Date: 2024
Type: Thesis
Reform success and failure in the wake of scandals : three tales of regulatory conflict in the private military and security arena
Florence : European University Institute, 2024, EUI, SPS, PhD Thesis
KOURRA, Kyriaki, Reform success and failure in the wake of scandals : three tales of regulatory conflict in the private military and security arena, Florence : European University Institute, 2024, EUI, SPS, PhD Thesis - https://hdl.handle.net/1814/76853
Retrieved from Cadmus, EUI Research Repository
It is well-known that scandals and policy fiascos are often politicized. Sometimes, they open “windows of opportunity” for regulatory reform, inspiring political authorities to convene hearings to assess what went wrong. Atrocities incurred by US-contracted private military and security companies in the Iraq war are cases in point. However, effective and legitimate change depends significantly on who is invited to the table. It also depends on the kind of arguments they can bring to bear on the scandal, employing a conceptually-derived framework comprised of six dimensions of policy advocacy. Empirically, to identify the conditions that facilitate or impede regulatory change, this thesis reconstructs three hearing processes of US congressional committees instigated by three broadly similar ‘scandals’ (or regulatory failures), involving industry transgressions that produced substantively different regulatory reform outcomes. Three key contributions follow. First, this dissertation contends that the potential for regulatory change is strongly associated with the (non-) participation of key actors in democratic processes. Policy change is more likely when actor constellations are wider and the argumentative space is more diverse (including actors excluded from previous ‘quiet’ deliberations). In “narrower” cases, the authorities of privileged actors tend to prevail. Second, argumentation is key to the ultimate regulatory choices. This thesis finds that “public consent” arguments, introduced by the victims or victims’ families, and subsequently used by members of the committee to challenge insider actors seeking to preserve the status quo, are particularly influential in a hearing context. Third, the research very strongly shows that arguments become even more powerful when laden with Aristotelian pathos. The emotional engagement of ‘real’ actors proved decisive in one of the three cases under review. This latter finding has significant implications that future research on regulatory policy change should tackle.
Additional information:
Defence date: 06 May 2024; Examining Board: Prof. Anton Hemerijck, (European University Institute, supervisor); Prof. Dorothee Bohle, (University of Vienna, external supervisor); Prof. Mark Thatcher, (LSE/LUISS); Prof. Hin-Yan Liu, (University of Copenhagen)
Cadmus permanent link: https://hdl.handle.net/1814/76853
Full-text via DOI: 10.2870/004684
Series/Number: EUI; SPS; PhD Thesis
Publisher: European University Institute
LC Subject Heading: Policy sciences; Political planning; Political culture