Politics unit 2

Bureaucracy definition

Bureaucracy is a group of unelected officials in a government that implements the rules, ideas, laws, and functions of their institution. 

Max weber’s charactaristics of Bureaucracy

1. Division of labour - different people do different things, experts do specific tasks

2. Hierarchy of authority - follows a chain of command (buck stops here)

3. Rules and regulations - eg harrasment policies or department budgets

4. Impersonality -  everyone is treated equally but not necessarily in a human way

5. Security - without interference from partisan politics, promotion is by merit.

Roles of Government Bureaucracies

1-Implementation of Policy 

2-Formulation of Policy 

3-Regulation 

4-Servicing 

5-Licensing 

6-Gathering Information 

Controls on Bureaucracy

1-Executive Controls: Controls exercised directly by the head of government, ministers, and political appointees who oversee administrative departments.

2-Legislative Controls: External oversight exercised by the elected parliament or congress to prevent bureaucratic overreach and ensure accountability.

3-Courts: Legal oversight where the judiciary reviews bureaucratic actions to safeguard citizen rights and enforce the rule of law.

4-Constitutional Protections: Systemic safeguards embedded in a nation's core legal framework that limit administrative power.

5-Ombudsman: An independent, non-partisan officer typically appointed by the legislature to investigate public grievances and administrative malpractices.

Fast vs slow decision making

• Thinking Fast: Intuitive, automatic, and low energy. Uses heuristics (cognitive shortcuts like voting strictly by party line). Prone to biases and manipulation.

• Thinking Slow: Reflective, calculating, and energy-intensive. Used when analyzing policy platforms or crafting strategic speeches.

Strategic Behavior vs. Expressive Behavior

• Strategic: Goal-oriented action focused on choosing the most effective means to achieve an outcome (e.g., spending campaign money to maximize votes).

• Expressive: Identity-oriented action focused on signaling values, emotions, or social belonging (e.g., attending a rally, wearing candidate attire, adopting a Party ID).

Rationality, Self-Interest, and Altruism

• Rationality: Defined in political science as being self-interested, strategic, and calculating to maximize personal well-being or goals.

• Self-Interest vs. Public Spirit: Political actors seek personal gains (tangible like lower taxes, intangible like status) alongside public-spirited goals (like climate action or allyship) where they do not directly profit.