ABSTRACT
From: Administration and Society 43:3: (2010): 263-286. Abridged. In his most expansive thinking about public administration in a liberal
democracy, Woodrow Wilson characterized public administration as testing the “suitability” of law, and actively monitoring social and economic life through its constant “contact with the present” (Link et al., 1969, Vol. 7, pp. 116, 138). Because he regarded law as the codification of social processes, and constitutions as the product of the long historical development of particular regimes, he thus envisioned a critical role for public administrators. They provide the essential observation of and experience with society necessary to guide the formalization of evolving habits, patterns of behavior, and individual and group interactions into new statutes and, ultimately, constitutional reforms. Wilson’s thinking along these lines was grounded in his acceptance of a
distinct public sphere, and more particularly a relatively autonomous, organic State. Despite the resurrection of the concept of the state in sociology and political science several decades ago, there is again great skepticism about the continued relevance or even survival of the nation-state (e.g., Van Creveld, 1999). Further challenges come from the increasingly porous boundary between government and society, as reflected in the complex interactions between administrative agencies and an extensive array of public, quasi-public, and private entities. These organizations seem to be engaged in an almost infinite variety of partnerships for both formulating and realizing public aims. In this starkly new context, does the idea of a special, central role for public servants in the design of public law retain any validity? I argue that it does. This article is an attempt to articulate the normative case for that role. First, I offer a brief defense for grounding my argument in ideas contained
in the writings of Woodrow Wilson. Second, I develop my conception of a distinctive institutional role for public administration out of Wilson’s ideas about the role of public administration in a liberal democratic regime, with special reference to the United States. I focus on his characterization of public administration as “the State’s experiencing organ” (Link et al., 1969, Vol. 7, p. 138). Following this primary articulation of a distinctive role for
gen-this role. I conclude the article with a defense of this role conception for public administration, including the obligations future scholars and public servants must accept if they are to ensure that public administration as an institution of liberal democratic governance fulfills this vital role.
