The Politics of the Administrative Process

In a democracy, efficient public administration is after a delicate balance: the bureaucracy must be powerful enough to be effective, yet accountable to elected officials and the people. Kettl and Fesler understand that the push and pull of political forces make the functions of bureaucracy ever more contentious, but no less crucial to governance.

Based on reviewer feedback, and given advances in scholarship and in practice, the authors introduce the crucial topics of ethics, accountability, and leadership early on, utilizing these central ideas as touchstones throughout the book. While this text continues to focus on the core components of public administration―such as budgeting, personnel, and implementation―it’s been thoroughly updated to cover recent developments, including administrative issues spotlighted during the 2008 presidential campaigns, the use of technology in government management, and the changing face of the federal workforce. Fully updated tables and figures feature a wealth of current data, and photos add visual context to the book’s core concepts.

What was an appendix showcasing fourteen case studies in the previous edition is now a set of fully-integrated case studies―one in each chapter―that challenges students to apply ideas and analysis as they go. Each case emphasizes the people on the front lines at the local, state, and federal levels with topics ranging from Taser use in law enforcement to the recent economic bailout. Useful discussion questions at the end of each case help shape student responses and in-class conversation.

Donald F. Kettl is professor emeritus and former dean at the University of Maryland School of Public Policy. Until his retirement, he was the Sid Richardson Professor at the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs, at the University of Texas at Austin. He is also a senior adviser at the Volcker Alliance, a nonresident senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, and a fellow of the National Academy of Public Administration.

Kettl is the author or editor of twenty-five books, including Bridgebuilders: Harnessing Society’s Superpowers to Solve Its Biggest Problems, with William D. Eggers; The Divided States of America (2020); Can Governments Earn Our Trust? (2017); Little Bites of Big Data for Public Policy (2017); Escaping Jurassic Government: Restoring America’s Lost Commitment to Competence (2016); System under Stress: The Challenge to 21st Century American Democracy Homeland Security and American Politics (2014); The Next Government of the United States: Why Our Institutions Fail Us and How to Fix Them (2008); and The Global Public Management Revolution (2005).

He has received three lifetime achievement awards: the Dwight Waldo Award of the American Society of Public Administration; the John Gaus Award of the American Political Science Association; and the Warner W. Stockberger Achievement Award of the International Public Management Association for Human Resources. Three of his books have received national best-book awards.

Kettl holds a PhD in political science from Yale University. He consults broadly for government organizations, at all levels and around the world. He has appeared frequently in national and international media. With his wife, Sue, he is also a co-shareholder of the Green Bay Packers.

James W. Fesler, who died in 2005, was the Alfred Cowles Professor Emeritus of Government at Yale University. He received the Dwight Waldo Award of the American Society for Public Administration "for distinguished contributions to the professional literature of public administration" and the John Gaus Award in 1988. His books include Area and Administration, The Independence of State Regulatory Agencies, and a special new edition of Area and Administration, which appeared posthumously in 2008.