Public Administration and Society: Critical Issues in American Governance

by Box; Richard C

• ISBN13: 9780765623591
• ISBN10: 0765623595
• Edition: 2nd
• Format: Nonspecific Binding
• Copyright: 2009-07-15
• Publisher: Routledge

Summary

Update and expanded, and featuring three new readings, this book provides a unique approach for instructors who want to expose their students to the social, political, and historical context of the practice of public administration. While most introductory texts cover a wide range of topics and are oriented toward details of management technique, this innovative volume focuses instead on the broader society within which public service practitioners work. The author's own text is skillfully interwoven with a collection of seminal readings and documents that illuminate the key issues of past and present for public service professionals in a democratic society.

Table of Contents

Preface

Introduction to the Central Issues: Context, Change, and Democracy

Scope and Content of Public Administration

Instrumental and Contextual Public Administration

The Unique Public Sector

Coercion and Government

Scope and Content of American Governments

Time and Change: The Environment of Public Administration

Predispositions and Freedom of Thought

Recurring Themes

A Picture of Change

Historical Peculiarity

Historical Similarity

Change and Economics

Democracy, Citizenship, and Governmental Structure

Democratic Citizenship

Precursors of American Democracy

Toward a New American Government

Contemporary Public Service Institutions

Transition

Debate and Decision in the Founding Era

The Federalist Papers

Federalist Papers 10, 17, and 51

The Anti-Federalist Response and Tocqueville's Concerns About Democracy

The Ideas of the Founding Generation in the Present

The Federalist Papers, Nos. 10, 17, & 51

"Introduction to the Federalist Papers Reader,"

"Interpretative Essay,"

"What Sort of Despotism Democratic Nations Have to Fear,"

"The Future of the American Bureaucratic System,"

Community and the Individual

"The Public Realm,"

"Barn Raising,"

"The Nature of Community Governance,"

Social Equity and Economic Efficiency

"Unequal America: Causes and Consequences of the Wide-and Growing-Gap Between Rich and Poor,"

"Introduction to New Public Administration,"

"Running Government Like a Business: Implications for Public Administration Theory and Practice,"

The Public Service Practitioner in a Democratic Society

"Practitioners,"

"New Public Management and Substantive Democracy,"

"Citizens and Administrators: Roles and Relationships,"

"Transforming Citizenship and Governance,"

Index

About the Author

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