The European Public Servant as a Model? The Influence of National Civil Service Models on the Design of International Administrations

Stephan Grohs / Christoph Knill, Universität Konstanz The European Public Servant as a Model? The Influence of National Civil Service Models on the Design of International Administrations. At the beginning of the 21st century bureaucracy has become a defining feature of the international system. International public administrations (IPA), i.e. the administrative bodies of International Organizations, now play a greater role in domestic and international policymaking than ever before. They constitute the most recent addition to the multi-level architecture of modern public administration. Yet surprisingly little is known about their internal organisational structure and decision-making processes, their administrative culture, their autonomy vis-à-vis their political principals, or their relationships with other administrations and societal actors. While international organisations broadly differ in their size, tasks and competencies, we still have limited knowledge about the extent to which they also differ as administrations. Among the most urgent lacunas is the status of International Public Servants and the design of International Civil Service Systems. Therefore, the contribution will examine design of International Service Systems and especially focus on the influence of national models of public service systems on their design. In the European nation-states, distinct models of civil service systems have developed over long periods of time, building on specific administrative traditions and responding to specific functional needs. European systems differ widely e.g. in their modes of recruitment, education, promotion, remuneration, evaluation and retirement. The contribution will ask, which elements of these national systems have influenced the Civil Service Systems of a sample of 11 International Administrations (European Commission, UN-Secretariat, OSCE, NATO, WTO, IMF, World Bank, OECD, ILO, WHO, UNESCO) and their development over time. Building on theories of institutional design and institutional change, we will present a theoretical framework for the diffusion of specific elements of national civil service systems and the underlying images of the role of public servants.