Coping With Political‐Ideological Pressure : How Street‐Level Bureaucrats Shield Policy Implementation From Politicization

Abstract

While pursuing a professional delivery of public services, street‐level bureaucrats increasingly face intense political‐ideological pressure. Yet, preceding scholars have barely explored how they manage to resist it. Addressing this gap, the paper presents a concept of the coping mechanisms street‐level bureaucrats employ to shield their discretionary practices from becoming politicized. It is derived from an exploratory interview study with 33 case managers at German local jobcentres. Drawing on an abductive conceptualization, it identifies four distinct mechanisms which may serve either the function of moving against ideological demands ( professional superiority , disenchanting ) or of moving away from them ( externalizing responsibility , segmentation ). The paper offers novel insights into street‐level bureaucrats' professional position and its relationship with political ideologies. It thereby contributes to a better understanding of how street‐level bureaucracies preserve a competent execution of state acting in times when ideological conflict lines have become highly polarized.