Contemporary Debates In Public Administration

Public administration is reeling under complex challenges and pressures in the face of the changing trends in liberalization, privatization and globalization. As a pertinent area of social sciences, it is in search of a new identity in the form of theoretical bases, conceptual clarity and contextual applicability. The development of the discipline is characterized by failed, semi-developed and recycled narratives, which are unable to provide any well-defined epistemological parameters. Whatever one finds in the form of conceptual and applied growth in public administration, especially pertaining to the Third World, appears to be borrowed, imitated and implemented out of context. The discipline of public administration must therefore reinvent itself in the wake of new developments in the areas of theory building, organizational reforms, information technology, participatory development, corporate ethics, humane governance, responsive administration, non-state organizations and administrative capability. This book makes an attempt to grapple with some of these contemporary concerns in order to generate a debate on the impact of globalization on public administration. A collection of diverse topics that address various facets of public administration, the overall thrust is on developing indigenous approaches for meeting the growing demands of the changing scenario. The wide range of issues covered in the volume makes for a comprehensive view of the various perceptions within the discipline of public administration. The book will be of immense use to students, academicians, researchers, policy makers and practitioners in public administration.

Dialog between practitioners and academics has increasingly become the exception rather than the rule in contemporary public administration circles. Bridging the gap between theory and practice, Debating Public Administration: Management Challenges, Choices, and Opportunities tackles some of the major management challenges, choices, and opportunities of the twenty-first century facing public managers across various subfields of public administration. Informed by contemporary pressures on public managers to reconceptualize purpose, redefine administrative rationality, recapitalize human assets, reengage resources, and revitalize democratic constitutionalism, the book offers students, practitioners, and researchers an opportunity to take stock and ponder the future of practice and research in public administration. Organized by three sets of major management challenges facing the field—Rethinking Administrative Rationality in a Democratic Republic, Recapitalizing Organizational Capacity, and Reconceptualizing Institutions for New Policy Challenges—the book takes an uncommon approach to the study of these topics. In it, leading practitioners and academics comment on condensed versions of articles appearing in the Theory to Practice feature of Public Administration Review (PAR) from 2006 through 2011. The authors and commentators focus on some of the best current research, draw lessons from that literature for practice, and identify gaps in research that need to be addressed. They expertly draw out themes, issues, problems, and prospects, providing bulleted lessons and practical takeaways. This makes the book a unique one-stop resource for cross-disciplinary, cross-sectoral, and cross-professional exchanges on contemporary challenges.

The volume provides a collection of articles on current debates in the fields of politics and public administration. The authors deal with frequently mentioned concepts of our era in political and public administration sciences.

Written by two of the leading scholars in the field, this book explores public administration in the past, present and future, critically reviewing the modernization of public management reform. It reasserts public administration as an integral component of democratic governance and fostering a state-citizen relationship. Wide-ranging in scope, The Next Public Administration: Extends basic public administration to consider issues associated with management, governance and democracy Covers core public administration concepts and their evolution through time Draws on an international spread of examples, bringing theoretical discussions to life Includes lists of further reading Essential reading for students of public management and public administration.

In recent years the nature of policy and politics has witnessed significant transformations. These have challenged perceptions about the ways in which policy is studied, designed, delivered and appraised. This book –the first in the New Perspectives in Policy and Politics series - brings together world-leading scholars to reflect on the implications of some of these developments for the field of policy studies and the world of practice. First published as a special issue of Policy & Politics, the book offers critical reflections on the recent history and future direction of policy studies. It advances the debate by rethinking the ways in which scholars and students of policy studies can (re)engage with pertinent issues in pursuit of both scholarly excellence and practical solutions to global policy problems.

This book discusses selected current issues in the field of public finance and public administration. These current issues include budget right, global public goods, financial reporting, control of the activities, robot tax, arms trade, tax expenditures and mandatory private pension system, public and private partnerships, fiscal space, ethics, governance, urban safety and metropolitan municipality. For this reason, the book is capable of appealing to everyone interested in these fields. It will also contribute to researchers who want to improve themselves in public finance and public administration.

Designed as a one-step guide to the issues, perspectives and vocabulary of modern public administration, this reader considers topics such as public choice, total quality management and deregulation, while delivering the classic material essential for mastery of the special language, concepts, analysis, history and practice of public administration.