Public Bureaucracy in the American Political System

Abstract

American government is complex and divided. The public bureaucracy is yet another institution competing for power and resources with others, and is within itself deeply divided. There is no bureaucracy in the U.S. federal government; there are rather a set of bureaucracies, each with its own interests and its own culture. Most modern Presidents have recognized the divisions within the federal administrative structure, and also recognized the importance of those bureaucracies for making and implementing public policy. They have sought to exert policy control over the career civil service but in the process have generated their own personal bureaucracies (the White House staff, the National Security Council, etc.) and added to the complexity and confusion of government. While George Bush’s long experience in Washington predisposes him toward using the career service and the established agencies more than his predecessor did, he must still attempt to put his own stamp on government and fight the continuing battle of the ‘administrative presidency’.