The deformation of democracy in the United States: When does bureaucratic “neutral competence” rise to complicity? (Record no. 527908)
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| fixed length control field | 02711nam a22001577a 4500 |
| 008 - FIXED-LENGTH DATA ELEMENTS--GENERAL INFORMATION | |
| fixed length control field | 241004b ||||| |||| 00| 0 eng d |
| 100 ## - MAIN ENTRY--PERSONAL NAME | |
| Personal name | Bozeman, B. et al |
| 245 ## - TITLE STATEMENT | |
| Title | The deformation of democracy in the United States: When does bureaucratic “neutral competence” rise to complicity? |
| 260 ## - PUBLICATION, DISTRIBUTION, ETC. (IMPRINT) | |
| Place of publication, distribution, etc | Public Administration Review |
| 300 ## - PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION | |
| Extent | 84(5), Sep-Oct, 2024: p.796-816 |
| 520 ## - SUMMARY, ETC. | |
| Summary, etc | This article critically examines the tension between bureaucratic “neutral competence” and complicity in the context of democratic governance in the United States. It explores how the principle of neutrality—intended to safeguard impartiality and professionalism in public administration—can, under certain conditions, contribute to the erosion of democratic values. The study highlights instances where bureaucratic adherence to neutrality may inadvertently enable undemocratic practices, raising questions about accountability, ethics, and the role of civil servants in safeguarding democracy. By situating this debate within broader discussions on governance and institutional integrity, the paper underscores the need to reassess bureaucratic norms to prevent complicity and protect democratic resilience. Recent years have seen a step-change in the severity and nature of threats to United States democracy, including extensive efforts by elected officials to undercut democratic governance. When elected officials undermine democracy, this constitutes “deformation of democracy.” As implementors and agents of policy, public administrators can sometimes play essential roles as bulwarks against democratic deformation. However, among public administrators there is historically a strong ethos emphasizing neutral competence and subordination to political authority, in some cases reinforced by law. How should public administrators respond when confronted by deformation and, at the same time, constrained by tradition and law? We selectively review strands of public administration theory, focusing on theory especially relevant to the United States governmental system, to construct and assess a catalog of responses that public administrators can take under democratic deformation. We conclude by offering a set of recommendations focused on institutionalized collective action by public administrators.- Reproduced https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/puar.13855 |
| 650 ## - SUBJECT ADDED ENTRY--TOPICAL TERM | |
| Topical term or geographic name as entry element | Political Science, Democracy, United States, Bureaucracy, Neutral Competence, Complicity, Governance, Administrative Ethics, Public Institutions, Accountability, Democratic Deformation, Civil Service |
| 9 (RLIN) | 59087 |
| 773 ## - HOST ITEM ENTRY | |
| Main entry heading | Public Administration Review |
| 906 ## - LOCAL DATA ELEMENT F, LDF (RLIN) | |
| Subject DIP | DEMOCRACY |
| 942 ## - ADDED ENTRY ELEMENTS (KOHA) | |
| Item type | Articles |
| Withdrawn status | Lost status | Source of classification or shelving scheme | Damaged status | Not for loan | Permanent location | Current location | Date acquired | Serial Enumeration / chronology | Barcode | Date last seen | Koha item type |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Indian Institute of Public Administration | Indian Institute of Public Administration | 2024-10-04 | 84(5), Sep-Oct, 2024: p.796-816 | AR133338 | 2024-10-04 | Articles |