The Political Economy of Public Bureaucracy:
​Socioeconomic Conflict, Imperialism, and the Emergence of Modern Administrative Organizations

Book Forthcoming with Cambridge University Press (Based on Dissertation)
(Cambridge Core Entry) (Pre-Order Link)
(Original Dissertation PDF Download) (Alt. Link)

Recipient of the Honorable Mention for the Ernst B. Haas Dissertation Award
(for the best dissertation in European Politics and Society)

Recipient of the Honorable Mention for the Ronald H. Coase Dissertation Award
(for the best dissertation in Institutional and Organizational Economics)

Abstract: How do domestic socioeconomic conflicts and imperial legacies from the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries continue to shape contemporary governance? This book offers a groundbreaking dual perspective on bureaucratic development. It challenges Max Weber’s prediction of uniform bureaucratic rationalization by revealing that public administrations exhibit fundamental and lasting differences across advanced capitalist countries. This divergence originates in historical conflicts between social groups, producing outcomes that remain embedded in current institutions across various European countries and the United States. Moreover, using innovative research designs, including assessments of Poland and Romania’s historical divisions based on rigorous spatial methods, Jan P. Vogler demonstrates that bureaucracies imposed by empires over a century ago still affect government efficiency, meritocracy, and state–citizen relations today. Beyond in-depth historical analyses, he provides key insights for policymakers. Specifically, readers will learn why bureaucratic reforms that ignore historical legacies will likely fail, enabling them to understand why administrative systems have not converged, but instead differ so markedly across seemingly similar countries.

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Book Project in Development:
Theory of Competition: Rivalry and Competition in Human Societies and International Relations

Abstract: Competition is a ubiquitous phenomenon. In societies, people compete for status and wealth. In capitalist economies, firms compete for market shares. In democracies, parties compete for votes. In the international realm, countries compete for foreign direct investment, military power, and prestige. Building upon social psychology, this book explores the deep-rooted psychological mechanisms which explain why people compete with each other. A general theory of rivalry and competition is developed and subsequently applied to politics and economics. A comprehensive study of international history, particularly the European international system and its member states in comparison with other world regions, demonstrates how powerful competition as an organizational principle can be.