Anders Esmark

My primary research area is the transformation of policy and politics driven by the governance paradigm of public sector reform, including reform waves associated with New Public Management, post-NPM, the mixed administration and whole of government. Particular areas of interest include: 1) The relation between public sector reforms and liberal governmental thinking, in particular continental neoliberalism, ordoliberalism and libertarian paternalism 2) The increasing reliance  on communication, information and media technology in regulatory practices and forms of intervention such as nudging and collaborative governance 3) The new technocracy of the governance paradigm, based on the principles of network-, risk- and performance management, and the mounting conflict between technocracy, bureaucracy and democracy.

Moreover, I research the interplay between media and politics, in particular the interlocking trends of mediatization and professionalization of communication in political and administrative institutions. Particular focus points here include:  1) The structure and culture of interaction systems between journalists, politicians and spokespeople 2) Politicization of the media, collusion and media partisanship 3) The transformation of political communication logic outside the realm of national election campaigns.

My work relates primarily to the fields of public administration, political theory, sociology and political communication.