Theorists of Public Administration

Influencers of Public Administration

From the theories of public administration birthed in the past five to six decades, the field has taken the best principles and conceptual frameworks yet avoided a theoretical hegemony. There is richness to the literature and theoretical foundation of public administration that is a good fit to a field which is at once both interdisciplinary and applied. The interdisciplinary foundations of public administration are evident in the mix of disciplines represented in this discussion of four theorists who have informed the field and inspired scholars, students, bureaucrats, and citizens, alike.

Max Weber

Weber was a German sociologist and political economist who had substantive influence on social theory. Weber was not a positivist -- he believed that sociology could not be studied empirically. Instead, he argued that social research must ethnographic in nature based on interpretations of the meaning people associate with their...
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