In the Web of Politics: Three Decades of the U.S. Federal Executive

Aberbach, Joel D.

ISBN 10: 081570061X / ISBN 13: 9780815700616

Edité par Brookings Institution Press, 2000

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In.

N° de réf. du vendeur ria9780815700616_new

Détails bibliographiques

• Titre: In the Web of Politics: Three Decades of the U.S. Federal Executive
• Éditeur: Brookings Institution Press
• Date de parution: 2000
• Langue: anglais
• ISBN à 10 chiffres: 081570061X
• ISBN à 13 chiffres: 9780815700616
• Reliure: Couverture souple
• État de l'article: New

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Synopsis

Most people think of governmental bureaucracy as a dull subject. Yet for thirty years the American federal executive has been awash in political controversy. From George Wallace's attacks on pointy headed bureaucrats, to Richard Nixon's responsiveness program, to the efforts of Al Gore and Bill Clinton to reinvent government, the people who administer the American state have stood uncomfortably in the spotlight, caught in a web of politics. This book covers the turmoil and controversy swirling around the bureaucracy since 1970, when the Nixon administration tried to tighten its control over the executive branch. Drawing on interviews conducted over the past three decades, Joel D. Aberbach and Bert A. Rockman cast light on the complex relationship between top civil servants and political leaders and debunk much of the received wisdom about the deterioration and unresponsiveness of the federal civil service. The authors focus on three major themes:the quiet crisis of American administration, a hypothesized decline in the quality and morale of federal executives; the noisy crisis, which refers to the large question of bureaucrats' responsiveness to political authority; and the movement to reinvent American government. Aberbach and Rockman examine the sources and validity of these themes and consider changes that might make the federal government's administration work better. They find that the quality and morale of federal executives have held up remarkably well in the face of intense criticism, and that the bureaucracy has responded to changes in presidential administrations. Pointing out that bureaucrats are convenient targets in contemporary political battles, the authors contend that complexity, contradiction, and bloated or inefficient programs are primarily the product of elected politicians, not bureaucrats.The evidence suggests that American federal executives will carry out the political will if they are given adequate support and realistic

À propos de l'auteur

Joel D. Aberbach, former senior fellow in Governance Studies at Brookings, is professor of political science and director of the Center for American Politics and Public Policy at the University of California, Los Angeles. Bert A. Rockman is professor and head of the department of political science at Purdue University.