Criteria-Lessness in Public Administration: An Empirical Observation Based on Document Analysis

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1. Verfasser: Eines, Ekaterina
Format: Recurso digital
Sprache:Englisch
Veröffentlicht: Zenodo 2026
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author Eines, Ekaterina
author_facet Eines, Ekaterina
contents <p>This note presents empirically documented observations of <em>criteria-lessness</em> in public administration, based on document analysis of decision-related materials. <em>Criteria-lessness</em> is understood as a structural condition in which evaluative processes operate without explicit, operational, or documented criteria (Eines, 2026e).</p> <p>The analysis draws on systematic requests for access to documents, where evaluation criteria, thresholds, and decision frameworks were requested. The responses may indicate that such criteria are either not documented, not available, or not identifiable in the material provided (Eines, 2026b).</p> <p>In the cases examined, it was indicated that such criteria do not exist, or that they are not documented or not made available in a form that allows for review.</p> <p>The purpose of the note is not to assess legality or assign responsibility in individual cases, but to provide empirical material for further analytical development within the framework of criteriology. The observations may be described as highlighting structural conditions affecting traceability, reviewability, and the relationship between normative standards and procedural practices in administrative decision-making.</p> <p>To support the analytical description of how such conditions may relate to reviewability, the note introduces a schematic representation referred to as the <em>Reviewability Challenges Mode</em>l, illustrating how variations across evaluation, classification, documentation, and access may be associated with different forms of limited reviewability.</p> <p>In some cases, access to potentially relevant evaluative material is restricted, and decision-making processes are not subject to further justification or review, which may be described as indicating additional layers of limited traceability.</p> <p>This publication forms part of an open research series on <em>criteriology</em> and the <em>Self-Matryoshka Analytical Framework (S-MAF)</em>. This note belongs to an empirical sub-series presenting empirically grounded, document-based observations of evaluative processes, complementing the conceptual and methodological foundations introduced in Criteriology: A Preliminary Analytical Concept (Eines, 2026a).</p> <p> </p>
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spellingShingle Criteria-Lessness in Public Administration: An Empirical Observation Based on Document Analysis
Eines, Ekaterina
Criteriology, criteria-lessness, public administration, evaluation, decision-making, document analysis, administrative processes, accountability, reviewability, normative opacity, recursive criteria-lessness, factual grounds
<p>This note presents empirically documented observations of <em>criteria-lessness</em> in public administration, based on document analysis of decision-related materials. <em>Criteria-lessness</em> is understood as a structural condition in which evaluative processes operate without explicit, operational, or documented criteria (Eines, 2026e).</p> <p>The analysis draws on systematic requests for access to documents, where evaluation criteria, thresholds, and decision frameworks were requested. The responses may indicate that such criteria are either not documented, not available, or not identifiable in the material provided (Eines, 2026b).</p> <p>In the cases examined, it was indicated that such criteria do not exist, or that they are not documented or not made available in a form that allows for review.</p> <p>The purpose of the note is not to assess legality or assign responsibility in individual cases, but to provide empirical material for further analytical development within the framework of criteriology. The observations may be described as highlighting structural conditions affecting traceability, reviewability, and the relationship between normative standards and procedural practices in administrative decision-making.</p> <p>To support the analytical description of how such conditions may relate to reviewability, the note introduces a schematic representation referred to as the <em>Reviewability Challenges Mode</em>l, illustrating how variations across evaluation, classification, documentation, and access may be associated with different forms of limited reviewability.</p> <p>In some cases, access to potentially relevant evaluative material is restricted, and decision-making processes are not subject to further justification or review, which may be described as indicating additional layers of limited traceability.</p> <p>This publication forms part of an open research series on <em>criteriology</em> and the <em>Self-Matryoshka Analytical Framework (S-MAF)</em>. This note belongs to an empirical sub-series presenting empirically grounded, document-based observations of evaluative processes, complementing the conceptual and methodological foundations introduced in Criteriology: A Preliminary Analytical Concept (Eines, 2026a).</p> <p> </p>
title Criteria-Lessness in Public Administration: An Empirical Observation Based on Document Analysis
topic Criteriology, criteria-lessness, public administration, evaluation, decision-making, document analysis, administrative processes, accountability, reviewability, normative opacity, recursive criteria-lessness, factual grounds
url https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.19318075