New Perspectives on the Political Control of the Bureaucracy

Session Submission Type: Full Paper Panel

Session Description

The common theme across the papers in this panel is the interplay between political control of the bureaucracy, bureaucratic management strategies, and regulatory processes within US government agencies.

The first paper delves into Presidential strategies to shape the behavior of bureaucratic policymakers, emphasizing the complementarity of political appointments and regulatory review in shaping bureaucratic behavior.

Shifting focus to employment practices, the second paper explores the effects of removing civil servants' merit protections on patterns of hiring, firing, and compensation in state bureaucracies, specifically in Mississippi.

The third paper broadens the perspective to state and local government involvement in federal rulemaking. This study investigates the conditions under which subnational governments prioritize commenting on federal rules. The research demonstrates that extensive communication occurs between different levels of government, contingent on partisan agreement.

The fourth paper investigates how bureaucratic agencies use Twitter for agenda-setting and influencing congressional oversight. The study shows that agencies can strategically direct oversight by providing political information through Twitter.

The fifth paper addresses congressional control of agency action through budget appropriations, particularly focusing on the Federal Election Commission (FEC).

These papers collectively contribute with new perspectives to the study of executive politics, revealing the multifaceted ways in which political control and regulatory processes influence each other within the complex landscape of government agencies.

Sub Unit

• Division 23: Presidents and Executive Politics

Individual Presentations

• At-Will Employment in Bureaucracies: Evidence from Mississippi - Benjamin Goehring, University of Michigan

• Presidential Appointments and Regulatory Review as Strategic Substitutes - Annie Benn, Colgate University

• State and Local Government Involvement in Federal Rulemaking - Maria Silfa, The Ohio State University; Mary Kroeger, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill

• Bureaucrats on Twitter: Bureaucratic Agenda-Setting and Congressional Oversight - Luca Bellodi, Stanford University; Hye Young You, Princeton University

• Delaying Democracy: Capacity and Political Control at the FEC - Christina M. Kinane, Yale University; Kevin Xiao

Chair

• Kenneth Lowande University of Michigan

Discussant

• Hye Young You Princeton University