Overview

In an era of constant policy growth (known as policy accumulation), effective policy implementation is a growing challenge for democratic governance across the globe. Triage Bureaucracy explores how government agencies handle expanding portfolios of rules, programs, and regulations using 'policy triage' – a set of strategies for balancing limited resources across increasing implementation demands. Drawing on case studies from six diverse European countries, the authors show how organizations' vulnerability to overburdening and their ability to compensate for overload determine why policy implementation succeeds in some cases while it fails in others. Triage Bureaucracy offers a deeper understanding of the organizational dynamics behind effective governance and, by placing bureaucratic actors at the center of the policy process, shows why policy growth often outpaces our ability to implement it – shedding light on the consequences of an ever expanding policy state. This title is also available as Open Access on Cambridge Core.

Full Product Details

Author:   Christoph Knill (Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München) ,  Yves Steinebach (University of Olso) ,  Dionys Zink (Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München)
Publisher:   Cambridge University Press
Imprint:   Cambridge University Press
Weight:   0.250kg
ISBN:  

9781009665858

ISBN 10:   1009665855
Pages:   374
Publication Date:   19 January 2026
Audience:   General/trade ,  General
Format:   Paperback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   Manufactured on demand  
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Table of Contents

Preface; Abbreviations; Figures; Tables; 1. The challenge of implementing growing policy stocks; 2. Conceptualizing and explaining the impact of policy growth on implementation: bureaucratic overload and organizational policy triage; 3. Observing and explaining policy triage; 4. Denmark: another day in paradise with Christian Severin; 5. Germany: the tide is high with Christina Steinbacher and Alexa Lenz; 6. The United Kingdom: implementation on the highway to hell?; 7. Ireland: independent agencies walking on the bright side of life; 8. Italy: non mollare mai – never give up; 9. Portugal: it's a hard knock life with Christian Aschenbrenner; 10. Bureaucratic policy triage in comparative perspective; 11. Conclusion; Appendix 1: Overview of the empirical evidence; Appendix 2: Supplementary interview methods; Appendix 2: List of interviews; References; Index.

Reviews

'Triage Bureaucracy is another important step in analyzing and explaining the consequences of the growth of rules in contemporary governments. This examination of the difficult choices that implementing organizations must make about rules contributes to understanding several important aspects of contemporary policy. It provides insights into the expansion of expanding public policy within society, but aids understanding the difficult tasks of individuals administrators and their organizations cope with necessary choices.' B. Guy Peters, Maurice Falk Professor of Government, University of Pittsburgh 'Christoph Knill, Yves Steinebach, and Dionys Zink have produced a groundbreaking volume on the important problem of the accumulation of policies. Using extensive sources of data, they map the phenomenon comparatively and help us understand it. As well as introducing new ideas such as policy triage, the book offers powerful insights into the policy process in general, using valuable case studies from European countries. There are lessons for policy-makers in how to manage this phenomenon. Overall, this book challenges us to think differently about governance and the way it works. It will be read carefully by researchers and students for many years to come.' Peter John, Head of School of Politics and Economics, King's College London

Author Information

Christoph Knill is Chair of Empirical Theories of Politics at Ludwig Maximilian University Munich. His research focuses on comparative public policy and public administration, with a thematic focus on climate, environmental, social, morality, and higher education policies. Yves Steinebach is Associate Professor at the University of Oslo. His research is located at the intersection of public policy and public administration and focuses on the effectiveness of public policies and governing institutions at the national and international levels. Dionys Zink is a research fellow at Ludwig Maximilian University Munich. His work centers on organizational theory, public administration, and comparative policy analysis. He examines administrative culture, bureaucratic routines, and organizations tasked with the implementation of environmental policy.

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