Quality and Access
Bureaucratic Autonomy and the Role of Storylines at the National Endowment for the Arts
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 11104571 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Jessica S Wirgau (Virginia Tech University, Blacksburg, USA, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2013 |
| Volume | 45 |
| Issue | 3 |
| Pages | 296-325 |
| Publication date | 2013-04-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Administration & Society (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0095-3997 • E-ISSN: 1552-3039 |
| Publisher | SAGE Publications (PUBLISHER • US) |
| DOI | 10.1177/0095399712438380 |
| OpenAlex | W2312456359 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 1 |
| References cited | 23 |
This study uses discourse analysis to examine the role of storylines in an agency’s exercise of bureaucratic autonomy wherein agencies are able to pursue their policy goals independent, and sometimes in defiance, of political superiors. Most theories of bureaucratic autonomy typically fall into two categories: those based on task-specificity and those based on the agency’s ability to build a reputation for effectiveness. The author contends that examining the storylines surrounding an agency’s creation and purpose provides for a richer application and integration of existing theories. This study focuses on the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) as an exploratory case study and chronicles the storylines associated with its increasing autonomy from 1965 to 1980 and the subsequent challenges to that autonomy in the culture wars of the 1990s. It suggests that storylines associated with the role of the arts in defining and maintaining American identity in a Cold War context were powerful tools for building autonomy at the NEA
Aesthetics · Agency (philosophy · Autonomy · Bureaucracy · Context (archaeology · Epistemology · Identity (music · Political science · Politics · Public relations · Quality (philosophy · Reputation · Shadow (psychology · Social science · Sociology · Cultural Industries and Urban Development · Law · Political and Economic history of UK and US · Psychology · Public Administration · Social and Cultural Dynamics
Leadership and Innovation
Reputation and Power
Discourse
The Forging of Bureaucratic Autonomy
Deliberate Discretion?
Who Controls the Bureaucracy?
Case Study Research
The art of case study research
Analysing Discourse
Understanding Policy Change as a Discursive Problem
Fema and the Prospects for Reputation-Based Autonomy
Congress and the national endowment for the arts
Researching educational policy and change in ‘new times’
Congress, Presidents, and the Arts
Theorizing practical geopolitical reasoning
Conflict among Regulators and the Hypothesis of Congressional Dominance
Gendering the “Graying” of Society
Executive Power in American Institutional Development
The Venues of Influence
The Case for the National Endowment for the Arts
Subversive Stories and Hegemonic Tales
FBI Wiretapping
Drugs, discourses and education
| Unique citing works | 1 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 0.13 |
| Citation span | 2018 - 2018 (1) |
| Citation velocity | historical |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 1 |