Introduction and context

Globalization remains a much-debated and controversial phenomenon. If there is one important lesson from the COVID-19 crisis it is probably of the limits nation states face when addressing global events. What was already clear from the disruptive force of climate change has been amplified further by a rapidly spreading pandemic that has shown both the risks and potential of globalization. It has demonstrated the risk of our dependence on global production chains and the way global travel can make a dangerous disease spread in no time. It has also revealed the potential of truly transnational initiatives, like the COVID Vaccines Global Access (COVAX) coalition, in accelerating the research (and deployment) of new vaccines as well as managing how they are deployed internationally. While the post-COVID reality will likely see a return to shorter production chains, and global travel will take significant time to return to pre-crisis levels, it is certain the power of transboundary action will be remembered as a positive aspect of a phenomenon that has been much criticized over the last decade.

This book, and the underlying study, focuses on the impact of globalization on civil servants and civil service systems. Civil servants are influenced by globalization: the international and transnational component of their work is growing over time, and global norms and standards, and the performance indicators affecting them, are increasing in importance, as we will discuss in detail later in this book. National civil servants are also actors in globalization, contributing to the development of international legislation and programmes and interacting with supranational and international institutions as well as transnational organizations. Yet their role and the impact of an ever-changing context on their work has seen little discussion.

Regardless of the growing importance of transnational organizations and actors, and the norms, standards, and indicators set by them, civil service systems have remained a largely nation-state driven and defined part of institutional setups. While there has been some academic interest in the impact of globalization on civil service systems, this has generally been limited to documenting the volume and relevance of interaction.