Politics of Representative Bureaucracy: Power, Legitimacy and Performance

Using a comparative and interdisciplinary approach, and recognizing the inherently political nature of public bureaucracies, expert contributors extend our understanding of this salient topic. Three areas are discussed, catalysing debate about representation in the public sector:

• The study of representative bureaucracy is explored, moving away from traditional viewpoints concerning passive and active representation, making room to capture additional 'channels for the expression' of interests.
• Insight into the institutionalization and freezing of different types of representation is presented, drawing attention to factors that will help explain this variation among administrative systems in the future.
• Lessons for theorizing public organizations are elaborated upon, to include how public sector bureaucracies play multiple and competing roles.

Providing comprehensive analysis of representation in public organizations, Politics of Representative Bureaucracy will benefit scholars and practitioners alike, from comparative public administration and management, government, public policy, and diversity studies.

Contributors; R. Hambleton, T. Herrschel, K.J. Meier, T.S.M. Morton, B. Guy Peters, E. Schroter, B. van Gool, P. von Maravic