3 - Drilling Down on Globalization: Performance Indicators and Rankings as Features of Multi-Level Governance
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 12 October 2022
Summary
Introduction
In the previous chapters we laid out the theoretical framework and the regional context for this second part of the book, where we will present an evidence-based discussion on how transmission channels of globalization affect civil servants in our four focus countries. In this chapter we review the influence on civil servants of the first dimension of globalization identified in Chapter 1, the global push for performance, with international performance indicators as the transmission channel. The next two chapters will focus on the other two dimensions identified: deepened direct engagement with international actors and the global open government agenda.
To assess the impact of the global push for performance on civil servants, we have analysed the extent to which performance on international performance indicators has been internalized in national governance systems and how this impacts civil servants’ values and belief systems. Our review is based on insights gained from in-depth interviews with senior civil servants in the focus countries, using a mix of vignettes and classical interview techniques.
Performance indicators as a transmission channel for globalization
The impact of international performance indicators on national institutions and public policy is a controversial issue, as it is closely connected with the (perceived) exercise of power within and between the states and transnational institutions. That said, and regardless of the differences of view in academic perspectives on the nature of this power (positive or negative), there is broad agreement that the impact of global indicators is significant and growing. In this context, recent literature talks about Scorecard Diplomacy (Kelley, 2017), The Quiet Power of Indicators (Merry et al, 2015), and the politics of numbers (Hansen, 2012; Fioramonti, 2014; Malito et al, 2018; Honig and Weaver, 2019).
We define indicators as:
a named collection of rank-ordered data that purports to represent the past or projected performance of different units. The data are generated through a process that simplifies raw data about a complex social phenomenon. The data, in this simplified and processed form, are capable of being used to compare particular units of analysis (such as countries or institutions), synchronically or over time, and to evaluate their performance by reference to one or more standards. (Davis et al, 2012, pp 73– 4)
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- Information
- Civil Servants and GlobalizationIntegrating MENA Countries in a Globalized Economy, pp. 75 - 106Publisher: Bristol University PressPrint publication year: 2022