Bureaucracy

1
Bureaucracy

• The Machinery of Government
• January 30, 2003

2
Ideal-Type Bureaucracy (Weber)

• characteristics
• hierarchical structure/unity of command
• specialization
• vs. amateurism
• full-time employment
• based on merit
• vs. patronage/nepotism
• decisions based on impersonal rules (vs.
  arbitrariness)
• strict application of codified rules to
  particular cases

3
Hierarchical Structure/Unity of Command
4
Ideal-Type Bureaucracy (Weber)

• operation the politics-administration dichotomy
• political officials make decisions about overall
  policy direction
• civil servant implement those decisions
• works in theory however, in practice, in the
  line between politics and administration is
  blurred
• may lead to conflict between political officials
  and bureaucratic officials
• political and bureaucratic officials each bring
  different resources to this internal jockeying...

5
Resources Senior Bureaucratic Officials

• expertise
• policy
• process
• person-power
• relationship with other departments
• relationship with clientele
• tenure
• in comparison with elected officials

6
Resources Senior Political Officials

• political legitimacy
• expertise
• political
• vis-a-vis public
• vis-a-vis the political leadership (e.g. cabinet
  and PM)
• ability to manage relationship
• outside expertise
• competing lines of advice
• relationship with public/media

7
(Negative?) Attributes of Bureaucracy

• rigid
• red-tape (inefficient)
• stifles creativity
• top-down
• not responsive
• not participatory
• anonymous
• nameless, faceless
• not representative
• not elected

8
(Positive?) Attributes of Bureaucracy

• effective
• especially at mass routine tasks
• in comparison to other forms of organization
• accountable
• impartial (as opposed to arbitrary)

9
Liberal Democracy and Bureaucracy

• confluence
• bureaucracy is good in that it emphasizes
  impartiality (over participation)
• dissonance
• danger is if bureaucracy becomes too powerful and
  threatens individual rights
• Big Brother

10
Elite Democracy and Bureaucracy

• confluence
• top-down and hierarchical nature of bureaucracy
  is good
• effective mechanism to pursue the general welfare
• dissonance
• danger if bureaucracy becomes too powerful and
  undermines competition among elected/political
  elites
• e.g. development of a permanent non-elected
  bureaucratic elite making decisions
• ultimately decisions must be ratified by elected
  elites

11
Participatory Democracy and Bureaucracy

• confluence
• effective mechanism to pursue the general welfare
• e.g. to put into effect the will of the majority
• dissonance
• top-down hierarchical nature of bureaucracy is
  bad
• excessive focus on impartiality (over
  participation) is bad

12
Main Messages!!

• Bureaucracy
• in tension with all models of democracy
• relationship with democracy is paradoxical
  (depending on model of democracy)