One Republic, Multiple Fiefdoms

What can a book say about reform that others before it have not? The present book contends that a void exists in the theory and practice of public administration reform. Where it was customary to view the process as purely technical, the new book highlights the significance of barriers, mostly socio-political, cultural, and attitudinal, that must be surmounted to amass and sustain gains.

Proceeding on the assumption that public administration is meant to serve one sovereign, the book notices another monarch lurking in the background. Unlike the first sovereign, which openly, albeit, unsuccessfully, controls the modern, rules-based, legal-rational, role-specific, 'soft' environment, the second is a collection of fiefdoms scattered across the traditional, exceptionalist, entitlement-oriented, informal, anything-goes, 'hard' environment. Implementing sustainable reform entails extricating the soft environment from its hard counterpart’s grip.

The book will be of interest to public administration and social science scholars, government and public service leaders, risk analysts, and international development partners.