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Bureaucracy in a democratic state: a governance perspective

Meier, Kenneth John ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6378-0855 and O'Toole, Laurence J. Jr. 2006. Bureaucracy in a democratic state: a governance perspective. Balitimore, USA: Johns Hopkins University Press.

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Abstract

Here, Kenneth J. Meier and Laurence J. O'Toole Jr. present a timely analysis of working democracy, arguing that bureaucracy—often considered antithetical to fundamental democratic principles—can actually promote democracy. Drawing from both the empirical work of political scientists and the qualitative work of public administration scholars, the authors employ a "governance approach" that considers broad, institutionally complex systems of governance as well as the nitty-gritty details of bureaucracy management. They examine the results of bureaucratic and political interactions in specific government settings, locally and nationally, to determine whether bureaucratic systems strengthen or weaken the connections between public preferences and actual policies. They find that bureaucracies are part of complex intergovernmental and interorganizational networks that limit a single bureaucracy's institutional control over the implementation of public policy. Further, they conclude that top-down political control of bureaucracy has only modest impact on the activities of bureaucracy in the U.S. and that shared values and commitments to democratic norms, along with political control, produce a bureaucracy that is responsive to the American people.

Item Type: Book
Book Type: Authored Book
Date Type: Publication
Status: Published
Schools: Business (Including Economics)
Subjects: H Social Sciences > H Social Sciences (General)
H Social Sciences > HD Industries. Land use. Labor
J Political Science > JA Political science (General)
J Political Science > JF Political institutions (General)
Publisher: Johns Hopkins University Press
ISBN: 9780801883569
Last Modified: 20 Oct 2022 09:30
URI: https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/32252

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