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Dwight Waldo (1913–2000) is commonly known as a “heterodox” critic of the dichotomy between politics and administration. But is this reputation supported by his writings? It seems to be primarily based on The Administrative State (1948) and other early publications, in which he conceptualized politics/administration narrowly as deciding/executing and, indeed, sharply criticized it. Waldo’s later publications, by contrast, offer much broader conceptualizations and a more ambivalent, even positive appraisal of the dichotomy. Such conceptualizations are also found in an important unpublished book Waldo worked on during several phases of his career. On the basis of these published and unpublished writings, we should reconsider Waldo’s reputation and, pursuing his line of reasoning, reconceptualize the politics–administration dichotomy as a layered construct and reappreciate it as a constitutional doctrine. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One of the principal motivations for the reinvention of many central governments over the last two decades is the need to deal with chronic budget deficits. As budget surpluses reappeared at the end of the 1990s, the pressure to restructure seemed to ease in some countries. However, observers suggested the relief was only temporary, and aging populations would soon put more stress on government budgets, creating a need for further retrenchment. This article assesses the vulnerability of three central governments—the United Kingdom, Canada, and the United States—to aging-related fiscal stress. Because of institutional differences, the U.S. government is likely to be hit hardest by this demographic change. This may imply that public-sector reform will take a different path in the United States than it will in the United Kingdom or Canada. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on issues related to the administrative reforms in the U.S. during the 1990s. Reinventing government constitutes an administrative reform movement that is now a decade old. At the national level, reinventing government received support from the former President Bill Clinton's administration through the National Performance Review, an effort that incorporated many of its key features. Among state and local governments, the movement also found support in the recommendations of the National Commission on State and Local Public Service and its inclusion of selective components from the reinvention agenda. On a broader and international basis, reinvention has been linked with the New Public Management movement. After 10 years of rhetoric, explication, and application, there is speculation about whether this reform constitutes a significant paradigm shift in public administration. Even if reinvention does not pass muster as a fundamental shift, it is still a topic worthy of substantial and sustained investigation.

Describes how American politics and public administration are mired in self-indulgence and corruption. Question regarding the 'inner logic' of the Scientific Revolution; Theses of a New Reformation that require the attention of public administrators; Call for a rejection of the concept that politics and administration of human endeavors are some kind of science.

One of the more pressing problems of our times is the state of the bureaucracy. Not only have governmental institutions-federal, state, and local-fallen to new lows in public esteem, but there is evidence that the organizational performance that has gotten them this reputation is worsening rather than improving as new tasks are undertaken and level added to level in the hierarchy. Now we have a new President who has vowed to do something about the "horrible bureaucracy" over which he is presiding. This article warns him and his associates that reform isn't as easy as it sounds, and that reorganization, while necessary and useful, is only a part of the answer. It suggests a seven-point approach, the two most important of which are the exploring of new patterns of administration to replace ultimately the bureaucratic form; and the involving of members of the system-the bureaucrats themselves-in its modification. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]