The Politics-Administration Dichotomy：Toward a Constitutional Perspective, Second Edition

The politics-administration dichotomy is much mentioned and often criticized in the Public Administration literature. The Politics-Administration Dichotomy: Toward a Constitutional Perspective, Second Edition offers a book-length treatment of this classical notion. While public administration academics typically reject it as an outdated and even dangerous idea, it re-emerges implicitly in their analyses. This book tells the story of how this has happened and suggests a way to get out of the quandary. It analyzes the dichotomy position in terms of content, purpose, and relevance.
What’s in the Second Edition


Extensive study of the politics-administration dichotomy as a classic idea in Public Administration
A much-overlooked constitutionalist line of argument in defense of this widely discredited notion
Exploration and further development of the intellectual legacy of Dwight Waldo
Coverage of the dichotomy’s conceptual origins in 18th and 19th century Continental-European thought
An assessment of main criticisms against and alternatives for the dichotomy presented in the literature
Contributions to the newly emerging Constitutional School in the study of public administration
An argument against the institutional separation of Political Science and Public Administration in academia

Completely revised and updated, the book examines the idea that politics and public administration should be separated in our theories and practices of government. A combination of history of ideas and theoretical analysis, it reconstructs the dichotomy’s conceptual origins and classical understandings and gives an assessment of the main criticisms raised against it and the chief alternatives suggested for it. Arguing that one-sided interpretations have led to the dichotomy’s widespread but wrongful dismissal, the study shows how it can be recovered as a meaningful idea when understood as a constitutional principle. This study helps readers make sense of highly confused debates and challenge the issues with an original and provocative stance.

Patrick Overeem is an Assistant Professor at the Institute of Public Administration of Leiden University, the Netherlands.

A Quandary The Standard Account Waldo's Challenge Aims and Central Question Scope of the Inquiry Approach and Plan of the Study Conceptual Origins Beyond Woodrow Wilson' Traditional Political Thought The Separation-of-Powers Doctrine Montesquieu or Hegel The French Approach The German Approach At Crossroads Classical Formulations Revising Revisionism Wilson: 'Administrative Questions Are Not Political Questions' Goodnow: Two Primary Functions of Government Weber: Different Orders of Life Separation and Subordination Classics Contra Constitutionalism Heterodox Criticisms A Tenet of Orthodoxy? From 'Politics' To 'Policy' A Seriously Erroneous Description of Reality' A Deficient, Even Pernicious, Prescription For Action' A Note on Discretion Heterodoxy as a Radical Rupture Viable Substitutes? The Quest For 'The Formula' Quasi-Alternatives Typologies Complementarity Unifying Concepts Towards A Renewed Understanding Appendix: Typologies of Political-Administrative Relations A Constitutional Principle Mistaken Identity The Constitutional School The Dichotomy as Constitutional Principle Counterfactual Reasoning Constitutional Functioning In Practice The Dichotomy and the Separation-of-Powers Doctrine Coming Full Circle
The Meaningful Dichotomy The 'Perdurability' of the Dichotomy Content: A Layered Construct Purpose: Political, Administrative, and Constitutional Relevance: Escaping From the Quandary 'A Commonsense Usefulness'
Epilogue: the Study of Administration and Politics