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Global Encyclopedia of Public Administration, Public Policy, and Governance pp 1–8Cite as

Bureaucracy and Policy Alienation

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Synonyms

Anomie; Change cynicism; Identification; Resistance to change

Definition

Policy alienation can be defined as a cognitive state of psychological disconnection from the policy program to be implemented.

Introduction

Public service workers often have problems with new policies. This ranges from teachers striking against school reforms, professors protesting against cost-cutting in higher education, and physicians feeling overwhelmed by a constant flow of policy changes, resulting in conflicts and burn-outs.

An illuminating quote – cited in a leading Dutch newspaper – comes from an insurance physician who had to implement stricter rules for work disability insurance, causing many former citizens classified as work disabled to lose their benefits, while nothing substantially changed in the situation of these citizens:

The UWV [Dutch organization for employees’ insurance] is nowadays called the Lourdes of the North: you visit the agency as work-disabled, you leave able to work… It...

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References

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Governance, Utrecht University, Bijlhouwersstraat 6, 3511, ZC, Utrecht, The Netherlands

    Lars G. Tummers

Authors
  1. Lars G. Tummers
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Lars G. Tummers .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Florida Atlantic University, Boca Raton, Florida, USA

    Ali Farazmand

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© 2017 Springer International Publishing AG

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Tummers, L.G. (2017). Bureaucracy and Policy Alienation. In: Farazmand, A. (eds) Global Encyclopedia of Public Administration, Public Policy, and Governance. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-31816-5_2715-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-31816-5_2715-1

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  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-31816-5

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-31816-5

  • eBook Packages: Springer Reference Economics and FinanceReference Module Humanities and Social SciencesReference Module Business, Economics and Social Sciences

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