1102GIR Lecture Notes - Lecture 7: Public Administration, Labour Power, Complex Number
4 May 2018
School
Department
Course
Professor
L7. Public Administration
Public Administration
• One of the most important aspects of the modern state and state power/authority
o Incredibly important
o Without it the modern state does not exist
• The state is essentially a massive organisation
o Sometimes called a bureaucracy/public service
• It is important to consider the relationships between the faces/representatives of the state
and the public administration
Aims
• Understand the origins of modern public administration
• Define bureaucracy and explain how it differs from pre-modern forms of administration
• Outline the advantages and disadvantages of bureaucratic government
• Summarise the key features and implications of the new public management
The Rise of Administration
• Governing is hard work
o Rulers need servants
• Large territories, as well as complex economic, religious and legal systems need to be
administered
o Over time, rulers have tended more and more to rely upon administrators to help them
get the job of ruling done
• Originally, within tribal governments, there was not a large system of
administration, but very localised self-governance, where rulers carried out
government actions (no separation of powers)
o Governing in a modern society is very hard work and requires a lot of effort, along with
enormous energy, resources and labour power
o There is no such thing as a free-market economy, due to its heavy reliance on
government administration
• Relies upon administration and enforcement of contractual relations and
obligations between parties
▪ Enforcement is required to maintain the 'freedom'
• Issues in employing servants to do what is required/desired
o Contribution of power to carry out the goals of the government
• Ancient Egypt and Imperial China had elaborate administrative systems
o Had large numbers of administrators working for rulers
o Structures of society based hierarchically
o Needed elaborate administration due to elaborate economic and agricultural systems
The Prince's Secretaries
• Until the 19th century, most government administration was based on tradition and
patronage
o Medieval government was highly personalised and authority was concentrated in the
individual ruler
• There was no direct control over territories due to the presence and authority of
nobility
▪ This created a need to command relationships through persuasion and
threats in order to maintain support and cooperation
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o The Renaissance brought higher power concentrations to cities, especially in Florence,
Italy
• Created enormous power and wealth from trade
• Maintained its own army and administration, with diplomats for interstate and
nobility relations
• Niccolò Machiavelli's 'The Prince' (1513)
o Machiavelli was a diplomat and advisor to the Florentine Prince
▪ Lost power with the Prince and was exiled
• Was lucky to escape with his life
• Was forced to do manual labour
• Worked on a strategy to get his previous job back
• Wrote a short book to advise the current prince on maintaining his
power and running the republic
• Idea that the prince would be impressed and hire him
• Presented the idea that the prince should no longer focus on
God's authority in ruling, but focus on being good at governing
• Shift from what God wanted to who is good at it
• Regarded as highly scandalous because it did not look at
ruling in a Godly manner, but just powerfully
• Suggested that you could tell a good prince by the public
servants he chooses
• Also focuses on controlling servants' ambitions and interests in
order to maintain loyalty, cooperation and support
• Gives the secretaries public responsibilities so they can be
publicly identified, making them more likely to be loyal
due to their accountability
• Combination of fear and comfort
• Considered one of the most important books in the history of
government and political science
• The prince selected his 'secretaries' and demanded personal loyalty
• These were not true bureaucracies
o Extremely different to modern public services
Defining Bureaucracy
• Bureau: 'office' or 'desk'
• Cracy: 'rule by'
• Bureaucracy: 'rule by the office'
o Hence the terms officer and official
▪ The people who administer government and own an office in government (not
always literally)
▪ Almost a synonym for a government bureaucrat/servant
o Considered a strange form of rule as most other types of rule refer to people, whereas
this one does not
▪ E.g. Democracy, theocracy, aristocracy
Richard the Lion Heart vs. President Obama
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
Document Summary
Public administration: one of the most important aspects of the modern state and state power/authority. Incredibly important: without it the modern state does not exist, the state is essentially a massive organisation, sometimes called a bureaucracy/public service. It is important to consider the relationships between the faces/representatives of the state and the public administration. Aims: understand the origins of modern public administration, define bureaucracy and explain how it differs from pre-modern forms of administration, outline the advantages and disadvantages of bureaucratic government. Summarise the key features and implications of the new public management. The rise of administration: governing is hard work, rulers need servants. Italy: created enormous power and wealth from trade, maintained its own army and administration, with diplomats for interstate and nobility relations, niccol machiavelli"s "the prince" (1513, machiavelli was a diplomat and advisor to the florentine prince.
