ABSTRACT
In this chapter we will illustrate that the study of public administration and management in Norway has to be understood in relation to the particular context of the Norwegian state and the administrative reform and administrative policy that have been conducted over time. The study of public administration and management in Norway represents a combination of organizational theory and political science focusing on empirical studies of decision-making and institutional changes in formal organizations. This special mixture of democratic theory, organization theory and a strong empirical focus has given the Norwegian research on public administration and management a strength and innovation that is internationally acknowledged. There has not been any long-standing and distinct public management study tradition in Norway, partly because most studies of public management reforms has been conducted inside political science/public administration departments, with a political-democratic focus.
