Abstract

Although substantial advances have been made in our comprehension of functional politicization – political capacities and activities being taken on by bureaucrats in their administrative duties – questions surrounding its causal mechanisms remain. To shed light on these questions, we here explore increasing political polarization (and fragmentation) in Dutch politics and functional politicization over the period 2007 – 2019 to see how the two are related. To do so, we adopt a cross-time approach that observes which skills – political-strategic insight, substantive expertise (Fachwissen), or procedural knowledge (Dienstwissen) – senior civil servants perceive to be the most relevant to successfully and correctly exercise their profession in a period of increasing polarization in the Dutch political landscape. Drawing from surveys conducted with senior civil servants in 2007, 2013 and 2019, combined with semi-structured interviews conducted in 2019, the data depicts the prevalence of political astuteness in the profession and highlights the factors for its causes: institutional, organizational, and interpersonal dynamics. This indicates an (in)direct link between political polarization and functional politicization of the administrative apparatus that serves as a basis for further cross-time and cross-country investigation.

中文翻译：

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荷兰高级公务员的职能政治化：纵向调查和定性研究的证据（2007年至2019年）

摘要

尽管我们在理解功能性政治化方面已经取得了重大进展，但官僚们在执行其行政职责时正在从事政治能力和活动，但围绕其因果机制的问题仍然存在。为了阐明这些问题，我们在这里探索2007年至2019年期间荷兰政治和职能政治化中日益加剧的政治两极化（和支离破碎），以了解两者之间的关系。为此，我们采用跨时间方法来观察哪些技能–政治策略洞察力，实质性专业知识（Fachwissen）或程序知识（Dienstwissen）–在荷兰政治格局日益分化的时期，高级公务员被认为与成功正确地行使其职业最相关。从2007年，2013年和2019年对高级公务员进行的调查中，结合2019年进行的半结构化访谈，这些数据描绘了该行业中政治机敏的普遍性，并强调了其原因的原因：体制，组织和人际关系动力学。这表明行政两极分化与行政机构职能政治化之间的（间接）联系，是进一步进行跨时间和跨国调查的基础。