Identifying the Components of a Coherence-Oriented Model for Structuring Administrative System Policies
Keywords:
Administrative structure, policy coherence, Civil Service Management Law, structural reform, thematic analysis, Iran, public administration, inter-institutional coordination.Abstract
This study aims to identify and categorize the components of a coherence-oriented model for structuring administrative system policies in Iran, with a focus on Chapter Four of the Civil Service Management Law. Employing a qualitative multi-case design, this research focused on legal texts and expert insights related to administrative structural policies. The data corpus included Chapter Four of the Civil Service Management Law, relevant executive regulations, and semi-structured interviews with 20 policy experts, managers, legislators, and academics selected through purposive and snowball sampling. Data collection continued until theoretical saturation was reached. Thematic analysis was conducted following Braun and Clarke’s six-phase framework, and a total of 214 open codes were extracted, organized into 43 basic themes, 21 organizing themes, and ultimately 6 global themes. Documentary evidence was triangulated with expert interviews to enhance validity. The thematic analysis yielded six global themes that reflect the sources and nature of policy incoherence: legislative and regulatory development requirements, internal coordination, procedural coherence, external coordination, content coherence, and synergy and integration. Key issues identified include outdated or overly generic legislative clauses, lack of clear authority delegation, inconsistent procedural norms across branches, reluctance to implement privatization policies, contradictions between legacy and current laws, and political resistance to structural reform. These factors were found to systematically undermine alignment, accountability, and effective execution of structural administrative policies. The study concludes that achieving coherence in structural administrative policies requires a multidimensional approach that integrates legal clarity, inter-institutional coordination, procedural consistency, and political alignment. A coherence-oriented model can serve as a diagnostic and prescriptive tool for policymakers aiming to reform Iran’s administrative system and align structural regulations with governance goals.
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Copyright (c) 2025 Mansoureh Karimi (Author); Hossein Aslipour (Corresponding author); Hadi Khanmohammadi, Davoud Hosseinpour (Author)
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