Managing money and discord in the UN : budgeting and bureaucracy / Ronny Patz and Klaus H. Goetz.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Patz, Ronny, 1983- author.

Goetz, Klaus H., 1961- author.

Series:

Transformations in governance

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

United Nations--Finance.

United Nations.

Finance.

Physical Description:

xvii, 244 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm.

Edition:

First edition.

Place of Publication:

Oxford, United Kingdom : Oxford University Press, 2019.

Summary:

How do international organizations in the United Nations system put together their budgets? What is the role of complex principals - most notably member states - and the complex agents in the bureaucracies of international organizations in budgeting processes? And what does a focus on budgeting tell us about the changing nature of the system of international organizations? This book provides answers to these questions through a detailed examination of budgeting in the UN system. The analysis draws on both quantitative and qualitative observations for a total of 22 UN system organizations and detailed case studies for the United Nations, ILO, UNESCO, and WHO. The findings demonstrate the importance of three key organizational outcomes- proceduralization, routinization, and budgetary segmentation - as international organizations grapple with managing discord over priorities as a result of complex principal- agent constellations. Contrary to a common view of international bureaucracies as pathological organizations, core budget routines are mostly successfully maintained. However, principal constellations become more complex, notably through the rise of voluntary contributions and non-state donors; budgetary segmentation advances, in some cases even leading to the setting up of new international organizations; and budgeting and resource mobilization become ever more intertwined. As a consequence, the capacity of international bureaucracies to fulfill their budgeting responsibilities is stretched to the limits and beyond.

How do international organizations in the United Nations system put together their budgets? What is the role of complex principals - most notably member states - and the complex agents in the bureaucracies of international organizations in budgeting processes? And what does a focus on budgeting tell us about the changing nature of the system of international organizations? 0This book provides answers to these questions through a detailed examination of budgeting in the UN system. The analysis draws on both quantitative and qualitative observations for a total of 22 UN system organizations and detailed case studies for the United Nations, ILO, UNESCO, and WHO. The findings demonstrate the importance of three key organizational outcomes- proceduralization, routinization, and budgetary segmentation - as international organizations grapple with managing discord over0priorities as a result of complex principal- agent constellations. Contrary to a common view of international bureaucracies as pathological organizations, core budget routines are mostly successfully maintained. However, principal constellations become more complex, notably through the rise of voluntary contributions and non-state donors; budgetary segmentation advances, in some cases even leading to the setting up of new international organizations; and budgeting and resource mobilization become ever more intertwined. As a consequence, the capacity of international bureaucracies to fulfil their budgeting responsibilities is stretched to the limits and beyond.0.

Contents:

List of figures

List of tables

List of abbreviations. 1 Introduction: budgeting in the UN system : Resourcing international organizations in a changing global system

Why study budgeting in the UN system?

Disciplinary foundations

Conceptual innovations, key questions, and methodological approach

Main findings and overview. 2 Theory: understanding budgeting in international organizations : Conceptualizing budgets and budgeting in IOs

Key condition I: principal complexity in IO budgeting

Key condition II: agency complexity in IO budgeting

Outcome 1: increased proceduralization

Outcome 2: challenged routinization

Outcome 3: budgetary segmentation

Overall theoretical framework and summary. 3 The historical origins of UN system budgeting : From theoretical framework to historical narrative

Budgeting in pre-World War I international unions

Budgeting in the League of Nations

The post-World War II UN budget system

Conclusions. 4 Budgeting in the UN system: a comparative analysis : A comparative analysis of UN system budgeting: case selection and methods

Budgeting procedures in the UN system: similar processes and limited principal-agent complexity

Proceduralization of budgeting in the UN system: still the standard model?

Budget routines in the UN system 2006-15: stability and shifting timelines

Budgetary segmentation: peacekeeping budgeting as an exception to the rule?

Summary of findings

Outlook and selection of case studies

Annex 1: documents and document studies

Annex 2: budget rules and composition of UN boards

Annex 3: budget procedures in the UN and twelve specialized agencies (1989, 2003, 2016/17)

Annex 4: budget routinization in the UN and twelve specialized agencies (2006-15)

Annex 5: budget routinization in the UN funds and programmes (2006-15). 5 The UN core: micromanaging principals and segmented budgets : Introduction

FInancial situation of the UN

Methods and data

UN member states as complex principal: group politics, state interests, and the P5

The UN secretariat between fragmentation and central coordination

Proceduralization and the geopolitics of micromanagement

Routinization under pressure and Secretary-General intervention

Segmentation beyond peacekeeping: from budget sections to SPM budgeting

Conclusions. 6 ILO: simple procedures despite a tripartite principal : Introduction

Financial situation of the ILO

methods and data

Principal complexity beyond tripartism

Successive decentralization, but limited agency complexity

Proceduralization and early intervention mechanisms

Challenges in the shadow of routinization

Differentiated effects of principal complexity and limited budgetary segmentation

Conclusions. 7 UNESCO: between sectoral fragmentation and budget crisis : Introduction

Financial situation of UNESCO

Methods and data

Principal complexity: US exceptionalism, entrenched group politics, and non-state actors

Sectoral fragmentation, the creation of institutes, and agency complexity

Questionnaires, regional consultations, and informal proceduralization

Routinazation at what cost? Lessons from UNESCO's post-2011 financial crisis

Managing budgetary segmentation: towards the introduction of a structured financing dialogue

Conclusions. 8 WHO: between regional principals and philanthrolaterialism : Introduction

Financial situation of the WHO

Regionalized principal structures and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

Regional fragmentation and networked bureaucratic coordination

Regionalized budgeting and extensive proceduralization

From routinization of budgeting to coordinated resource mobilization

Earmarking, budgetary segmentation, and the funding of health emergencies

Conclusions. 9 Key findings: principal-agent complexity and budgeting in the UN system : Main insights

Complex principal-agent constellations and the effects of principal pathology

The UN budget system between segmentation, fragmentation, and interdependence

UN bureaucracies as complex actors in global policymaking

From multi-disciplinary foundations to UN system budgeting and back: key contributions to the literature. 10 The future of UN budgeting: complexity and prospect for reform. References

List of documents

List of interviews

Index.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 219-230) and index.

ISBN:

0198838336

9780198838333

OCLC:

1049910951