The scholarly field of public administration (PA) was launched at a dangerous moment in American and world history. This fact influenced early understandings about the aims of the field. PA was understood to be concerned with big problems of governance relating to the very survival of liberal...

Troubled by actions of the Trump Administration, some academics have defended the administrative state. This may be a mistake. The scholarly definition of the administrative state has shifted over decades, and today scholarly usage of the term diverges substantially from popular usage. When...

Scholars in public administration now recognize three levels of analysis: macro, meso and micro. But there is uncertainty about the relationship between levels and concern about a "schism" in research. However, linkages between levels can be demonstrated easily. At the macro-level, leaders...

Specialists in public administration often deny a significant connection between questions of administration and high-level politics. But there is a close and important connection: the subjects we examine at the middle- and micro-levels of administration are largely determined by choices made in...