American vs. European Public Administration: Does Public Administration Make the Modern State, or Does the State Make Public Administration?

Abstract

It is often argued that America has produced little original political theory. The Federalist Papers are frequently cited as America's best contribution, but after that list becomes skimpy or uncertain. As some suggest, United States, like Rome, practices politics well but does not necessarily offer brilliant additions Western thought on this topic. We remain doers, not theorizers. Perhaps that observation is generally true, but surely Dwight Waldo's The Administrative State belongs on any short list of America's world-class contributions. Dwight Waldo is too modest make that claim for himself, so I will make it on his behalf. Am I overstating case? I think not. No other work -- after nearly half a century -- still reveals so clearly intellectual foundations and value framework of Public Administration.(1) None has wrestled so profoundly with meaning or purpose of administrative state, most powerful institution that governs America today. Not many American scholars until recently have attempted study state, or even dare mention in a book title (that is, until so-called return-to-state theorists in mid-1980s made it a respectable line of inquiry). As Gianfranco Poggi observed (1978), after World War II American political scientists, for mysterious reasons, went to incredible lengths forget state altogether in their political analyses. Dwight's courage and remarkable achievement -- writing a book about in this period -- stand alone when he is compared with his contemporaries. Moreover, it was not just any he identified. For first time Waldo outlined centrality of administrative for American governance. His viewpoint then, and some extent even today, was radical and continues swim against mainstream of political science in United States. For many years, Dwight Waldo's was proverbial voice in wilderness crying for us pay attention obvious: administrative state. As a result, his work still challenges us develop our research agenda, our thinking, and our capacities deal with this central, yet neglected, phenomenon. I would argue that Waldo bequeathed us not only an invaluable body of scholarship exploring many facets of administrative state, but also a body of scholars whom he nurtured continue his work. Many of us at this symposium could be classified as Waldovians, drawn into this academic career by Waldo's subtle encouragement pursue this or that line of administrative research. This time, though, it is Waldo's treatise I will discuss, especially about how it helps define Public Administration. Waldo's book described character and substance of American administrative state. It synthesized all Public Administration literature up that time, 1948 (and as some wag said half mockingly, that job probably does not need be done for another half century). Waldo read everything, digested it, organized it, and with well-turned phrases, conceptualized in a new way meaning of administrative state. So what did he tell us? What The Administrative State Tells Us About Public Administration First, American that Waldo described is a recent innovation. It is largely a product of last century -- a brief time frame in contrast European development, which evolved over past half-millennium or more. Especially important, his book described American formation as occurring roughly a century or more after ratification of U.S. Constitution. As its opening chapters relate, genesis of American can be found in late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Here was a very different era than eighteenth century, historic birthplace of American constitutionalism. Our Enlightenment-inspired founding fathers sought establish the first new nation by constraints on powers, via checks and balances, federalism, periodic elections, protection of individual rights, indeed everything prevent formation of a European-style state. …