Contributors examine the persistence of administrative patterns in the face of pressures for globablization by developing a concept of administrative traditions and describing the traditions that exist around the world. They assess the impact of traditions on administrative reforms and the capacities of government to change public administration.
Contemporary public administration reflects its historical roots, as well as contemporary ideas about how the public bureaucracy should be organized and function. This book argues that there are administrative traditions that have their roots centuries ago but continue to influence administrative behaviour. Further within Western Europe, North America, and the Antipodes there are four distinctive administrative traditions: Anglo-American, Napoleonic, Germanic, and Scandinavian. These are not the only traditions however, and the book also explores administrative traditions in Central and Eastern Europe, Latin America, Asia, and the Islamic world. In addition, the book contains a discussion of how administrative traditions of the colonial powers influenced contemporary administration in Africa, and how they continue to interact with traditional forms of governance. These discussions of tradition and persistence are also discussed in light of the numerous attempts to reform and change public administration. Some administrative traditions have been more capable than others of resisting attempts at reform, especially those associated with the New Public Management.
Contemporary administrative reforms push administrative systems to homogenize. This book documents, however, the persistence of administrative traditions in a number of countries that tend to maintain existing administrative patterns and reduce the impact of pressures for reform.
The discipline of public administration draws predominantly from political and organizational theory, but also from other social and behavioral sciences, philosophy, and even theology. This diversity results in conflicting prescriptions for the "proper" administrative role. So, how are those new to public administration to know which ideas are "legitimate"? Rather than accepting conventional arguments for administrative legitimacy through delegated constitutional authority or expertise, Logics of Legitimacy: Three Traditions of Public Administration Praxis does not assume that any one approach to professionalism is accepted by all scholars, practitioners, citizens, or elected representatives. Instead, it offers a framework for public administration theory and practice that fully includes the citizen as a political actor alongside elected representatives and administrators. This framework: Considers both direct and representative forms of democracy Examines concepts from both political and organizational theory, addressing many of the key questions in public administration Examines past and present approaches to administration Presents a conceptual lens for understanding public administration theory and explaining different administrative roles and practices The framework for public administration theory and practice is presented in three traditions of main prescriptions for practice: Constitutional (the bureaucrat), Discretionary (the entrepreneur), and Collaborative (the steward). This book is appropriate for use in graduate-level courses that explore the philosophical, historical, and intellectual foundations of public administration. Upon qualified course adoption, instructors will gain access to a course outline and corresponding lecture slides.
Is public administration an art or a science? This question of whether the field is driven by values or facts will never be definitively answered due to a lack of consensus among scholars. The resulting divide has produced many heated debates; however, in this pioneering volume, Norma Riccucci embraces the diversity of research methods rather than suggesting that there is one best way to conduct research in public administration. Public Administration examines the intellectual origins and identity of the discipline of public administration, its diverse research traditions, and how public administration research is conducted today. The book’s intended purpose is to engage reasonable-minded public administration scholars and professionals in a dialogue on the importance of heterogeneity in epistemic traditions, and to deepen the field’s understanding and acceptance of its epistemological scope. This important book will provide a necessary overview of the discipline for graduate students and scholars.
Intellectual traditions are commonly regarded as cultural variations, historical legacies, or path dependencies. By analyzing road junctions between different traditions of Public Administration this book contests the dominant perspective of path-dependent national silos, and highlights the ways in which they are hybrid and open to exogenous ideas. Analyzing the hybridity of administrative traditions from an historical perspective, this book provides a new approach to the history of Public Administration as a scientific discipline. Original and interdisciplinary chapters address the question of how scholars from the U.S., Germany and France mutually influenced each other, from the closing years of the 19th Century, up until the neo-liberal turn of the 1970s. Offering a thorough analysis of the transatlantic history of Public Administration, the conclusion argues that it is vital to learn from the past, in order to make Public Administration more realistic in theory, as well as more successful in practice. Advanced undergraduate and postgraduate political science scholars will find this to be a valuable tool in understanding the foundations of transatlantic Public Administration. This book will also greatly benefit researchers on comparative and transnational history with a keen interest in Public Administration.
This book describes what is argued to be the most effective way of doing public administration thinking. Its aim is to encourage governments to govern fundamentally better in terms of policy and administration. A better understanding of context and identities, imaginization, epistemic pluralism, anti-administration, and the context of economics are examples of what is critical for high effectiveness. The pieces included in this book have been handpicked from the vast academic collection that David Farmer has authored over the last thirty years and which were published in the Journal of Administrative Theory and Praxis and the Journal of Public Administration Education. Collectively, these chapters are intended to help governments use post-traditional public administration theory in order to achieve better praxis.
This book provides an introduction to, and assessment of, the theories and principles of the new public management and compares and contrasts these with the traditional model of public administration.
This open access book presents a topical, comprehensive and differentiated analysis of Germany’s public administration and reforms. It provides an overview on key elements of German public administration at the federal, Länder and local levels of government as well as on current reform activities of the public sector. It examines the key institutional features of German public administration; the changing relationships between public administration, society and the private sector; the administrative reforms at different levels of the federal system and numerous sectors; and new challenges and modernization approaches like digitalization, Open Government and Better Regulation. Each chapter offers a combination of descriptive information and problem-oriented analysis, presenting key topical issues in Germany which are relevant to an international readership.
An updated edition of the classic text on public administration presents practical steps for managing government effectively in an age of hyperpartisanship. Co-winner of the Louis Brownlow Book Award from the National Academy of Public Administration The traditional theory of public administration is based on entrenched notions of hierarchy and authority. However, as the structure of public work has grown less hierarchical, managers have adopted a wide variety of non-authoritarian strategies. This growing gap between theoretical ideas and actual practice poses enormous challenges for front-line leaders struggling to deal with ever-larger expectations and ever-tighter budgets—and for American government in determining how best to hold public administrators accountable for their performance. The Transformation of Governance offers a new framework for reconciling effective administration with the requirements of democratic government. Instead of thinking in terms of organizational structure and management, Donald F. Kettl suggests, administrators and theorists need to focus on governance, or the links between government and its broader environment—political, social, and administrative—through which social action occurs. In this updated edition, a new epilogue shows Kettl urging political leaders to step back from the political barricades of hyperpartisanship to consider government’s contemporary dilemma: Is there any practical way forward for public administrators to manage government effectively? Reinforcing the ten principles of bridge building which he developed in the original book, Kettl adds an eleventh, which lays out five transformative strategies: redefining public law to promote public accountability; re-conceptualizing government agencies as instruments of leverage; launching government leaders as boundary spanners; using information technology for building authority and trust; and incorporating performance management into processes that drive collaboration. With a new preface from Michael Nelson, editor of the Interpreting American Politics series, this award-winning book will be sought out by public policymakers eager to read a leading scholar's newest insights into the field.
