Portal de Periódicos da CAPES

Comparing cultures of discretion

2003; Taylor & Francis; Volume: 29; Issue: 2 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1080/1369183032000079648

1469-9451

Bill Jordan, Bo Stråth, Anna Triandafyllidou,

European Union Policy and Governance

Our aim in this concluding paper is to provide a synthetic comparative approach to the four country studies included in this special issue. We therefore outline the main values and ideologies guiding the implementation practices of each service within each country ; and where relevant we identify the internal differentiation of such ideologies, in relation to different administrative services. We also highlight how these ideologies underpin and justify specific types of discretionary practices in each country. We thus identify the nationally specific ways of combining national preference with market ideologies at the micro level of immigration policy implementation. In this paper, we revise critically our initial comparative dimensions. These were based on the ‘old’ versus ‘new’ host countries; rational and efficient versus clientelistic and inefficient administration systems; and ethnic versus civic views of the nation. We propose an alternative set of dimensions paying attention, on the one hand, to the different interpretations of how immigration management can give national advantage in economic competition under conditions of globalisation; and on the other hand, to the prevalence of a market-driven ideology that puts emphasis on values such as efficiency, flexibility and user-friendly public service.