Public encounters are an essential element in citizen–state interactions. Yet, we know very little about the interactional dynamics between clients and street‐level bureaucrats. By analyzing data from interviews and participatory observations of public encounters in a social security administration context, we propose a typology of public encounters based on clients' and employees' preparedness that affects the dynamics and outcomes of services. Encounters can either be characterized by “Conflict and Obstruction,” “Advocacy,” “Case Processing,” or “Agreement and Collaboration.” We conceptualize the relation between these types and how both clients and caseworkers transition between them. Additionally, the article's findings suggest that public encounters should not be observed as singular events. Rather, spillover effects between encounters and long‐term multi‐episode interactions with clients prove to be essential in understanding behavior on both sides through mutual learning.

中文翻译：

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探戈（至少）需要两个人：调查公共场合中客户和社会工作者之间的互动动态

公共接触是公民与国家互动的重要组成部分。然而，我们对客户和基层官僚之间的互动动态知之甚少。通过分析社会保障管理背景下公众遭遇的访谈和参与观察数据，我们根据客户和员工的准备情况提出了一种公众遭遇的类型，该准备影响了服务的动态和结果。遭遇可以用“冲突和阻碍”、“倡导”、“案件处理”或“协议与合作”来表征。我们概念化这些类型之间的关系以及客户和个案工作者如何在它们之间进行转换。此外，文章的研究结果表明，公众遭遇不应被视为单一事件。相反，与客户的接触和长期多阶段互动之间的溢出效应被证明对于通过相互学习理解双方的行为至关重要。