Two Critical Issues of American Public Administration

Abstract

American public administration has been described as a field that lacks a coherent theoretical foundation. Many believe that this theoretical paucity has left the field vulnerable to public misconceptions and attacks. To confront this dilemma it is necessary, as a preliminary step, to examine two crucial points central to public administration: (1) the role of managerialism, and (2) the relationship of public administration to the state. This article discusses these two issues and addresses how public administration needs to formulate a new linkage to the meaning of "the public."