The Politics of Bureaucracy (block1)
Course Description
In this course we examine the politics of bureaucracy from several perspectives. First, we will consider various approaches to the politics–administration dichotomy and the long-standing debates about controlling and reforming bureaucracies. Second, we will examine approaches and mechanisms to controlling bureaucracies including the complications produced by third party government and hybrid organizations. Finally, we will return to current debates about the future of political bureaucracy and their implications for democratic accountability and bureaucratic performance. The course will be conducted using both lectures on and discussions of the scholarly literature relevant to our topic. By the end of the course, you should be able to engage in a professionally informed discussion about the politics of controlling bureaucracy.
For a synopsis of Professor Castellani’s background see:
http://www.albany.edu/rockefeller/faculty_pad_castellani.shtml
This will be a six session course.
Session 1: Introduction: Politics and Administration
In this opening session we review a few of the classic essays on the politics – administration dichotomy and consider why controlling and reforming bureaucracy have endured as fundamental issues in the study and practice of Public Administration. We will lay out some of the major approaches to the problem including various definitions and mechanisms of accountability.
Session 2 & 3: Strategies and Mechanisms of Control
In these sessions we consider the problem of democratic accountability from an institutional perspective (bureaucracy vis-à-vis legislatures, executives, and courts), a political perspective (the role of interest groups, political parties, direct public participation), and procedural and organizational design perspectives.
Session 4: GSEs, NGOs, Networks and the Tools of Governance
In this session, we consider the challenges of accountability and performance in the context of non-traditional administrative agencies (GSEs etc.), contracting out (NGOs), and implementation in networks and various arrays of public and private organizations.
Session 5 & 6: Reform
In these two sessions, we consider various proposals for reform (e.g. New Public Management; Reinventing Government; Managerialism), their theoretical and historical bases, their practical implications for public administration and management, and their broader implications for the role of government, the study of public administration, and the politics of bureaucracy.
Readings
There are no assigned textbooks for this class. All of the required and recommended articles and chapters are available electronically from the State University of New York at Albany electronic reservation system. Instructions on access to the material are on the syllabus.
Requirements:
Class participation
(20% of final grade). It is essential that students read the assigned material for each session and be prepared to answer and ask questions as well as participate in a discussion on the topics.
Weekly Reading Commentaries
(30% of final grade)
Students are required to submit two (2) comments or questions illustrating comprehension of the assigned material each week – beginning with Session 2. Students can choose to submit two questions, two comments, or one of each. Comments can focus on something you find interesting, surprising, disagree with, etc. Additionally, comments may “connect the dots” between previous assigned readings and/or a case/example/experience. Importantly, the commentaries should not be summaries of the reading. Instead they should reflect your thoughts and analysis on the week’s topic and cases. Each comment/question should be between 3-10 sentences in length.
Capstone essay
(50% of final grade)
The Capstone Essay is an opportunity for you to reflect and write on the major topics and themes of the course. The essay should be around 10 double-space pages. A little shorter or a little longer will not be a problem. A practical approach to this broad topic would focus on some of the following questions:
What are some of the challenges of bureaucratic performance in the context of contested direction? How do contemporary bureaucracies deal with various and multiple demands from executives, legislatures, courts, political parties, interest groups, the media, and “consumers” of public services? How do the political, economic, and social contexts within which bureaucracies function affect their performance and accountability? What challenges to performance and accountability are presented by the intergovernmental and public-private nature of many public programs?
These are simply a few of the approaches you might take. The key is to approach the Capstone Essay with a manageable set of questions or issues that will form a framework for the essay. The aim is to produce a coherent essay that deals with one, two, or, at most, a few of these issues and questions related to accountability and performance. Do not attempt to summarize the entire course. A focused approach almost always produces better results.
Schedule:
Dates: Friday 10 September until 15 October
Time: 9-12 hrs
Room: 6C03