Comparative Public Administration (CPA)

Comparative Public Administration (CPA) is a vital field of study that examines the diverse public administration systems worldwide. It focuses on understanding the structures, processes, and outcomes of these systems. The discipline emerged as a response to the growing need for a deeper understanding of how different countries manage public affairs.

Objectives of CPA

The key objectives of CPA include:

1. To analyse and compare administrative systems across nations.
2. To identify best practices and lessons learned from various contexts.
3. To understand the impact of culture, politics, and economy on public administration.

Evolution of CPA

• Comparison of various political systems has been a key concern of a political thinker since the time of Aristotle. In contemporary times, there have been published a good number of studies on comparative constitutions and governments. However, comparison of administrative systems has been undertaken only rarely by scholars. When political systems are compared, there is an obvious reference to their respective administrative systems, but such studies are only sketchy.
• Traditional comparative government and administrative studies were confined to big powers, such as the United States, Great Britain, France, Germany, the Soviet Union, and Italy. This was a limitation in the traditional studies. Besides, the traditional analysis focused mainly on the organization of government institutions, with a negligible emphasis on the behavioural or dynamic aspects of government systems. Most studies were descriptive in nature and not analytical, explanatory, or problem-oriented. Moreover, these studies did not take into account the interaction between government systems and their environment. Fred Riggs calls these studies the “governments of foreign countries” rather than “comparative governments”.
• It should be appreciated that before the Second World War, there were hardly any developing nations of the contemporary times. Most of them were colonies of western powers, and hence there was little interest in studying their government structures. Interest in comparative administration was only marginal in the pre-Second World War period, yet there were a few notable exceptions.
• Woodrow Wilson, in his seminal article The Study of Administration published in the Political Science Quarterly (1887), suggested that the USA should learn from European administrative systems without adopting their centralized monarchical systems. This reflected a clear comparative orientation.
• Similarly, L. D. White, who published the first textbook in Public Administration, Introduction to the Study of Public Administration in 1926, aimed at developing principles of administration applicable to countries like Russia, Great Britain, Iraq, and the United States. Such a broad interest in traditional comparative public administration laid the foundation for later advanced studies and modern orientations.

1. Experience during the Second World War:

• Several scholars of western countries, particularly the United States, had the opportunity of holding administrative positions in certain non-western nations during the war. Their experience provided important insight into the differences in administrative structures and behaviour between western and non-western nations. These differences were mainly due to variations in socio-cultural and economic contexts. The Philippines and Japan, which were occupied by the USA for a few years, offered clear examples of such diversity.

2. International Technical Assistance Programme:

• With the creation of the United Nations in 1945, there was a strong emphasis on providing financial and technical assistance to non-western countries. The Marshall Plan of the US also aimed at aiding European countries. Several US scholars were involved in these technical assistance programmes and contributed to administrative reforms in countries like India (notably the reports of Paul Appleby in 1953 and 1956). This increased interest in administrative systems of developing countries and strengthened comparative administrative studies.

3. Administrative Reforms:

• Almost all developing nations conducted studies on administrative reforms with the help of indigenous and foreign scholars. This generated vast information on administrative systems. While preparing recommendations, scholars examined and borrowed from administrative practices of developed nations, leading to cross-cultural and cross-national analysis.

4. Emergent Developing Nations:

• After the Second World War, with the decline of colonialism, many countries in Asia and Africa became independent. These nations faced challenges of socio-economic transformation, requiring strong administrative systems in areas like policy-making, planning, human resource management, financial administration, and administrative responsiveness. Institutions like the Ford Foundation provided technical assistance, training, and guidance. Interaction between civil servants and foreign experts promoted interest in comparative public administration.

5. Comparative Politics Movement:

• After the Second World War, the Comparative Politics Movement gained prominence in the United States and other countries. Scholars studying political systems also analysed administrative systems, as they are considered a subsystem of the political system. Key contributors included Leonard Binder, Joseph La Palombara, Alfred Diamant, Fred Riggs, Edward Weidner, and Ferrel Heady. The movement contributed concepts, methodologies, models, and theories to comparative public administration.

6. Behavioural Movement:

• The Behavioural Movement promoted studies on administrative behaviour in ecological settings, strengthening comparative public administration literature.

7. Comparative Administration Group (CAG):

• In 1963, the Comparative Administration Group (CAG) was established under the American Society for Public Administration and funded by the Ford Foundation (1963–1970). Fred W. Riggs served as chairman. The CAG organized seminars, produced over hundred monographs, and published anthologies on comparative administrative systems.
• It also supported research studies across Asia, Europe, Latin America, and Africa, and published the journal Journal of Comparative Administration, later renamed Administration and Society. Prominent scholars included Ralph Braibanti, Milton Esman, Ferrel Heady, John Montgomery, Fred Riggs, William Siffin, and Dwight Waldo.
• After the withdrawal of Ford Foundation funding, the CAG weakened and was eventually disbanded. In 1973, the Section on International and Comparative Administration (SICA) was established under the American Society for Public Administration. It continues to promote teaching, research, and practice in comparative public administration, and awards the Fred W. Riggs Award for outstanding contributions.