This book examines the effects of different legal and political administrative systems and models on public governance in terms of organizational frameworks, operational activities and the manifestation of the rule of law. It also analyses instrumental and normative constitutional legal perspectives on government and bureaucracy as it pertains to law as an instrumental tool for government, public administration and bureaucracy. The book adopts a comparative approach, discussing Western traditions and their influence in the world, as well as systems in Africa, Asia and Latin America. In bridging the gap between law and public administration, the book provides an important interdisciplinary and comparative perspective to help understand this complex relationship. It is essential reading for scholars and students of public administration, governance and law, as well as practitioners.
Introduction.-Legal Models and Traditions.-The political and
administrative structure of the state.-On government and
governance.-government, multilevel governance, and the enabling
State.-Instrumental, normative, and constitutional dimensions of law,
governance,and bureaucracy.-The position and functioning of the Judiciary
within the framework of the state.- Discretion and its consequences for law,
governance, and bureaucracy.-8 On the position and the role of bureaucracy
vis-à-vis law and governance.-By way of conclusion law, governance and
bureaucracy.-change and reform.-References.
Gerrit S.A. Dijkstra is Associate PROFESSOR in the Faculty of Governance and Global Affairs, Leiden University, The Netherlands, and a deputy judge in the Court of The Hague.
Frits M. van der Meer holds the Chair Comparative Public Sector and Civil Service Reform at the Institute of Public Administration, Leiden University, The Netherlands.
Heinrich B. Winter is Professor of Public Administration at the University of Gronigen, The Netherlands.
