Administrative reform in most western democracies over the years has been characterized by bringing in market-based concepts of public-service delivery. This book looks at administrative reform in a comparative perspective. It assesses its scope and objectives, and the impact of reforms, on traditional roles of elective office and civil servants.

One of the persistent claims made about the public sector over the past several decades has been that the public service has become more politicized. Addressing this important area of debate within public administration, this book discusses conceptions and measurements of politicization, as well as some of its causes and consequences. Using a comparative framework, the authors collected here confront the issue of politicization, identifying the nature and extent of political involvement and assessing the real impact of any changes on the legitimacy and effectiveness of the political system....