The Oxford Handbook of American Bureaucracy
Oxford Handbooks Series

One of the major dilemmas facing the administrative state in the United States today is discerning how best to harness for public purposes the dynamism of markets, the passion and commitment of nonprofit and volunteer organizations, and the public-interest-oriented expertise of the career civil service. Researchers across a variety of disciplines, fields, and subfields have independently investigated aspects of the formidable challenges, choices, and opportunities this dilemma poses for governance, democratic constitutionalism, and theory building. This literature is vast, affords multiple and conflicting perspectives, is methodologically diverse, and is fragmented. The Oxford Handbook of American Bureaucracy affords readers an uncommon overview and integration of this eclectic body of knowledge as adduced by many of its most respected researchers. Each of the chapters identifies major issues and trends, critically takes stock of the state of knowledge, and ponders where future research is most promising. Unprecedented in scope, methodological diversity, scholarly viewpoint, and substantive integration, this volume is invaluable for assessing where the study of American bureaucracy stands at the end of the first decade of the 21st century, and where leading scholars think it should go in the future. The Oxford Handbooks of American Politics are a set of reference books offering authoritative and engaging critical overviews of the state of scholarship on American politics. Each volume focuses on a particular aspect of the field. The project is under the General Editorship of George C. Edwards III, and distinguished specialists in their respective fields edit each volume. The Handbooks aim not just to report on the discipline, but also to shape it as scholars critically assess the scholarship on a topic and propose directions in which it needs to move. The series is an indispensable reference for anyone working in American politics. General Editor for The Oxford Handbooks of American Politics : George C. Edwards III

Contents. List of Figures. List of Tables. About the Contributors. Preface. PART I INTRODUCTION. 1. A Heritage Made Our Own. PART II RECONCEPTUALIZING THE HISTORY OF AMERICAN BUREAUCRACY?. 2. Historical Institutionalism, Political Development, and the Study of American Bureaucracy. 3. The 'First New Federalism' and the Development of the Administrative State, 1883-1929. 4. A Gendered Legacy? The Progressive Reform Era Revisited. 5. Reevaluating Executive-Centered Public Administrative Theory. 6. Metaphors and the Development of American Bureaucracy. 7. Herbert Hoover's Revenge: Politics, Policy, and Administrative Reform Movements. PART III RETHINKING RATIONALITY IN AMERICAN BUREAUCRACY?. 8. Agency Theory and the Bureaucracy. 9. Agency Design and Evolution. 10. Goal Ambiguity and the Study of American Bureaucracy. 11. Street-Level Bureaucracy Theory. 12. The Promises and Paradoxes of Performance-Based Bureaucracy. 13. Leading Through Cultural Change. 14. Postmodernism, Bureaucracy, and Democracy. PART IV REDRAWING THE BOUNDARIES OF AMERICAN BUREAUCRACY?. 15. Myths, Markets, and the 'Visible Hand' of American Bureaucracy. 16. Networking in the Shadow of Bureaucracy. 17. The Promises, Performance, and Pitfalls of Government Contracting. 18. 18. Reluctant Partners? Nonprofit Collaboration, Social Entrepreneurship, and Leveraged Volunteerism. 19. Policy Tools, Mandates, and Intergovernmental Relations. 20. Promises, Perils, and Performance of Netcentric Bureaucracy. 21. Multilevel Methods in the Study of Bureaucracy. PART V RECALIBRATING POLITICS, RESPONSIVENESS, AND ACCOUNTABILITY IN AMERICAN BUREAUCRACY?. 22. Legislative Delegation of Authority to Bureaucratic Agencies. 23. 'Presidentializing' the Bureaucracy. 24. Bureaucracy, Democracy, and Judicial Review. 25. Interest Groups, Rulemaking, and American Bureaucracy. 26. Policymaking, Bureaucratic Discretion, and Overhead Democracy. 27. Choice-Theoretic Approaches to Bureaucratic Structure. PART VI REVITALIZING THE CONSTITUTIONAL, RESOURCE CAPACITY, AND ETHICAL FOUNDATIONS OF AMERICAN BUREAUCRACY?. 28. Has Governance Eclipsed Government?. 29. Revitalizing Human Resources Management. 30. Representative Bureaucracy. Innovations in Budgeting and Financial Management. 32. The Prospects for Revitalizing Ethics in a New Governance Era. 33. Experimental Methods, Agency Incentives, and the Study of Bureaucratic Behavior. Index.

Robert F. Durant has authored or co-authored national award-winning articles and books in the fields of Public Administration, Public Policy, Public Management, the Presidency, and Environmental and Natural Resources Policy. He has received the Charles H. Levine Award for Outstanding Contributions to Public Administration research, teaching, and service. He is an elected Fellow of the National Academy of Public Administration. He is Professor of Public Administration and Policy in the School of Public Affairs at American University, where is also Chair of the Department of Public Administration and Policy.