CEU Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2017
| Author | Zémandl, Éva Judit |
|---|---|
| Title | Political servants, professional guardians, or both? Political appointees in independent organizations under the Fidesz-KDNP supermajority in Hungary (2010-14) |
| Summary | The most puzzling and unresolved issue surrounding political appointments is reflected in the normative tension between Weberian principles, on the one hand, and political leaders’ increasing demand for professional responsiveness to political and policy needs, on the other. The intrigue of this debate is particularly relevant in light of the increasing depth, breadth, and frequency of political appointments in Hungary under the parliamentary supermajority of the second ruling Fidesz-KDNP government (2010-14). Yet, the extent to which political appointees act as political servants against professional norms, advice, or judgment, particularly in more politically independent organizations, and their larger implications for organizational change remains under-researched. In the endeavor to address this gap and motivated by the context of Fidesz-KDNP’s political project of radical transformation, the dissertation departs from the normative debate and analyzes: to what extent did political appointees in independent organizations of public interest serve the partisan agenda under the Fidesz-KDNP supermajority in Hungary (2010-14)? And how did they influence organizational change? Firstly, it constructs and employs ideal-types of behavior, modes of appointee behavior, from Meyer-Sahling’s modes of politicization (2008) and incorporates organizational change theory (Newman, 2000) to generate propositions about the likely level and nature of change. Secondly, it makes an empirical contribution by exploring the manifestations of appointee behavior in two independent organizations, the National Bank of Hungary and the Hungarian Accreditation Committee. Data collection, synthesis, and analysis rely on a qualitative case study approach, process tracing, and two sets of triangulated data – elite interviews and document analysis. |
| Supervisor | Puetter, Uwe |
| Department | School of Public Policy PhD |
| Full text | https://www.etd.ceu.edu/2017/zemandl_eva.pdf |
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