Bureaucracy in Comparative Perspective

Adopting a comparative perspective on bureaucracy, this course examines how and why the structures, capacities, effectiveness and accountability of bureaucracies vary significantly in different places and at different times. Why do some administrative organizations become politicized and corrupt while others establish strong meritocratic administration and effective performance? Why do some bureaucracies develop their own power base and become relatively autonomous while others are subject to elaborate political oversight and micro-management? The course will examine these questions in both the global north and the global south.