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While the positive aspects, but also pathologies, of performance measurement and management are today well known, we know less about the impact of NPM reform on governance. Using Bertelsmann SGI data (2009 and 2022) from 30 advanced democracies and a unique dataset measuring NPM reform in 14 countries, we study how core aspects of governing capacity have been impacted by, or triggered as responses to, public management reform. While the executive capacity of government has increased, NPM has not increased the accountability of executive government. Corruption prevention has increased between 2009 and 2022, while legal certainty has improved only marginally. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background National action plans (NAPs) are key instruments for governing antimicrobial resistance (AMR). In Europe, we can now observe many countries updating their NAPs which raise two key research questions; what substantial modifications are states opting for, and how do they wish to address challenges related to AMR governance in a comparative perspective? Methods Building on a previous analytical classification, we address these two questions by examining data of updated versions of NAPs in 13 European Union member states covering seventeen elements related to AMR governance. Results Our results substantiate the large variation with regard to both substantive issues and governance-related matters. Most tellingly, they highlight the growing importance of the One Health approach in updated versions of NAPs. Our analysis also shows that while substantive issues remain important, One Health and the coordination and collaboration issues it entails are becoming more salient in the second or third generation of NAPs. Conclusions Updated NAPs suggest that EU member states are becoming increasingly knowledgeable on the causes and consequences of AMR and how it needs to be addressed. The enhanced level of knowledge also leads these countries to address the next set of issues and challenges; to improve domestic and international coordination and collaboration. Thus, the revised NAPs present a noticeable development from substantive issues towards governance issues. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Growing antimicrobial resistance (AMR) threatens modern medicine and global food security through the gradual loss of effective antibiotics and other crucial drugs and chemicals. This dispiriting but inexorable development presents daunting social and political challenges because it arises from how drugs are produced and people everywhere in the world use them. Results of monumental international efforts led by United Nations and European Union bodies to create common purpose and concerted actions against AMR since the early 2010s are so far discouraging. Declarations and plans have proliferated. But social factors such as national and local politics have stymied effective action. Nevertheless, countries in Europe demonstrate that AMR mitigation is politically possible. This article draws on contributions to the SI on AMR politics and governance to illustrate how. Specific institutional arrangements, cultural values, and leadership commitments have had strong impacts on the degree of success of AMR policies. In turn, these factors represent important political conditions that some policymakers have successfully navigated. Hence, the SI's contributions can offer policy leaders and entrepreneurs clues for domestic and local political efforts to control AMR. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Do basic administrative arrangements in the national public sector affect the prevalence of antimicrobial resistance (AMR), and if so, how? AMR, one of humanity's most pressing challenges according to the World Health Organization, is typically caused by factors inherent to the natural sciences. In this paper, however, we investigate the indirect causal effect of politics and administration on the management of AMR. In a mixed-methodological approach drawing on a panel regression combined with 46 semi-structured interviews with senior bureaucrats and experts from all member states of the European Union (EU), we derive four distinct clusters of countries in AMR governance. The analysis shows that politico-administrative arrangements in the EU follow a north-to-south and east-to-west pattern in the prevalence of AMR. We apply institutional theories of path dependency and administrative autonomy to explain such 'worlds' of AMR governance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Liberal democracy has become vulnerable to illiberal political movements and the gradual erosion of democratic institutions. To safeguard liberal democracy, we propose the concept of the Guardian State, which embraces liberal principles while acting as a defensive barrier against illiberal tendencies. We need strong administrative institutions that uphold liberal democratic norms and resist pressures from populist politicians. Institutionalizing guardianship as the key norm within the civil service fortifies democratic institutions against backsliding. The principle of neutrality alone cannot ensure that only liberal citizens come to power. Structural measures at the individual and organizational levels are essential to fortify the foundations of the Guardian State and protect liberal democracy against evolving threats. Proactive efforts are necessary to defend and strengthen the public service to ensure the long‐term viability of democratic governance. The Guardian State places the bureaucracy in a key role in preserving the core principles of democracy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Political issues sometimes display an intriguing combination of high degrees of complexity, low political saliency, and high levels of administrative autonomy. This article investigates how this type of issues shapes the relationship between politicians and the public service. More specifically, we advance the notion of "administrative action space" to describe the emergence of collaborative governance when directives from the political level are intermittent or absent. Using an illustrative case on the administration of measures to address antimicrobial resistance (AMR), a transnational public health issue in Europe, we find that senior public servants nested in epistemic communities play a leading role in driving agency and facilitating governance of complex but low‐salient issues when administrative autonomy is extensive. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]