Public Administration and Public Management Research in Europe: Traditions and Trends

Abstract

The chapter reviews the evolution of the state of the art of research in public administration and management in Europe since WWII. It argues that a pan-European community has developed, flanking and in many respects integrating the distinct national communities that characterised the field till the 1970s/1980s. After a bibliographical review of the main themes that catalyse the interest of PA scholars, it focuses on the most researched theme in Europe, namely public management reform. The ways in which the topic has been studied before, during and after the NPM ideological wave are examined by looking into country clusters across Europe: Germanic, Anglo-Saxon, Southern European, Nordic European, and Central-Eastern European. Concluding points include the theoretical importance of context in European research, and the profile of the European scholar.