Madison′s Managers – Public Administration and the Constitution (Johns Hopkins Studies in Governance and Public Management) - Softcover

Bertelli, Anthony M; Lynn, Laurence E

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0801883199 ISBN 13: 9780801883194

Publisher: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2006

Synopsis

Combining insights from traditional thought and practice and from contemporary political analysis, Madison's Managers presents a constitutional theory of public administration in the United States. Anthony Michael Bertelli and Laurence E. Lynn Jr. contend that managerial responsibility in American government depends on official respect for the separation of powers and a commitment to judgment, balance, rationality, and accountability in managerial practice.

The authors argue that public management―administration by unelected officials of public agencies and activities based on authority delegated to them by policymakers―derives from the principles of American constitutionalism, articulated most clearly by James Madison. Public management is, they argue, a constitutional institution necessary to successful governance under the separation of powers. To support their argument, Bertelli and Lynn combine two intellectual traditions often regarded as antagonistic: modern political economy, which regards public administration as controlled through bargaining among the separate powers and organized interests, and traditional public administration, which emphasizes the responsible implementation of policies established by legislatures and elected executives while respecting the procedural and substantive rights enforced by the courts. These literatures are mutually reinforcing, the authors argue, because both feature the role of constitutional principles in public management.

Madison's Managers challenges public management scholars and professionals to recognize that the legitimacy and future of public administration depend on its constitutional foundations and their specific implications for managerial practice.

About this title

Review

"Madison's Managers has much to offer the student of public administration. Its ambitious objective, compelling arguments, and impressive scope make it commendable."

(Kevin R. Kosar Claremont Institute)

"This book... will be essential to the field as we develop new theories and applications in a postmodern America."

(Dwight Vick Political Studies Review)

About the Author

Anthony Michael Bertelli is an assistant professor in the School of Public and International Affairs at the University of Georgia and Laurence E. Lynn Jr. holds the George H. W. Bush chair and is a professor of public affairs at the George Bush School of Government and Public Service, Texas A & M University.

About this edition

• Publisher: Johns Hopkins University Press
• Publication date: 2006
• ISBN 10: 0801883199
• ISBN 13: 9780801883194
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 296