Madison's Managers ― Public Administration And the Constitution

The central idea that sparked this text by Bertelli (School of Public and International Affairs, U. of Georgia) and Lynn (George Bush School of Government and Public Services, Texas A&M U.) is the proposition that American public administration is endogenous to and legitimized by the constitutionally prescribed separation of powers. In other words, "competent public management in America's scheme of governance is, to a significant, what judges and lawyers specializing in administration law say it is." Building upon this idea, they propose a constitutional theory of public administration that argues that managerial responsibility depends on official respect for the separation of powers and commitment to public service values of judgment, balance, rationality, and accountability. Annotation c2006 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Anthony Michael Bertelli is an assistant professor in the School of Public and International Affairs at the University of Georgia and Laurence E. Lynn Jr. holds the George H. W. Bush chair and is a professor of public affairs at the George Bush School of Government and Public Service, Texas A & M University.