Articlebronze2013

Political anthropology and civil service reform: prospects and limits

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Public Policy and Administration Research Public Administration in Developing Nations Public Administration and Political Analysis

Abstract

What lessons about public sector reform can be learnt from using political anthropology to study governance reform? What are the strengths and weaknesses of such an approach? I contrast the everyday working experience reported in Rhodes (2011) with the core themes of civil service reform; namely evidence-based policy making, managerialism, and choice. I use five axioms for clarity of exposition: coping and the appearance of rule, not strategic planning; institutional memory, not internal structures; storytelling, not evidence-based policy; contending traditions and stories, not just managerialism; the politics of implementation, not top-down innovation and control.

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References

2017The Interpretation of Cultures 1996Sensemaking in Organizations 1997Organizational Learning: A Theory of Action Perspective 1973Thick Description: Towards an Interpretive Theory of Culture 2004Narratives in Social Science Research 2009The SAGE handbook of organizational research methods 1986Top-Down and Bottom-Up Approaches to Implementation Research: a Critical Analysis and Suggested Synthesis 1988Works and Lives: The Anthropologist as Author.

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