Toward Making Power More Explicit in the IADF: A Review and Diagnostic Approach to Power Theories

Towards Conceptual Precision in the Core Terminology of Soft Power Theory

In the realm of international relations, soft power stands out as one of the most frequently referenced yet conceptually vague terms. Subsequent to Nye's original formulation, its signification has been disseminated across a plethora of disciplines and policy debates, giving rise to analytical confusion. This article aims to improve conceptual accuracy by clarifying the core terminologies of soft power and presenting a framework that categorizes its main constituents. This study is methodologically based on a conceptual literature review and comparative textual analysis of key scholarly debates across international relations and political science are utilized in this research. Thus, contested terms can be systematically classified and mapped through this approach. The findings indicate a refined typology that distinguishes between sources, mechanisms, currencies, assets, tools, and outcomes. They also demonstrate the relational and process-based nature of soft power, showing that it relies on factors such as narratives, networks, emotional connections, and attractive qualities to generate influence. The conclusion suggests that soft power is best conceived as operating along a continuous spectrum where persuasion, coercion, and attraction intersect. It further emphasizes that conceptual precision is necessary not only for theoretical coherence but also for effective statecraft in a competitive global setting. The study enhances the explanatory usefulness of soft power by refining terminology and clarifying analytical boundaries. It also provides practical guidance for policymakers and scholars to assess and apply soft power systematically.

NGO activities in changing contexts: a realistic synthesis perspective

This study analyzes how the practices and classifications of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) are formed in today’s institutional, governance, funding, and political environment. The study aims to explain how, in specific contexts, mechanisms are activated that structure NGOs’ actions and determine their positions in interactions among civil society, the state, and the market. The study uses a two-stage qualitative methodology that combines a literature review and a realistic synthesis approach. The literature review stage structures the literature on NGOs’ operating principles. At the same time, realistic synthesis helps identify the various contexts, mechanisms, and outcomes that explain how institutional, funding, governance, and political environments condition NGOs’ activities and outcomes. The study shows that NGO activities cannot be reduced to well-known types; instead, they are shaped by dynamic interactions between external expectations and internal interpretations within the organization. The study offers a conceptual basis for revising the traditional approach to NGO classification and can contribute to a broader understanding of NGOs in both academic research and policy planning.

Bridging perspectives: utilizing the CCA worldview map to unlock potential for transformation

Collaboration across the ‘siloes’ of government is key to unlocking a transformative paradigm shift in climate change adaptation (CCA), yet such ‘mainstreaming’ efforts have been unsuccessful to date. This paper argues that these shortcomings are rooted primarily in the mainstreaming literature’s neglect of people’s worldviews as an integral component of successful collaboration. For an individual’s internal dimensions to be recognized alongside disciplinary knowledge requires inclusiveness and expansiveness in both organizational spaces and in people. This paper presents a novel framework aiming to facilitate inclusiveness and expansiveness in both areas: the CCA Worldview Map. The CCA Worldview Map unpacks the idea of transformation into five dimensions, each with three levels of complexity, which represent distinct phases of the public planning process: When and What, relating to the input; Who, relating to the process; How, relating to the output; and Why, relating to the outcomes and impact. Using interview data from sixteen managers and practitioners at the local government level across Norway, I show how the CCA Worldview Map can be used to map understandings of CCA, unearthing a plurality of worldviews within Norwegian public administration. I discuss the framework’s utility along three lines: as a vocabulary for articulating differing interpretations of CCA and their relationships, thus identifying complementarity instead of conflict; as a tool that consolidates a breadth of ideas from the CCA literature into a single framework; and as an aid in uncovering cognitive dissonance and expanding personal transformative awareness.

Designing a transition towards circular economy of water: Examining practitioners' understandings in the Netherlands.

This paper examines how new policy concepts are taken up in practice, focusing on the Circular Economy of Water (CEW) in the Netherlands. Drawing on 20 semi-structured interviews with practitioners from different governance levels, regions, and sectors, we analyze how CEW is interpreted, reshaped, and mainstreamed into existing water-governance structures. We identify six lock-ins that constrain CEW's implementation and three mechanisms through which it is mainstreamed. Our findings show that lock-ins and mainstreaming mechanisms are closely interconnected: While CEW adapts to existing systems, it can also reinforce them, at times leading to rebound effects or supporting business-as-usual practices. This study contributes to a deeper understanding of the dilemmas related to CEW governance, offering insights to enhance sustainable water management practices and transformative changes. We argue that design-oriented approaches can inform how CEW is imagined and implemented, helping to reconsider whether it addresses the causes of unsustainable practices or offers temporary fixes.

IV. NEW PERSPECTIVES ON MANAGEMENT AND ORGANISATIONAL RESILIENCE

From measurement to use: Monitoring and evaluation as instruments of justice and governance

ABSTRACT This review critically examines the second edition of ‘Monitoring and Evaluation of Social Programs: An Introduction to Concepts and Techniques’, by Paulo de Martino Jannuzzi, situating the book within contemporary debates on public policy evaluation in Brazil and internationally. The review argues that Jannuzzi has become a leading reference in monitoring and evaluation (M&E) by combining conceptual rigor, technical expertise in social indicators, and extensive experience in public sector management. It discusses the book’s main analytical axes - program representation, evaluation, monitoring, methods, and the institutionalization of M&E systems - highlighting the central role of the Process and Results Map (PRM). Through critical dialogue with classical authors such as Vedung, Rossi, and Freeman, Patton, and Weiss, the review shows that Jannuzzi offers an original contribution by adapting international debates to the institutional challenges of the Brazilian state. The review concludes that the book goes beyond a technical manual, presenting a strategic reflection on evaluation, decision-making, and state capacity-building.