Ambiguities of Accountability and Attention –
Analyzing the Failure of a Preventive Security Project
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.58235/sjpa.v21i1.14974Keywords:
Crisis, Security, Ambiguity, Accountability, Central governmentAbstract
The article examines the failed implementation of a Security Project initiated by the Norwegian government prior to the terrorist attacks in 2011. It analyzes interviews with central government actors and uses two perspectives from organization theory to explain why the project failed. From an instrumental perspective, the failure might be explained by a conscious lack of attention or commitment. From a ‘garbage can’ perspective, the failure might be explained by a lack of collective instrumental rationality. Taking both perspectives into account, inherent ambiguities in horizontal and vertical accountability and a lack of attention influenced both by formal rules and informal practices are the main explanations. The prevalence of local democratic values, a lack of central political involvement and a generally slow administrative process contributed considerably to this.
Downloads
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
Authors contributing to Scandinavian Journal of Public Administration agree to publish their articles under a Creative Commons CC BY-NC 4.0 license. This means means articles are free for anybody to read and download, and to copy and disseminate for non-commercial purposes as long as appropriate credit is given, a link is provided to the license, and any changes made are clearly indicated. Authors retain copyright of their work.