This dissertation contends that to appropriately address the state of political equality and pursue democratic interest(s) in an increasingly commodified world, we must understand the more complex, socio-legal, and interdependent actions, actors, discourse, laws, and ideas which have grown increasingly important within campaign finance judicial out-comes, as these impact political equality and democratic governance. Consequently, this dissertation examines the largely underexplored factors that shape judicial outcomes and practical application of campaign finance policy which are explanatory of the distribution of electoral participatory power. This electoral participatory power is a key indicator of political equality in democratic nation states. The underexplored factors that I examine include corporate identity as an analytical concept and power resource, commodification of political speech, constitutional constraints, intergovernmental dialogue, regulatory ac-tors, and varied judicial and legislative commitments to democracy. To do so, the thesis utilizes and modifies insights from historical institutionalism, power resources models, neopluralism, and dialogue theory literature, to contribute to knowledge about how and why campaign finance policies and electoral participatory power of individuals, groups, and corporations have changed over time through judicial outcomes, practical administration, and related reforms. Through this demonstration, the analysis of this thesis opens up space to explore and identify sources and modes of gradual institutional change within the context of campaign finance judicial outcomes. Specifically, this thesis documents and critically examines the actions, actors, discourse, laws, and ideas which have permeated judicial conflicts in Canada and the United States over several decades and illustrates how they have determined the scope of corporate constitutional rights and freedoms, potential for money in politics, and the distribution of political equality in these two advanced democracies. / Dissertation / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) / This dissertation examines the sources and modes of gradual institutional change within the context of judicial campaign finance conflicts and related reforms. It argues that the scope of corporate constitutional rights, the commodification of political speech, and the distribution of electoral participatory power are best understood through an analysis that utilizes and modifies insights from historical institutionalism, power resources models, neopluralism, and dialogue theory literature. To demonstrate this, this thesis critically examines the complex, socio-legal, and interdependent actions, actors, discourse, laws, and ideas which have grown increasingly important within campaign finance judicial out-comes, as these impact political equality and democratic governance. Consequently, this thesis illustrates how the scope of corporate constitutional rights and freedoms, potential for money in politics, and the distribution of political equality in the context of elections in Canada and the United States have changed over time, and the reasons for which they have.

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Uppsatsen tar sin utgångspunkt i den allt mer ökade efterfrågan av produkter somproducerats i överensstämmelse med mänskliga rättigheter. Uppsatsen behandlarLunds kommunstyrelses beslut att rekommendera dess förvaltningar att användaRättvisemärkt kaffe och te.Syftet med uppsatsen är att se på vilket sätt, och i vilken omfattning beslutethar implementerats i organisationen. För detta har vi använt såväl en teoretiskreferensram i form av nyinstitutionalistisk organisationsanalys som empirisktmaterial. Det empiriska materialet utgörs av interjuver med anställda inomkommunens förvaltningar. Till detta har ett bakgrundkapitel som behandlar deninnehållsmässiga innebörden av begreppet hållbar utveckling, utifrån såväl eninternationell, nationell som lokal aspekt lagts.Avslutningsvis är slutsatserna att det inom kommunen finns en konkret viljaatt vidga innebörden av begreppet hållbar utveckling. De intervjuade ställer sigpositiva till grundtanken med det aktuella beslutet men menar attförändringsviljan dessvärre bromsas. Bland annat framhåller de intervjuade olikaekonomiska och juridiska faktorer som sådana hinder. De menar dock att arbetetfortfarande i hög grad är aktuellt och sannolikt kommer att utvidgas. / The essay takes its origin in the increased demand for products that has beenproduced in accordance with human rights. The essay treats the decision ofLund’s municipal executive board to recommend its different administrations touse Fair trade coffee and tea.The purpose of the essay is to see in which way, and to what extent thedecision has been implemented in the organization. For this purpose, we use anew institutional organizational theory's as theoretical frame of reference. Theempirical material in the essay consists of interviews with employees of theLund’s municipality. In addition to this, a background chapter has been added toexplain the substance of the term sustainable development, both from aninternational, national and local point of view.To conclude, there is a concrete intention within the municipality to embracethe meaning of the term sustainable development. The persons interviewed arepositive to the purpose of the current decision, but also believe that the will tochange unfortunately is being halted. Among other things, they point out differenteconomical and legislative factors. Despite this, they believe that the process iscurrent and most likely will expand.

Yes / Marital surname change is a striking example of the survival of tradition. A practice emerging from patriarchal history has become embedded in an age of de-traditionalisation and women’s emancipation. Is the tradition of women’s marital name change just some sort of inertia or drag, which will slowly disappear as modernity progresses, or does this tradition fulfil more contemporary roles? Are women and men just dupes to tradition, or alternatively do they use tradition to further their aims? We examine how different approaches - individualisation theory, new institutionalism and bricolage - might tackle these questions. This examination is set within a comparative analysis of marital surname change in Britain and Norway, using small qualitative samples. We find that while individualisation and new institutionalism offer partial explanations, bricolage offers a more adaptable viewpoint.

Since the 1980s, private sector spending on Research and Development (RandD) has outpaced federal RandD spending. For example, while the Department of Defense (DoD) spent $64 billion on RandD in fiscal year 2015, the private sector spent $260 billion. DoD relies on the private sector to develop advanced technologies for defense requirements. However, some innovative businesses are hesitant to work with DoD because of the perceived bureaucracy of the DoD procurement system. Recognizing this problem, in 1989, Congress created a new type of non-procurement agreement for DoD called Other Transactions Agreements (OTs). OTs are excluded from most laws and regulations that govern traditional procurement agreements. OTs can be written to meet the needs of the parties and the project, enabling agreements that resemble commercial contracting. Congress has expanded OT authority, and DoD has issued OT guidance to its employees. But DoD has not used OTs as widely as expected. This is puzzling because commentators find OTs are helpful to DoD and the private sector in reducing the legal and regulatory compliance costs associated with the DoD procurement system. Using qualitative methods, and drawing on the OT and historical institutionalism literature, this study explores institutional factors that may explain why DoD has not more widely used OTs. The study relied on interviews with DoD employees and contractors. OT case studies were used to triangulate the interview findings. Potential causal mechanisms are identified to support future research of the DoD OT program using causal process tracing. The study findings are used to offer policy recommendations to support the wider use of OTs by DoD. / Ph. D. / Some innovative businesses are reluctant to work with the Department of Defense (DoD) due to the perceived bureaucracy of the DoD procurement system. Recognizing this problem, in 1989, Congress created a new type of non-procurement agreement for DoD called Other Transactions Agreements (OTs). Unlike traditional procurement agreements, OTs are excluded from many of the laws and regulations that reportedly deter the private sector from doing business with DoD. OTs enable agreements that more closely resemble commercial contracting. The terms and conditions of the OT can be written to meet the needs of the parties and the OT project. Thus, OTs are a flexible tool to help attract innovative businesses that would not otherwise work for DoD under traditional procurement agreements. Congress has expanded OT authority to encourage DoD to use OTs more widely. DoD has issued guidance to help its employees negotiate and administer OTs. But DoD has not used OTs as much as expected. This is puzzling because procurement and policy experts find that OTs are helpful to DoD and the private sector in reducing the legal and regulatory compliance costs often associated with the DoD procurement system. This study explores institutional and other factors that may help explain why DoD has not more widely used OTs. The study relied on interviews with DoD employees and contractors. OT case studies were used to corroborate the interview findings. The study findings are used to offer policy recommendations to support the wider use of OTs by DoD.

This dissertation was developed as two distinct themes within one final study. The first theme is located within Chapter 2 and Chapter 3. These two chapters examine the nature of both policy analysis and organizational theory in terms of their development within the American versions of Public Administration and Political Science. I conclude that the distinctions that have been created between the two areas of research are false, and that within the basic structure of American political theory both policy development and administrative implementation are a single unified endeavor. I then propose that Anthony Giddens Theory of Structuration offers both policy analysis and organizational theory a meta-theory that would allow for both areas of research to be reconnected. Various policy and organizational analysis models are examined, and alterations in these models are suggested to comply with the basic concepts of Giddens Theory of Structuration. A final model of analysis is presented which incorporates elements from these various models, and allows for the examination of the overall operation of a policy subsystem in terms of both policy analysis and organizational theory. The second theme is located within Chapters 4 through 10. The analytical model that was created in the first theme is applied it to a specific policy subsystem, namely the wire-based telecommunications industry of the United States. The relationship between the industry and government is examined from its original inception to the implementation of the Telecommunications Deregulation Act of 1996. Seven distinct periods of development are analyzed. Each period of analysis seeks to locate the basic underlying structural principles forming the foundations for decisions in both the private and public sectors, and the processes for adaptation and adjustment. The examination of the processes engaged in the various periods supports the conclusion reached in the original analytical model, namely that political and administrative interaction are in fact linked, forming a unified process. A single underlying structural principle is located that has formed the basis for the policy subsystems existence, namely the concept of Compound Federalism as originally envisioned by the Republic's Founding Fathers. / Ph. D.

This study carries forward the new institutional exploration of the legal environment of organizations by examining the dynamics of legalization in the Commonwealth of Virginia Grievance Program. It extends legalization research to the public administration and policy field by exploring and describing how the legal environment of complex, public organizations serve to transform--to legalize--social processes for resolving problems and disputes. This knowledge and insight will educate and empower public administrators to better manage the political, administrative, and institutional change normatively sanctioned by the downsizing, reinvention, and re-engineering government reform movement. A phenomenological or naturalistic inquiry perspective frames the research as a methodological philosophy or research mode that focuses on what people experience and how they interpret the world. Thirty-four key informants were interviewed Statewide from three primary groups: (1) Managers and supervisors, (2) Non-supervisory personnel and grievants, and (3) Administrative hearing officers appointed by the Virginia Supreme Court. As a means of triangulation multiple data-gathering techniques were used to investigate interview data. Other sources include direct observations, official documents, and archival records. The study employs Sitkin and Bies' (1994) new institutional conceptualization of legalization as an investigatory lens to examine and report the findings. Data analysis revealed that the legalization of internal dispute resolution (IDR) in the Commonwealth tends to result in the circumvention of immediate supervisors in the formal grievance process, thereby obviating their positional authority to resolve employee grievances in a nonadversarial way. In sum, data supports the legalization literature that indicates mimicking judicially legitimate procedure in the grievance process alters the way flexibility, trust, and shared meanings govern the essence of organizational relationships and results in economic and systemic costs (loss of organizational trust and legitimacy) while resulting in little substantive justice. This study suggests that public organizations that are better adapted to their legal environments are not necessarily more effective. Thus, public administration theorists and practitioners should strive to understand how organizational forms, structural components, and legal rules (the institutional environment) transform organizational relationships (social and technical environments) in complex, public organizations. / Ph. D.

Syftet med den här avhandlingen är att undersöka utvecklingen av kvalitetssystem i hälso- och sjukvården ur ett historiskt-institutionellt perspektiv utifrån fallstudier och konceptuella analyser. Särskilt analyseras implikationer av utvecklingen med avseende på relationen mellan den medicinska professionen och det politiskt administrativa systemet samt konsekvenser för den politiska styrningen av sjukvården. Studien visar att medicinska kvalitetssystem och därmed även den medicinska professionen bäddats in i den politiska styrningen i takt med att ambitionerna mot en offentlig kunskapsstyrning tilltagit. Den visar även att hälso- och sjukvårdens kvalitetsregister i olika faser av sin utveckling har påverkats av politiska ideologier, managementidéer och idéer om transparens. Öppna jämförelser som en oavsiktlig konsekvens av kvalitetsregisteranvändningen förstärker dessutom tendensen mot en offentlig kunskapsstyrning. Av studien framgår också att den offentliga kunskapsstyrningen utmanar föreställningen om demokratiidealet om upplyst förståelse. Den ökade fokuseringen på kunskapsstyrning inom hälso- och sjukvården gör det relevant att ställa frågan vem som styr vem i svensk hälso- och sjukvård, vilket i sig är en fråga om demokrati och legitimitet. / The aim with this thesis is to describe the quality development in Swedish healthcare from an institutional perspective, analyse implications of the development concerning the relationship between the medical profession and the public administrative system and discuss consequences for political direction and welfare organization. The study is based on four case studies and one conceptual analysis. The main conclusion is that the medical quality systems have been imbedded in the political management alongside the development towards a public knowledge management. The analysis has more specifically uncovered that quality registries in healthcare have been influenced by political ideologies, management ideas and ideas of transparency. It is also clear that open comparisons were an ‘unintended consequence’ of the quality registry development that has enhanced the development towards a public knowledge management. The analysis also shows that public knowledge management challenges the ideal of democratic enlightened understanding. The development of public knowledge management in the healthcare sector raises the question of who is governing whom in Swedish healthcare.

The Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) in the European Union (EU) is one of the oldest fields of cooperation within the European Union. During the past decades the different Commissioners have made several proposals about changes in the CAP and many of them have not been passed but renegotiated. The present Commission has however published a report in 2011, which emphasizes that the CAP has three alternative ways to go in the future. This study aims to predict which one of these three alternative ways it is most likely that the CAP will take according to the historical institutionalist theory. When to be able to predict this text analysis is used. The analysis tools of the study are collected from the theory, which focuses on the conceptions: critical juncture, feedback effects, path dependency and sequencing. These tools as well as the theory are applied on the empirical material, which mainly consists of books about the earlier reforms and proposals from the Commission, academical journals and some reports. The analysis shows that the Luxembourg compromise can be seen as a critical juncture in the history of the CAP and this led to a path dependency, which is characterized by a decision-making procedure by consensus between the political institutions in the EU. The analysis also shows that most of the reforms regarding the CAP, are made with some sort of compromise or consensus (the Delors I budgetary package, the Mac Sharry reforms and so on). Therefore the conclusion of the study is that, from an historical institutionalist perspective, it is more or less possible for the CAP to go with any of the alternative ways that the Commission points out in the report. It is however most likely that the second way is the most prominent one. This is because that option emphasizes that major overhauls of the policy should be made, that the measures should be more targeted, and that the spending of the CAP should be more efficient. All of these changes have been made more or less during the history of the CAP and the institutional framework therefore allows this way.