Niels Åker­strøm An­der­sen

Public administration and our entire rule-of-law-based welfare society are undergoing radical transformations. We have more political reforms than ever before, yet they often appear less well thought-out and more unmanageable than in the past. Through diagnostics of the present, my research seeks to bring the welfare state’s debates in line with the present and its conditions. I aim to identify the political within managerial practices when it is presented as self-evident, and to show how proposed solutions often jeopardize fundamental values. In solidarity with public leaders, including welfare leaders more broadly, I pose “impractical” questions to their practice, holding up a mirror so they can take action in the games in which they participate. 

My research addresses questions such as: 
– How does the pursuit of greater flexibility, interdisciplinarity, and operational openness paradoxically lead to administrations that cannot tolerate criticism? 
– How does the pursuit of less bureaucracy result in attacks on rule-of-law principles and the weakening of citizens’ legal standing? 
– How does the pursuit of more governance paradoxically lead to greater uncontrollability? 
– How does rising complexity in public administration create a regime of provisionality, where decisions are kept open as long as possible out of fear of the chaos that commitment might bring?