Handbook of Politicization and Political Patronage
Published on 17. June 2025
Book
Hardback
626 pages
978-1-0353-2623-5 (ISBN)
Description
This expansive Handbook discusses key conceptual and theoretical issues in politicization and patronage. With contributions from leading academics across the globe, it presents diverse perspectives on politicization and patronage practices, exploring the positive and negative implications of both concepts.
Chapters analyze detailed case studies from a range of countries, regime types and levels of governance, providing critical insights into the variations of politicization and patronage practices and advocating for a clear differentiation between the two terms. Expert authors examine the methodologies involved in the study of these concepts, including prosopography, experimental methods and the difficulties of conducting research within authoritarian regimes. The Handbook emphasizes the recent increase in both patronage and politicization, particularly within democratic regimes, and makes timely suggestions for future research.
This comprehensive Handbook is vital for students and scholars of public administration and management, public policy, political science and regulation and governance. It is also a valuable resource for government officials and public policymakers.
Chapters analyze detailed case studies from a range of countries, regime types and levels of governance, providing critical insights into the variations of politicization and patronage practices and advocating for a clear differentiation between the two terms. Expert authors examine the methodologies involved in the study of these concepts, including prosopography, experimental methods and the difficulties of conducting research within authoritarian regimes. The Handbook emphasizes the recent increase in both patronage and politicization, particularly within democratic regimes, and makes timely suggestions for future research.
This comprehensive Handbook is vital for students and scholars of public administration and management, public policy, political science and regulation and governance. It is also a valuable resource for government officials and public policymakers.
Reviews / Votes
'Engaging with politicization and patronage across such an impressive breadth of contexts and continents, this Handbook offers invaluable insights, practical methodologies and important conceptual nuance. A comprehensive and engaging resource, and an inspiring read for everyone interested in politics and bureaucracy!' -- Thurid Hustedt, Hertie School, Germany 'Patronage has long been a regular feature of governing practices around the world. Democracies and autocracies, developed and developing countries, European, Asian, Latin American, and African states alike have all often recurred to appointing individuals in government positions based on political rather than meritocratic criteria. Despite its long history and widespread presence, we are still in the process of learning what patronage is, how it works, why it varies, and how it is used across nations and government levels. In response to this, B. Guy Peters, Colin Knox, Francisco Panizza, Conrado Ramos, and Katarina Staronova (some of the world's finest experts on this subject) have put together a fascinating collection of chapters that will help scholars navigate the various connotations and implications of patronage for political systems and governance patterns. Including both detailed discussions of the theoretical and conceptual links that patronage has with clientelism, corruption, meritocracy, democracy, and politicization, as well as a rich variety of empirical experiences across several countries and regions, The Handbook of Politicization and Political Patronage will undoubtedly become the essential point of departure for anyone trying to make sense of patronage and why it persists.' -- Mauricio I. Dussauge-Laguna, Facultad Latinoamericana de Ciencias Sociales (FLACSO), MexicoMore details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
Cheltenham
United Kingdom
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Dimensions
Height: 244 mm
Width: 169 mm
ISBN-13
978-1-0353-2623-5 (9781035326235)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Persons
Edited by B. Guy Peters, Maurice Falk Professor Emeritus of Government, Department of Political Science, University of Pittsburgh, USA, Colin Knox, Adjunct Professor, Graduate School of Public Policy, Nazarbayev University, Kazakhstan and Emeritus Professor of Comparative Public Policy, Ulster University, UK, Francisco Panizza, Professor in Latin American and Comparative Politics, Department of Government, London School of Economics and Political Science, UK, Conrado Ramos Larraburu, Professor in Government and Public Administration, Department of Political Science, Faculty of Social Sciences, Universidad de la Republica, Uruguay and Katarina Staronova, Associate Professor of Public Policy and Administration, Institute of Public Policy, Faculty of Social and Economic Sciences, Comenius University Bratislava, Slovakia
Content
Contents
Preface xii
PART I POLITICIZATION AND PATRONAGE FRAMEWORKS
1 Politicization and patronage: similar, yet different 2
B. Guy Peters
2 Dimensions of politicization 15
Katarina Staronova and Colin Knox
3 Patronage: a template for empirical research 41
Francisco Panizza and Conrado Ramos Larraburu
PART II POLITICIZATION CASES
4 One-party dominant politicization in Japan 60
Ko Mishima
5 Norway: formal and informal politicization in a merit bureaucracy 77
Tobias Bach, Bjorn Mo Forum and Stine Hesstvedt
6 Advisers in Westminster systems 96
Patrick Diamond
7 Quiet politicization in Northern Europe 112
Jostein Askim, Tobias Bach and Jorgen Gronnegard Christensen
8 Bureaucrats resisting pressures for politicization 127
Christopher A. Cooper
9 Politicization and patronage in the United States 141
Bert A. Rockman and B. Guy Peters
10 Politicisation and patronage in the South African public service: from
apartheid to democracy 155
Robert Cameron
PART III PATRONAGE CASES: EUROPE
11 Patronage and politicization in the Napoleonic cabinets ministeriels 174
Athanassios Gouglas
12 Towards transparent patronage: the Baltic approach 190
Iveta Reinholde, Marta Tripane and Malvine Stucka
13 Beyond the curtain of an illiberal democracy: investigating the dynamics
of patronage and political appointments in Hungary's central government 207
Eva Kovacs, Gabor Tamas Molnar and Gyoergy Hajnal
14 Patronage in the Polish civil service under the populist government,
2015-2023 227
Jolanta Itrich-Drabarek
15 The dynamics of political patronage in Central and East European
countries: post-accession divergence 238
Katarina Staronova and Marek Rybar
16 Patronage appointments in a hybrid regime: Moldova between
partisanship, nepotism and merit 258
Denitsa Marchevska
17 Civil service politicisation and party patronage in the Western Balkans: a
way of life in public administration? 274
Jan-Hinrik Meyer-Sahling, Christian Schuster and Fanni Toth
18 Professional patronage in Germany 291
Sylvia Veit
PART IV LATIN AMERICA
19 Political patronage and politicization in the Brazilian federal civil service 309
Felix Garcia Lopez
20 The turn from technocratic to partisan patronage in Paraguay 330
Jose Tomas Sanchez-Gomez
21 Patronage in a coalition government: political appointments in Uruguay
2020-2025 355
Conrado Ramos and Alejandro Milanesi
22 Patronage in Latin America democracies 368
Francisco Panizza
PART V ASIA AND THE PACIFIC
23 Switching patronage and trembling loyalty 382
Hilman Latief
24 Patronage in Thailand: trust and reciprocity in policy networks 396
Piyapong Boossabong
25 Politicization and political patronage in Australia 413
John Halligan
26 Politicization and political patronage in the People's Republic of China 430
Jie Gao
27 Politicization and political patronage in India 449
Naveen Kolloju, Srinivas Junuguru and Brundaban Mishra
PART VI AFRICA
28 'They are all our people, appoint them': the impact of patronage on
bureaucratic appointments in Ghana 465
Abdul-Nasir Abubakar, Petr Kopecky and Maria Spirova
29 Political patronage in the Democratic Republic of the Congo 484
Jean Marc Lukamba Muhiya Tshombe
PART VII MENA
30 Development and determinants of patronage system and rentier elites in
the Middle East and North Africa 495
Hamid E. Ali
31 The politicization of the civil service in the Islamic Republics of Iran and
Pakistan 511
Guillaume Beaud
32 Persistent patronage and a dynamic regime: bureaucratic politicization in
Iraq 527
Ari Mamshae
PART VIII STUDYING POLITICIZATION AND PATRONAGE
33 Using archival material to study politicization and political patronage 547
Sylvia Veit
34 Using experiments to study political patronage and politicization 558
Virginia Oliveros
35 Conducting research in authoritarian and other difficult contexts 574
Katarina Staronova and Gyoergy Hajnal
Preface xii
PART I POLITICIZATION AND PATRONAGE FRAMEWORKS
1 Politicization and patronage: similar, yet different 2
B. Guy Peters
2 Dimensions of politicization 15
Katarina Staronova and Colin Knox
3 Patronage: a template for empirical research 41
Francisco Panizza and Conrado Ramos Larraburu
PART II POLITICIZATION CASES
4 One-party dominant politicization in Japan 60
Ko Mishima
5 Norway: formal and informal politicization in a merit bureaucracy 77
Tobias Bach, Bjorn Mo Forum and Stine Hesstvedt
6 Advisers in Westminster systems 96
Patrick Diamond
7 Quiet politicization in Northern Europe 112
Jostein Askim, Tobias Bach and Jorgen Gronnegard Christensen
8 Bureaucrats resisting pressures for politicization 127
Christopher A. Cooper
9 Politicization and patronage in the United States 141
Bert A. Rockman and B. Guy Peters
10 Politicisation and patronage in the South African public service: from
apartheid to democracy 155
Robert Cameron
PART III PATRONAGE CASES: EUROPE
11 Patronage and politicization in the Napoleonic cabinets ministeriels 174
Athanassios Gouglas
12 Towards transparent patronage: the Baltic approach 190
Iveta Reinholde, Marta Tripane and Malvine Stucka
13 Beyond the curtain of an illiberal democracy: investigating the dynamics
of patronage and political appointments in Hungary's central government 207
Eva Kovacs, Gabor Tamas Molnar and Gyoergy Hajnal
14 Patronage in the Polish civil service under the populist government,
2015-2023 227
Jolanta Itrich-Drabarek
15 The dynamics of political patronage in Central and East European
countries: post-accession divergence 238
Katarina Staronova and Marek Rybar
16 Patronage appointments in a hybrid regime: Moldova between
partisanship, nepotism and merit 258
Denitsa Marchevska
17 Civil service politicisation and party patronage in the Western Balkans: a
way of life in public administration? 274
Jan-Hinrik Meyer-Sahling, Christian Schuster and Fanni Toth
18 Professional patronage in Germany 291
Sylvia Veit
PART IV LATIN AMERICA
19 Political patronage and politicization in the Brazilian federal civil service 309
Felix Garcia Lopez
20 The turn from technocratic to partisan patronage in Paraguay 330
Jose Tomas Sanchez-Gomez
21 Patronage in a coalition government: political appointments in Uruguay
2020-2025 355
Conrado Ramos and Alejandro Milanesi
22 Patronage in Latin America democracies 368
Francisco Panizza
PART V ASIA AND THE PACIFIC
23 Switching patronage and trembling loyalty 382
Hilman Latief
24 Patronage in Thailand: trust and reciprocity in policy networks 396
Piyapong Boossabong
25 Politicization and political patronage in Australia 413
John Halligan
26 Politicization and political patronage in the People's Republic of China 430
Jie Gao
27 Politicization and political patronage in India 449
Naveen Kolloju, Srinivas Junuguru and Brundaban Mishra
PART VI AFRICA
28 'They are all our people, appoint them': the impact of patronage on
bureaucratic appointments in Ghana 465
Abdul-Nasir Abubakar, Petr Kopecky and Maria Spirova
29 Political patronage in the Democratic Republic of the Congo 484
Jean Marc Lukamba Muhiya Tshombe
PART VII MENA
30 Development and determinants of patronage system and rentier elites in
the Middle East and North Africa 495
Hamid E. Ali
31 The politicization of the civil service in the Islamic Republics of Iran and
Pakistan 511
Guillaume Beaud
32 Persistent patronage and a dynamic regime: bureaucratic politicization in
Iraq 527
Ari Mamshae
PART VIII STUDYING POLITICIZATION AND PATRONAGE
33 Using archival material to study politicization and political patronage 547
Sylvia Veit
34 Using experiments to study political patronage and politicization 558
Virginia Oliveros
35 Conducting research in authoritarian and other difficult contexts 574
Katarina Staronova and Gyoergy Hajnal