Triage Bureaucracy: The Organizational Challenge of Implementing Growing Policy Stocks

Christoph Knill; Yves Steinebach; Dionys Zink

doi:10.1017/9781009665872

In an era of constant policy growth (known as policy accumulation), effective policy implementation is a growing challenge for democratic governance across the globe. Triage Bureaucracy explores how government agencies handle expanding portfolios of rules, programs, and regulations using 'policy triage' – a set of strategies for balancing limited resources across increasing implementation demands. Drawing on case studies from six diverse European countries, the authors show how organizations' vulnerability to overburdening and their ability to compensate for overload determine why policy implementation succeeds in some cases while it fails in others. Triage Bureaucracy offers a deeper understanding of the organizational dynamics behind effective governance and, by placing bureaucratic actors at the center of the policy process, shows why policy growth often outpaces our ability to implement it – shedding light on the consequences of an ever expanding policy state. This title is also available as Open Access on Cambridge Core.

‘Triage Bureaucracy is another important step in analyzing and explaining the consequences of the growth of rules in contemporary governments. This examination of the difficult choices that implementing organizations must make about rules contributes to understanding several important aspects of contemporary policy. It provides insights into the expansion of expanding public policy within society, but aids understanding the difficult tasks of individuals administrators and their organizations cope with necessary choices.'

B. Guy Peters - Maurice Falk Professor of Government, University of Pittsburgh

‘Christoph Knill, Yves Steinebach, and Dionys Zink have produced a groundbreaking volume on the important problem of the accumulation of policies. Using extensive sources of data, they map the phenomenon comparatively and help us understand it. As well as introducing new ideas such as policy triage, the book offers powerful insights into the policy process in general, using valuable case studies from European countries. There are lessons for policy-makers in how to manage this phenomenon. Overall, this book challenges us to think differently about governance and the way it works. It will be read carefully by researchers and students for many years to come.'

Peter John - Head of School of Politics and Economics, King's College London

- Aa Reduce text
- Aa Enlarge text

View selected items
Save to my bookmarks
Export citations
Download PDF (zip)
Save to Kindle
Save to Dropbox
Save to Google Drive
Save content to
To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to .

To save content items to your Kindle, first ensure no-reply@cambridge.org is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

Please be advised that item(s) you selected are not available.
You are about to save
Your Kindle email address

Please provide your Kindle email.

@free.kindle.com @kindle.com (service fees apply)

By using this service, you agree that you will only keep content for personal use, and will not openly distribute them via Dropbox, Google Drive or other file sharing services

Contents

Triage Bureaucracy
pp i-ii
- - You have access
  - Open access
- PDF
- HTML
- Export citation

Triage Bureaucracy - Title page
pp iii-iii
The Organizational Challenge of Implementing Growing Policy Stocks
- - You have access
  - Open access
- PDF
- HTML
- Export citation

Copyright page
pp iv-iv
- - You have access
  - Open access
- PDF
- HTML
- Export citation

Contents
pp v-viii
- - You have access
  - Open access
- PDF
- HTML
- Export citation

Figures
pp ix-x
- - You have access
  - Open access
- PDF
- HTML
- Export citation

Tables
pp xi-xii
- - You have access
  - Open access
- PDF
- HTML
- Export citation

Preface
pp xiii-xiv
- - You have access
  - Open access
- PDF
- HTML
- Export citation

Abbreviations
pp xv-xviii
- - You have access
  - Open access
- PDF
- HTML
- Export citation

1 - The Challenge of Implementing Growing Policy Stocks
pp 1-20
- - You have access
  - Open access
- PDF
- HTML
- Export citation

2 - Bureaucratic Overload and Organizational Policy Triage
pp 21-34
Analytical Concepts and Theoretical Argument
- - You have access
  - Open access
- PDF
- HTML
- Export citation

3 - Observing and Explaining Policy Triage
pp 35-49
- - You have access
  - Open access
- PDF
- HTML
- Export citation

4 - Denmark
pp 50-87
Another Day in Paradise
- By With Christian Severin
- - You have access
  - Open access
- PDF
- HTML
- Export citation

5 - Germany
pp 88-120
The Tide Is High
- By Christina Steinbacher, Alexa Lenz
- - You have access
  - Open access
- PDF
- HTML
- Export citation

6 - The United Kingdom
pp 121-168
Implementation on the Highway to Hell?
- - You have access
  - Open access
- PDF
- HTML
- Export citation

7 - Ireland
pp 169-211
Independent Agencies Walking on the Bright Side of Life
- - You have access
  - Open access
- PDF
- HTML
- Export citation

8 - Italy
pp 212-240
Non mollare mai – Never Give Up
- - You have access
  - Open access
- PDF
- HTML
- Export citation

9 - Portugal
pp 241-270
It’s a Hard Knock Life
- By With Christian Aschenbrenner
- - You have access
  - Open access
- PDF
- HTML
- Export citation

10 - Bureaucratic Policy Triage in Comparative Perspective
pp 271-285
- - You have access
  - Open access
- PDF
- HTML
- Export citation

11 - Conclusion
pp 286-298
- - You have access
  - Open access
- PDF
- HTML
- Export citation

Appendices
pp 299-315
- - You have access
  - Open access
- PDF
- HTML
- Export citation

Appendix A - Overview of the Empirical Evidence
pp 299-302
- - You have access
  - Open access
- PDF
- HTML
- Export citation

Appendix B - Supplementary Interview Methods
pp 303-310
- - You have access
  - Open access
- PDF
- HTML
- Export citation

Appendix C - List of Interviews
pp 311-315
- - You have access
  - Open access
- PDF
- HTML
- Export citation

References
pp 316-348
- - You have access
  - Open access
- PDF
- HTML
- Export citation

Index
pp 349-356
- - You have access
  - Open access
- PDF
- HTML
- Export citation

Metrics

Total number of HTML views: 0

Total number of PDF views: 0 *

Loading metrics...

Total views: 0 *

Loading metrics...

* Views captured on Cambridge Core between #date#. This data will be updated every 24 hours.

Usage data cannot currently be displayed.

Why this information is here

This section outlines the accessibility features of this content - including support for screen readers, full keyboard navigation and high-contrast display options. This may not be relevant for you.

Accessibility Information

The PDF of this book complies with version 2.2 of the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG), offering more comprehensive accessibility measures for a broad range of users and attains the highest (AAA) level of WCAG compliance, optimising the user experience by meeting the most extensive accessibility guidelines.

Content Navigation

Table of contents navigation

Allows you to navigate directly to chapters, sections, or non‐text items through a linked table of contents, reducing the need for extensive scrolling.

Index navigation

Provides an interactive index, letting you go straight to where a term or subject appears in the text without manual searching.

Reading Order and Textual Equivalents

Single logical reading order

You will encounter all content (including footnotes, captions, etc.) in a clear, sequential flow, making it easier to follow with assistive tools like screen readers.

Short alternative textual descriptions

You get concise descriptions (for images, charts, or media clips), ensuring you do not miss crucial information when visual or audio elements are not accessible.

Full alternative textual descriptions

You get more than just short alt text: you have comprehensive text equivalents, transcripts, captions, or audio descriptions for substantial non‐text content, which is especially helpful for complex visuals or multimedia.

Visualised data also available as non‐graphical data

You can access graphs or charts in a text or tabular format, so you are not excluded if you cannot process visual displays.

Visual Accessibility

Use of colour is not sole means of conveying information

You will still understand key ideas or prompts without relying solely on colour, which is especially helpful if you have colour vision deficiencies.

Triage Bureaucracy

The Organizational Challenge of Implementing Growing Policy Stocks

Book description

Reviews

Refine List

Actions for selected content:

Save Search