Bureaucracy is a much-maligned feature of contemporary
government. And yet the aftermath of September 11 has opened the
door to a reassessment of the role of a skilled civil service in
the survival and viability of democratic society. Here, Ezra
Suleiman offers a timely and powerful corrective to the widespread
view that bureaucracy is the source of democracy's ills. This is a
book as much about good governance as it is about bureaucratic
organizations. Suleiman asks: Is democratic governance hindered
without an effective instrument in the hands of the legitimately
elected political leadership? Is a professional bureaucracy
required for developing but not for maintaining a democratic state?
Why has a reform movement arisen in recent years championing the
gradual dismantling of bureaucracy, and what are the
consequences?
Suleiman undertakes a comparative analysis of the drive toward a
civil service grounded in the New Public Management. He argues that
"government reinvention" has limited bureaucracy's capacity to
adequately serve the public good. All bureaucracies have been under
political pressure in recent years to reduce not only their size
but also their effectiveness, and all have experienced growing
deprofessionalism and politicization. He compares the impact of
this evolution in both democratic societies and societies
struggling to consolidate democratic institutions. "Dismantling
Democratic States" cautions that our failure to acknowledge the
role of an effective bureaucracy in building and preserving
democratic political systems threatens the survival of democracy
itself.
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