The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) is a hybrid organization managing the most critical Internet infrastructure - the Domain Name System. ICANN represents a new, emerging Internet self-governance model in which the private sector takes the lead and the government sector plays a more marginal role. Little is known, however, about what is actually happening in this new organization. The dissertation (a) systematically assesses ICANN's overall performance based on a set of evaluative criteria drawn from its mission statements; (b) explores possible factors and actors that influence ICANN's overall performance by tracing the governance processes in three cases based on a preliminary conceptual framework; and (c) suggests practical and theoretical implications of ICANN's governance and performance in its broader institutional context. The study finds that although differing governance processes have led to different performance outcomes (Lynn et al. 2000), "stability" has been the defining value that has shaped the overall path of ICANN's governance and performance. The study characterizes ICANN as a conservative hybrid captured, based on specific issues, by the technical and governmental communities. It also proposes the concept of "technical capture" to suggest how technical experts can have significant, but often implicit, influence over the policy development process in organizations. / Ph. D.

<p>This dissertation examines the last thirty years of internal reforms in the Swedish Government Offices. Analysis of the evolution of personnel politics, the formation of one agency and the attempts to introduce a collective activity planning model, show that the immediate problems of the early 1970’s – an over dimensioned staff, territory battles and unclear division of responsibility for personnel and organisation – remains to this day, notwithstanding the many reforms to approach them. One principal explanation behind this is that the key players for successful reorganisations – the politicians – do hardly ever partake. Instead, and on the basis of the perspective of bureaucratic politics, this dissertation demonstrates that the internal development of the Government Offices should be explained as the result of struggles between different bureaucratic actors, with diverse views on problems and their solutions, and with various prospects and strengths to affect the outcome. Due to the choice of politicians to leave this policy field open to bureaucratic politics, the policy is essentially shaped and decided within a bureaucratic context. The dissertation ends in a conclusion that there is an almost constant bureaucratic battle behind internal organisation of the Government Offices, a conflict where tradition, values and strong bureaucratic actors play an important part, and where institutional change is exceptional, since the preserving powers in these processes have the upper hand. But politicians can change – in spite of these traditions, values and bureaucratic agents – if they have the determination. The theoretical aim of this dissertation, through a critical assessment of the bureaucratic politics perspective – an evaluation motivated by the empirical data and inspired by two challenging and related theoretic models; sociological and historical institutionalism – is to display the qualities and shortcomings of the bureaucratic politics model, to develop and improve the original model of bureaucratic politics, and making it more expedient for future studies of institutional change in central political organisations.</p>

This dissertation examines the last thirty years of internal reforms in the Swedish Government Offices. Analysis of the evolution of personnel politics, the formation of one agency and the attempts to introduce a collective activity planning model, show that the immediate problems of the early 1970’s – an over dimensioned staff, territory battles and unclear division of responsibility for personnel and organisation – remains to this day, notwithstanding the many reforms to approach them. One principal explanation behind this is that the key players for successful reorganisations – the politicians – do hardly ever partake. Instead, and on the basis of the perspective of bureaucratic politics, this dissertation demonstrates that the internal development of the Government Offices should be explained as the result of struggles between different bureaucratic actors, with diverse views on problems and their solutions, and with various prospects and strengths to affect the outcome. Due to the choice of politicians to leave this policy field open to bureaucratic politics, the policy is essentially shaped and decided within a bureaucratic context. The dissertation ends in a conclusion that there is an almost constant bureaucratic battle behind internal organisation of the Government Offices, a conflict where tradition, values and strong bureaucratic actors play an important part, and where institutional change is exceptional, since the preserving powers in these processes have the upper hand. But politicians can change – in spite of these traditions, values and bureaucratic agents – if they have the determination. The theoretical aim of this dissertation, through a critical assessment of the bureaucratic politics perspective – an evaluation motivated by the empirical data and inspired by two challenging and related theoretic models; sociological and historical institutionalism – is to display the qualities and shortcomings of the bureaucratic politics model, to develop and improve the original model of bureaucratic politics, and making it more expedient for future studies of institutional change in central political organisations.

Close to two decades after the break-up of the Soviet Union, there is still a marked difference in developmental paths, including institutional as well as economic development and performance among the states emerging from the ruins of the vast empire. Turning attention to the least successful post-Soviet region, Central Asia, and Tajikistan in particular, this thesis provides a contribution to the discussion of how to institutionalize social power and build the foundations for political community in post-colonial societies. It is argued here that increased institutional stability may be achieved through inter-organizational cooperation among main actors within an institutional setting. Through the dispersion of intra- and inter-organizational effects of cooperation beyond the action situations where they are produced, several goals may be achieved. These are increased predictability, transparency and durability in governance, a more equitable distribution of wealth, and (in relation to the kinship-foundation of Tajik society) the embracing of kin-divisions in society. The study examines how and why organizations decide to get involved in cooperative collective activities within the Tajik cotton industry, an industry infamous for its unscrupulous financing schemes to which local investors tie farmers; schemes lacking business ethics and the interconnection of the social and economic with political relations. The study, through an embedded case study of one project (the Farmers’ Ownership Model), also examines the institutional implications of inter-organizational collective activities. The study’s empirical base is a combination of data derived from literature, reports, reviews of official documents, as well as from interviews and an expert survey conducted among organizational representatives with expert knowledge on the Tajik cotton industry.                The results suggest that it is possible to divide the forms of cooperation into three broad categories; business based cooperation, development and support-based cooperation and unilateral cooperative activity. The latter category contains interactions based on helping as well as on coercion. The motives for cooperating follow the same divisions, with profit and position-related motives dominating business-based cooperation. Development and support-based cooperation are primarily motivated by non-profit factors, such as community-(re)building and knowledge enhancement, as well as position-related motives. Within the group of unilateral interactions, the same divisions valid for business-based cooperation (unilateral cooperative activity based on coercion) and development and support-based cooperation (unilateral cooperative activity based on helping) are found. The actors approached for this study confirm that the institutional setting is “difficult” and that the social and political climate is not supportive of inter-organizational cooperative collective activities. Despite this, the actors agree that the time is right for cooperative efforts. The implications of inter-organizational cooperative collective activities within the frameworks of the examined Farmers’ Ownership Model project are many and important from a stabilizing perspective. Numerous strategic effects have been identified, among which is the creation of the first open farmer-owned joint stock company in the country, providing crop financing, high quality input, and technical assistance to the farmers in the northern Sugd region.  This is the most tangible effect, as is legislative change related to the marketing of cotton. The learning and knowledge-creation effects as a result of inter-organizational interactions within the project are also substantial. Client as well as non-client farmers have, through the technical assistance provided through the project company, managed to improve awareness in terms of their legal status. In addition, the technical assistance component of the project has served to improve productivity and the quality of the cotton grown. Despite indications of attitudinal changes within the action situations examined, there is no clear-cut evidence of trust effects at the institutional level. The results of empirical examination of the Tajik cotton industry to a large extent support the central thesis of the study.