Elgar Advanced Introductions are stimulating and thoughtful introductions to major fields in the social sciences and law, expertly written by the world’s leading scholars. Designed to be accessible yet rigorous, they offer concise and lucid surveys of the substantive and policy issues associated with discrete subject areas. In this Advanced Introduction, Christopher Pollitt starts a penetrating account of the theories, methods and possible trajectories of the study of public management, also examining the academic community itself, and its relationship to the world of practice. There is no more authoritative – or lively – text of such scope and focus. This is a stimulating analysis by a leading international scholar. It includes: · a global overview · a critical and authoritative analysis of the current state of the field · the location of academic research firmly in the real world context of austerity, climate and demographic change, and technological transformation · an examination of the relationship between academic study and the practice of public management · a look inside the ‘ivory tower’, at the forces changing the way the subject is studied and practised This truly unique work will be of particular interest to graduate students, advanced scholars, lecturers and trainers in public administration, public management, government, public policy, political science and development administration. Middle level and senior practitioners in public administration and public management will also find this an invaluable and sophisticated introduction.

Public administration – the practice of producing and executing government policy by bureaucrats, politicians, managers and other officials – affects almost everything we encounter in our day-to-day lives. Public administrators are – at least partially – responsible for the amount of hours we work, the quality of the air we breathe, the ease with which we can visit the doctor and the state of the roads we walk and drive down. Despite the widespread relevance of public administration however, the relative amount of government influence on society differs across the world. This major new introduction examines public administration structures, processes and achievements, and the behavior and motivations of the administrators themselves. Internationally relevant and analyzing states at a range of different developmental stages, it examines the key themes and issues that dominate the field. Chapters are framed around a series of questions that determine the typical and the unusual features of governments. For example, focus is given to what makes for a stable government, the different definitions of management, possible solutions to corruption, the relationship between central and local governments as well as the formal strategies for policy development. The book draws extensively on core theory in the field, and makes critical links between public administration and economics, law, sociology and the wider subject of political science. As accessible for students as it is useful for practitioners looking for a comprehensive reference guide, this is an essential text for those who wish to understand the complexities of government and public administration from the inside out.

This introduction into comparative public administration provides an in-depth analysis of the state of public administration and recent administrative reforms in European countries. By focusing on the UK, France, Germany, Sweden, Italy and Hungary, it highlights key types of the Anglo-Saxon, Scandinavian, Continental European and Central East European variance of public administration. Its guiding question is whether and why the politico-administrative systems have shown convergence or divergence.