Bureaucracy: A servant or a master?

Abstract

Greater state intervention in the economy and government expansion made increasingly apparent the technical limitations of bureaucracy in achieving its developmental goals. Regarding the Mexican case, historical evidence shows that there has been ‘a rather severe compartmentalization in the bureaucracy, a notable degree of department or agency autonomy, and a weak spirit of inter-agency cooperation’. A universal process of gradual displacement of political power from the legislatures to the executives, and from there to bureaucracy have been noted. The work of Max Weber represented a major starting-point of the sociological approach to bureaucracy. Highly selective meritocratic systems and long-term career rewards give bureaucracy, corporate coherence and a certain degree of ‘autonomy’. The fact that bureaucratic organizations provide everywhere ‘a perfect habitat for clientelistic politics’ is thought to be enhanced by the lack or weakness of democratic institutions. The chapter also presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in this book.

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