaucracies on the basis of the strength of their national loyalties. Thorvaldsdottir demonstrates the consequences of staff nationality on the funding and performance of U.N. agencies. Altogether, these papers highlight the importance of understanding the causes and consequences of representation gaps in the bureaucracies tasked with executing foreign policy and facilitating international cooperation.

Please also see the related panels: “Bureaucracy in International Relations, pt. II: Bureaucratic Autonomy” and “Bureaucracy in International Relations, pt. III: Bureaucratic Capacity”

Sub Unit

• Division 17: International Collaboration

Individual Presentations

• Gender Bias in the U.S. Foreign Service - Matt Malis, Texas A&M University; David Lindsey, Baruch College, CUNY; Calvin Thrall, Columbia University

• Bureaucratic Representativeness and Foreign Policy Legitimacy - Clara H. Suong, Virginia Tech

• Bureaucratic Autonomy of the ILO and League of Nations in World War II - Julia Gray, University of Pennsylvania; Minju Kim, Syracuse University

• Earmarking, Staffing and Control of International Organizations - Svanhildur Thorvaldsdottir, University of Iceland

Chair

• Austin Carson University of Chicago

Discussants

• Lindsay R. Dolan Wesleyan University

• Faisal Z. Ahmed Wellesley College