Managerial capacity in conflict environments: Management effects of private military and security companies in Iraq

Author：Benjamin Tkach

Abstract

An enduring challenge of public administration research is examining whether public management affects the delivery of public policy results. This study extends managerial influence to include public policy delivery in an active conflict environment. Individual manager training is critical in conflict environments because limited bureaucratic capacity and general environmental confusion are common. Organizations under stress use substitute managers. We argue that substitute managers' effectiveness is conditioned by two factors: managerial capability and networking capability. We examine substitute managers in a unique context, the US–Iraq War. Managers coordinated private military and security companies (PMSCs) to provide coalition forces and the civilian population with multiple services. We argue that managers with prior management experience and network capability are more effective substitute managers. The results suggest that managers with prior experience and networking capability are associated with decreases in civilian casualties. The results provide important policy insights into public management and defence policy.

Policy design or organizational design: On the relevance of the study of public policy and administration

Author：Morten Egeberg

INTRODUCTION

Whether the relevance and usefulness of a scientific discipline should be a major concern seems contested. To some, scientific research is dedicated to knowledge per se and a human spirit of inquiry. Nevertheless, the theme of scientific relevance is an enduring theme. This also holds for political science where ‘relevance’ is occasionally placed on the formal research agenda (e.g., Holmberg and Rothstein 2012; Stoker et al. 2015). However, arguably, relevance relates to both providing ‘pure knowledge’ on polity, politics and policy and to providing instruments for practical problem solving in the political sphere. It would be wise to distinguish between the two: in my view, the relevance of the discipline is indisputable regarding the first concern. Since political order probably constitutes the most important societal component in our lives, it should be rather obvious that citizens in general need research‐based knowledge about its organization, recruitment, decision‐making and outputs. In particular, this holds for professions like politicians, public bureaucrats, political journalists, lobbyists and schoolteachers in social science. The second concern, however, whether the discipline provides tools for practical problem solving, seems far more contested: to what extent is the discipline equipped to deal with trivial as well as serious challenges such as climate change, migration or pandemics (like Covid‐19)? In the following, I will discuss two approaches that both aim at providing such tools, namely a policy design focus and an organizational design focus. Both approaches mainly belong to the sub‐discipline Public Policy and Administration (PPA). I argue, inter alia, that the dominance of a policy design focus is highly surprising since the dependent variables (effects to be achieved) in this case tend to be located outside the core area of PPA research.

（source：Public Administration Volume 98, Issue 3）