Refounding Public Administration
Encyclopedia
Refounding Public Administration (1990) is a noted text in the public administration
field that formulated a multi-faceted argument that government is properly an agential and active servant of the public good
. It is among a very few books that have been pivotal in defining public administration as a distinct field from political science
with its own theory and raison d'etre. Other works in this genre include Dwight Waldo's The Administrative State
and Frederick C. Mosher
's Democracy and the Public Service. The work was edited by Gary Wamsley
, who contributed a classic essay on bureaucratic agency, and also includes works by Charles Goodsell
, John Rohr
, Camilla Stivers
, Orion White, Philip Kronenberg, James Wolf and others.
A follow-on volume called Refounding Democratic Public Administration was edited by Wamsley and Wolf. These works have strongly influenced the development of the Center for Public Administration and Policy
as a center of public administration research.
Public administration
Public Administration houses the implementation of government policy and an academic discipline that studies this implementation and that prepares civil servants for this work. As a "field of inquiry with a diverse scope" its "fundamental goal.....
field that formulated a multi-faceted argument that government is properly an agential and active servant of the public good
Public good
In economics, a public good is a good that is non-rival and non-excludable. Non-rivalry means that consumption of the good by one individual does not reduce availability of the good for consumption by others; and non-excludability means that no one can be effectively excluded from using the good...
. It is among a very few books that have been pivotal in defining public administration as a distinct field from political science
Political science
Political Science is a social science discipline concerned with the study of the state, government and politics. Aristotle defined it as the study of the state. It deals extensively with the theory and practice of politics, and the analysis of political systems and political behavior...
with its own theory and raison d'etre. Other works in this genre include Dwight Waldo's The Administrative State
The Administrative State
The Administrative State is Dwight Waldo's classic public administration text based on a dissertation written at Yale in which Waldo argues that democratic states are underpinned by professional and political bureaucracies and that scientific management and efficiency is not the core idea of...
and Frederick C. Mosher
Frederick C. Mosher
Frederick Camp "Fritz" Mosher was a professor of government and foreign affairs at the University of Virginia who strongly influenced a generation of scholars in public administration with his many writings, and government administrator...
's Democracy and the Public Service. The work was edited by Gary Wamsley
Gary Wamsley
Gary Wamsley is public administration specialist and professor emeritus at Virginia Tech's Center for Public Administration and Policy. He is perhaps best known as the coordinating editor of Refounding Public Administration, a work that followed from a well-known public administration paper called...
, who contributed a classic essay on bureaucratic agency, and also includes works by Charles Goodsell
Charles Goodsell
Charles T. Goodsell is Professor Emeritus at Virginia Tech's Center for Public Administration and Policy. He is perhaps best known for his volume The Case for Bureaucracy, now in its 4th edition....
, John Rohr
John Rohr
John A. Rohr is a Professor Emeritus at the Center for Public Administration and Policy at Virginia Tech. Rohr is particularly known as a leading scholar of the U.S. Constitution in relationship to civil servants and public administration...
, Camilla Stivers
Camilla Stivers
Camilla Stivers is Distinguished Professor of Public Administration at Levin College of Cleveland State University.She received an MPA from the University of Southern California and a Ph.D. in public administration and policy from Virginia Tech....
, Orion White, Philip Kronenberg, James Wolf and others.
A follow-on volume called Refounding Democratic Public Administration was edited by Wamsley and Wolf. These works have strongly influenced the development of the Center for Public Administration and Policy
Center for Public Administration and Policy
The Center for Public Administration and Policy, or CPAP, is an academic department focused on public administration and policy at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Virginia. It is known for strong advocacy of an agential and moral perspective on government...
as a center of public administration research.
See also
- The Administrative StateThe Administrative StateThe Administrative State is Dwight Waldo's classic public administration text based on a dissertation written at Yale in which Waldo argues that democratic states are underpinned by professional and political bureaucracies and that scientific management and efficiency is not the core idea of...
- Democracy and the Public Service
- public administration theoryPublic administration theoryPublic administration theory is the amalgamation of history, organizational theory, social theory, political theory and related studies focused on the meanings, structures and functions of public service in all its forms....