Public Administration: The Interdisciplinary Study of Government

ISBN-13: 9780199693894 / Angielski / Twarda / 2012 / 288 str.

Jos C. N. Raadschelders

Opis

Public administration seeks to develop a comprehensive understanding of the internal structure and functioning of government, in all its complexity, and its interaction with society and its citizens. Public Administration: The Interdisciplinary Study of Government provides an account of the discipline, considering its history, growth, boundaries, and underlying assumptions. It tracks the emergence of the field against a background of the expanding conception of the state and the growth of public services, and situates it within the three branches of knowledge--natural sciences, social sciences, and humanities. The book maps out the sources of knowledge of public administration, and how this is fragmented within the discipline's specializations, the social sciences, and government and society at large. It examines how leading authors map the discipline, the application of different theories, the associated schools of thought and intellectual debates, and the role of knowledge integration.
Public administration has initiated much debate as to whether it should be treated as a science, a craft or profession, or an art. This book argues that to develop a comprehensive understanding of government and its complexity requires a truly interdisciplinary approach.

Recenzje

There is a strong tradition in public administration that reflects on the identity of the field, questions the rigor of the research, and suggests paths moving forward on both fronts. [This book] distinctively contributes to that reflective tradition, developing a thoughtful survey of past debates while adding new and thoughtfully developed insights. The author successfully invites a wide range of participation in the book through an inviting style of writing. [The book] delivers on the promise in the title of mapping the way for interdisciplinary study to expand the understanding of public administration. Raadschelders offers insights for researchers, teachers, and practitioners, as well as mapping a path to generate new discussions, to connect the research across disciplines and traditions, and a deep appreciation of the complexity and challenges in the study and practice of public administration.

O autorze

Jos C.N. Raadschelders received his Ph.D. in 1990 from the University of Leiden in the Netherlands. His research interests, among others, include administrative history, the nature and intellectual development of public administration, and comparative civil service systems. He is the managing editor of Public Administration Review.