The work of a two-headed monster: street-level bureaucrats and the politics of Chilean sport networks

Policy networks have been variously theorised as ‘epistemic communities’ and ‘issue networks’ in which the patterns of interaction are viewed as apolitical processes and pragmatic problem-solving. Equally important to consider is the inherently political nature of public authorities’ interactions and the role of bureaucrats in steering (sport) networks. Accordingly, this study explores the work of regional street-level bureaucrats from Chile’s Ministry of Sport (MINDEP) and National Institute of Sport (IND) to understand how they coexist and interact within the same network structures. To this end, we ask: How do street-level officials from MINDEP and IND perceive their roles and responsibilities, and what does this reveal about street-level interactions in managing contemporary networks? The Chilean case provides a unique opportunity to address these questions, as it features a bifurcated configuration in which MINDEP, tasked with advancing the government’s political objectives, coexists with IND, responsible for policy implementation and independent technical oversight. Drawing on interviews with current and former officials, the analysis shows that Chile’s sport bureaucracy functions as a ‘two-headed monster’, where bureaucrats from both organisations rely on network discretion and adopt porous, flexible roles. In this context, they operate under constant network and political pressures that compel them to ‘look around’ and act in explicitly political ways. These findings challenge conventional assumptions about the separation of politics and administration, revealing the blurred and politicised institutional boundaries in which bureaucrats operate.