Bureaucracy and Democracy

Steven J. Balla is associate professor of political science, public policy and public administration, and international affairs at George Washington University. He is also a research associate at the George Washington Institute of Public Policy, and a member of the International Working Group on Online Consultation and Public Policy Making.William T. Gormley Jr. is University Professor and professor of government and public policy at Georgetown University. He is the author of several books, including Organizational Report Cards, with David Weimer and Everybody’s Children: Child Care as a Public Problem.

This is the best single overview of bureaucracy and how it fits in our democratic system available. The book elegantly weaves a nuanced understanding of bureaucracy itself with the functioning of agencies in a political system. Readers will learn a tremendous amount. Balla and Gormley know their stuff and they share it in an engaging and accessible fashion. The book includes clear frameworks and contemporary examples to help readers make sense of this complex but important topic.

• Chapter 1: Bureaucracies as Policymaking OrganizationsThe Contours of Public BureaucracyAccountability and Performance in Public BureaucraciesAccountability and Its Many FacesThe Push for PerformanceAccountability and Performance: Theories and ApplicationsChapter 2: Bureaucratic ReasoningBounded RationalitySimplified Problem SolvingEvidence-Based ResearchImplications for Policy AnalysisMotivationConsequences of Bounded RationalityConclusionChapter 3: The Bureaucracy’s BossesDelegation, Adverse Selection, and Moral HazardWhy Bureaucracy?Managing DelegationPrincipal-Agent Theory and the Bureaucracy’s ClientsPrincipals and PrinciplesChapter 4: The Bureaucracy’s ClientsThe Benefits, Costs, and Politics of Public PolicyThe Rise and Fall of Iron TrianglesThe Venues of Client ParticipationClient Influence on Bureaucratic PolicymakingClients and the Institutions of GovernmentClient Participation: Three Lessons and BeyondChapter 5: Bureaucratic NetworksNetworks versus HierarchiesNetwork TheoryThe Tools ApproachTypes of Bureaucratic NetworksNetwork EffectivenessThe Effectiveness of Policy ToolsNetworks and Public BureaucracyChapter 6: The Politics of Disaster ManagementThe Gulf of Mexico: Two Crises with PrecedentSeptember 11, 2001: A Crisis without PrecedentAvian Influenza: A Crisis in the Making?Evaluating Bureaucracy in Light of the TheoriesChapter 7: Why Are Some Bureaucracies Better Than Others?Rating the Performance of AgenciesExplaining Variations in PerformanceAlternative Ways of Gauging Agency PerformanceBureaucracy in the Twenty-First Century