Public Administration Under Populist Governance: Insights from Israel

The Colloquium Series of the Samuel Neaman Institute

You are invited to a lecture in the Colloquium Series of the Samuel Neaman Institute. This series is dedicated to exploring the implications of social processes (culture, technology, ethics, geopolitics, and more) on higher education, research, and development.

Speaker: Prof. Nissim Cohen

In recent years, the number of countries experiencing populist trends has increased. Many studies have sought to understand the factors behind the success of populism and its impact on liberal democracies—particularly on the judiciary, the media, and academia. However, only recently have researchers begun to examine the relationship between populism and public administration organizations.

In this context, the academic literature focuses on three key questions:

1. What strategies do populist leaders adopt toward public administration organizations?

2. How do bureaucracies in democratic states respond to these strategies?

3.  What is the impact of these processes on the performance of public administration and its ability to promote policies?

Drawing on five different studies (some completed and some still in progress), this lecture will provide an overview of the current situation in Israel in relation to these questions.