Citation: Dixon, Jill (2016) Decentralised public administration: A comparative analysis of continuities and variations in the governments of Andalusia and Catalonia (1977-2015). Doctoral thesis, Northumbria University. This version was downloaded from Northumbria Research Link: http://nrl.northumbria.ac.uk/36121/ Northumbria University has developed Northumbria Research Link (NRL) to enable users to access the University’s research output. Copyright © and moral rights for items on NRL are retained by the individual author(s) and/or other copyright owners. Single copies of full items can be reproduced, displayed or performed, and given to third parties in any format or medium for personal research or study, educational, or not-for-profit purposes without prior permission or charge, provided the authors, title and full bibliographic details are given, as well as a hyperlink and/or URL to the original metadata page. The content must not be changed in any way. 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The full policy is available online: http://nrl.northumbria.ac.uk/policies.html Decentralised Public Administration: A Comparative Analysis of Continuities and Variations in the Governments of Andalusia and Catalonia (1977-2015) JILL DIXON PhD 2016 Decentralised Public Administration: A Comparative Analysis of Continuities and Variations in the Governments of Andalusia and Catalonia (1977-2015) JILL DIXON A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements of the University of Northumbria at Newcastle for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Research undertaken in the Faculty of Arts, Design & Social Sciences October 2016 ABSTRACT Decentralised Public Administration: A Comparative Analysis of Continuities and Variations in the Governments of Andalusia and Catalonia (1977-2015) This study brings new empirical research on sub-state government in contemporary Spain, addressing a gap in the literature concerning the approaches taken and choices made by Autonomous Governments regarding their institutional design. It tests the hypothesis that decentralisation to territories with distinct and different characteristics will result in diversity in public administrative institutions. A multi-method investigation compares the responses of the Junta de Andalucía and the Generalitat de Catalunya to the opportunities of decentralisation and the challenges of the post-2008 economic crisis. It analyses budgets, ministerial and civil servant hierarchies, policies and strategies. It also evaluates the perspectives and statements of key politicians, senior civil servants, academics and trades unionists, obtained through one-to-one interviews carried out in Spain during 2014 and 2015. The research finds that despite recognisable differences in the characteristics of Andalusia and Catalonia, and constitutional recognition of Spain’s nations and nationalities, decentralisation has not resulted in significant divergence between these two Autonomous Governments. Priorities, structures, employment practices and administrative cultures demonstrate more continuities than variation. The constitutional and institutional framework and Spain’s political culture have been shown to reduce the scope for differentiation. This case study highlights the Napoleonic administrative tradition as the most significant influence for homogeneity. Self-identity, strong but distinct in each community, has contributed to a divergence in style and emphasis in the Junta and the Generalitat, and also to dissimilarities in their responses to the economic crisis. This research adds to public administration studies evidence that decentralisation does not necessarily result in variation in governmental institutions at sub-state level. The study concludes that the historical legacy of centralism and in particular the continued influence of the administrative tradition have acted as forces for continuity in the Autonomous Governments of Andalusia and Catalonia. CONTENTS Page List of Maps i List of Tables ii List of Figures iv vi List of Appendices vii Acknowledgement viii Declaration Chapter One: Introduction 1.1 Decentralisation as a New and Significant Development in 1 Contemporary Spain 1.2 Research Focus and Questions: Continuities and 2 Variations 1.3 Limitations of Existing Literature 3 1.4 Scope and Boundaries: Corporate and Political 5 Management Arrangements of the Junta and the Generalitat 1.5 Research Design, Methodology, and Methods 6 1.5.1 Research Paradigms 6 1.5.2 Methodology and Methods 7 1.5.3 Case Study 8 1.6 Issues of Language 13 1.7 Development of the Research 14 Chapter Two: Theoretical and Historical Context 2.1 Introduction 16 2.1.1 Purpose of Chapter 16 2.2 Nations, Nationalism and the Nation-State 17 2.2.1 Development of Nations 17 2.2.2 Nation-States in Western European Liberal 19 Democracies 2.2.3 Different Forms of the Nation-State 22 2.2.4 Sub-Nationalism and Purinationalisms 24 2.3 History of the Two Spains 27 2.3.1 Fragmentation or Continuity? 27 2.3.2 Multiple Divisions 28 2.3.3 Religious Divisions 30 2.3.4 Territorial Divisions 31 2.3.5 Monarchy versus Republicanism 33 2.3.6 Reform versus Reaction 35 2.3.7 Military versus Civilian Power and the Emergence 37 of Peripheral Nationalisms 2.3.8 The Second Republic (1931-6) and Civil War 38 Fragmentation (1936-9) 2.3.9 The Two Spains of the Franco Regime 41 2.4 Transition to Democracy and the 1978 Constitution 43 2.4.1 Decentralisation: The Most Contentious Issue 43 2.4.2 Drafting a New Constitution 46 2.4.3 Building the State of the Autonomies 49 2.4.4 Weaknesses of the State of the Autonomies 53 Chapter Three: Public Administration and the Management of Public Services 3.1 Introduction 56 3.1.1 Purpose of Chapter 56 3.2. Parameters and Typologies of Public Administration 56 3.2.1 Parameters of Public Administration 56 3.2.2 Typologies of Public Administrations 58 3.2.3 Spain and the Napoleonic Model 63 3.3 Public Administrative Reform 70 3.3.1 The Classical Model of Public Administration 70 3.3.2 Reform at the End of the Twentieth Century 73 3.3.3 Decentralisation 78 3.3.4 Responses to Austerity 85 3.3.5 Public Administrative Developments in Modern 87 Spain Chapter Four: Case Study of Andalusia and Catalonia 4.1 Introduction 102 4.1.1 Purpose of Chapter 102 4.1.2 Profiles of Andalusia and Catalonia 102 4.2. Historical Antecedents to the Current Autonomous 105 Governments 4.2.1 Definitional Issues 105 4.2.2 Andalusian Regionalism 108 4.2.3 Catalan Nationalism 116 4.3. Institutional Establishments 126 4.3.1 Junta de Andalucía 126 4.3.2 Generalitat de Catalunya 132 4.4 Contemporary Financial Context 139 4.4.1 National Financing System of Autonomous 139 Governments 4.4.2 The Economic Crisis Post-2008 in Spain 146 4.5 Autonomous Government Budgets 153 4.5.1 2015 Budget of Junta de Andalucía 153 4.5.2 2015 Budget of Generalitat de Catalunya 158 Chapter Five: Comparative Analysis 5.1 Introduction 162 5.1.1 Purpose of Chapter 162 5.2 Territorial Self-Identification 162 5.2.1 Opinion Surveys on Self-Identification 162 5.2.2 Preferred Status for Catalonia 166 5.3 People, Politics and Policies 168 5.3.1 Statutes 168 5.3.2 Political Structures 171 5.3.3 Public Employees 183 5.3.4 Political Appointments 188 5.3.5 Employees of ‘Special Purpose Vehicles’ (SPVs) 191 5.4 Budgets and Strategies 201 5.4.1 2015 Budgets 201 5.4.2 Strategies 211 5.5 Insights from the Narratives Deployed 220 5.5.1 Nomenclature 220 5.5.2 Thematic Analysis of Interviews 221 Chapter Six: Continuities and Variations: Explanatory Factors and Influences 6.1 Introduction 229 6.1.1 Purpose of Chapter 229 6.2 Key Findings of the Case Study 229 6.2.1 Similarities and Differences 229 6.3 The Influence of History 235 6.3.1 The Inevitability of the Past Determining the 235 Present? 6.3.2 The Persistence of the Napoleonic Administrative 236 Tradition 6.3.3 The Limitations of Path Dependency Approaches 247 6.4 Spanish Political Culture 249 6.4.1 Corruption 249 6.4.2 Dominance by a Political Party 250 6.4.3 Weak Position of Citizens 251 6.4.4 Weak Consumer Power 253 6.5 National Constitutional and Institutional Context 255 6.5.1 1978 Constitution: Flexibility for Competition Not 255 Diversity 6.5.2 Shared Legal Framework 257 6.5.3 The Constraints Imposed by the National Financial 258 Framework 6.6 Factors Explaining Differences 260 6.6.1 Differences between the Junta and the Generalitat 260 6.6.2 The Influence of Territorial Differentiation 260 6.6.3 The Influence of Self-Identification 265 6.7 Limited Degree of Public Administrative Differentiation 271 6.7.1 Challenging and Re-evaluating the Initial 271 Hypothesis 6.7.2 Factors for Homogeneity 272 Chapter Seven: Conclusion 7.1 Introduction 275 7.1.1 The Impact of Decentralisation on Autonomous 275 Governments Re-evaluated 7.1.2 Multiple Grounds for Academic Interest 275 7.1.3 Development of the Hypothesis 277 7.2 Key Findings 278 7.2.1 Literature Review and Case Study Sourced 278 Findings 7.2.2 The Existence of Multiple Nationalisms but the 279 Historic Dominance of Centralism 7.2.3 Unresolved End Model for the State of Spain 280 resulting in Continued Tension 7.2.4 Spanish Public Administration as an Exemplar of 281 the Napoleonic Administrative Tradition 7.2.5 Aspects of Differentiation at Sub-State Level 282 7.2.6 Limited Movement away from the Inherited Model 284 7.2.7 The Influence of Self-Identity on Style and Voice 285 7.3 Contribution to Public Administrative and Hispanic Studies 286 7.3.1 Focus on Corporate and Political