SVARA, James H
The politics-administration dichotomy model as aberration - malden, MA : Blackwell Publishers, jan./feb.1998
The politics-administration dichotomy model has provided norms for officials and the starting point for research on the behavior of elected officials and administrators, particulary in local government. Although routinely rejected on empirical grounds, it is commonly viewed as the traditional statement of how officials should relate that can be traced to the "founders" of the field in the united states and the formulator of the council-manager form of government. Rexamination of the literature and the history of the council-manager form of government demostrates, however, that the model is not present in early writings in public administration and id not appear until the twenties. Supported by other aspects of "orthodox" public administration, the dichoto my model took hold during the thirties and in local government hung on into the sixtie. It should be viewd as an aberration that departed from the ideas that preceded and followed it rather than defended and reinterpreted to make it relevant to current practice. Recognizing the interdependent relationship between elected afficials and administrators - as did the framers of the council-manager from-leads to a model of complementarity rather than dichotomy.
The politics-administration dichotomy model as aberration - malden, MA : Blackwell Publishers, jan./feb.1998
The politics-administration dichotomy model has provided norms for officials and the starting point for research on the behavior of elected officials and administrators, particulary in local government. Although routinely rejected on empirical grounds, it is commonly viewed as the traditional statement of how officials should relate that can be traced to the "founders" of the field in the united states and the formulator of the council-manager form of government. Rexamination of the literature and the history of the council-manager form of government demostrates, however, that the model is not present in early writings in public administration and id not appear until the twenties. Supported by other aspects of "orthodox" public administration, the dichoto my model took hold during the thirties and in local government hung on into the sixtie. It should be viewd as an aberration that departed from the ideas that preceded and followed it rather than defended and reinterpreted to make it relevant to current practice. Recognizing the interdependent relationship between elected afficials and administrators - as did the framers of the council-manager from-leads to a model of complementarity rather than dichotomy.
