Democracy, public administration, and democratic backsliding

James, Toby S. (2025) Democracy, public administration, and democratic backsliding. Policy Studies. ISSN 0144-2872

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Abstract

There have been concerns about democratic backsliding in many countries around the world. A new research agenda, identifying the impact of democratic erosion on public administration – and whether public administration can act as a firewall to democratic backsliding – has arisen as a result. The relationship between public administration and democracy has often been a source of ambiguity, however. The article argues that the relationship depends upon the concept of democracy that is used. Using a maximalist real democracy approach, good public administration is argued to be an essential component of democracy – rather than an adjunct. Indicators of good public administration quality are developed and patterns of quality are mapped around the world. The article provides a general model of public administration reform connecting political leaders’ attempts to enact executive aggrandizement and bureaucratic resistance into a wider political context. It then develops five clusters of causal linkages between public administration and other aspects of democracy which frame the inquiry of the special issue ahead.

Item Type:	Article
Uncontrolled Keywords:	democracy,public administration,democratic backsliding,public policy,sdg 16 - peace, justice and strong institutions,sdg 3 - good health and well-being,sdg 4 - quality education,sdg 10 - reduced inequalities ,/dk/atira/pure/sustainabledevelopmentgoals/peace_justice_and_strong_institutions
Faculty \ School:	Faculty of Arts and Humanities > School of Politics, Philosophy and Area Studies
UEA Research Groups:	Faculty of Arts and Humanities > Research Groups > Policy & Politics Faculty of Arts and Humanities > Research Groups > Political, Social and International Studies
Depositing User:	LivePure Connector
Date Deposited:	02 Jul 2025 08:30
Last Modified:	02 Jul 2025 08:30
URI:	https://ueaeprints.uea.ac.uk/id/eprint/99795
DOI:	10.1080/01442872.2025.2521170

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