Neutral Competence and Political Responsiveness
An Uneasy Relationship
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 6328494 |
|---|---|
| Authors | William F West (corresponding author) |
| Year | 2005 |
| Volume | 33 |
| Issue | 2 |
| Pages | 147-160 |
| Publication date | 2005-05-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Policy Studies Journal (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0190-292X • E-ISSN: 1541-0072 |
| Publisher | Wiley (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1111/j.1541-0072.2005.00099.x |
| OpenAlex | W2116657609 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 26 |
| References cited | 38 |
This essay examines the popular argument that a culture of nonpartisan objectivity within the career bureaucracy can effectively serve the interests of presidents and other political executives. A close reading of the literature reveals that neutral competence has become an ambiguous concept. Moreover, evidence drawn from recent studies of OMB (Office of Management and Budget) and from the bureaucratic politics literature more generally suggests that it may not be realistic to expect that civil servants can be nonpartisan and still satisfy the president's need for responsiveness. Although neutral competence is a highly relevant doctrine in some administrative contexts, it is difficult to reconcile with the goal of political responsiveness in areas where bureaucrats are called upon to exercise political discretion
Bureaucracy · Civil servants · Competence (human resources · Discretion · Doctrine · Epistemology · Law and economics · Objectivity (philosophy · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Public relations · Sociology · Law · Political and Economic history of UK and US · Political Systems and Governance · Psychology · Public Administration · Public Policy and Administration Research · Social Psychology
The interactive effects of professionalism and politicization
Role Models in the Senior Civil Service
Perceptions of Political Discrimination and Political Activity Coercion in the Federal Service
Bridging the Archipelago
Responsiveness of Grassroots Level Civil Servants in China
The dilemmas of organisational capacity
Can government‐supported evaluation and policy research be independent
Threats to independence and objectivity of government‐supported evaluation and policy research
Can government‐sponsored evaluations be independent
Moving Away from Patronage
Does Meritocracy Lead to Bureaucratic Quality? Revisiting the Experience of Prussia and Imperial and Weimar Germany
Merit and impartiality in public administration
Does Policy Influence Hollow Out Public Managers’ Political Neutrality
Death by a Thousand 10-Minute Tasks
Agency Input as a Policy-Making Tool
The deformation of democracy in the United States
Does Political Change Affect Senior Management Turnover? An Empirical Analysis of Top-Tier Local Authorities in England
The partisan–professional dichotomy revisited
Bubbling up or cascading down? Public servants, political advisers and politicization
Policy coordination in the European metropolis
Between Detachment and Responsiveness
Politics, Competence, and Performance
Catching a Second Wave
The Role of Advisory Committees in Bureaucratic Oversight
Producing African-descent
Presidential agendas in statutory interpretation
Policy and Administration
Keeping a watchful eye
Responsiveness and Neutral Competence in American Bureaucracy
Policy Analysts in the Bureaucracy
Structure and Process, Politics and Policy
Presidents and the Politics of Structure
The Reformation of American Administrative Law
The Forms and Limits of Adjudication
Executive Leadership in Anglo-American Systems
New Directions in American Politics
The Institutionalization of Regulatory Review
Professional Roles for Policy Analysts
Politics and Administration
History of the United States Civil Service
The President’s Committee on Administrative Management
The Office of Management and Budget and the Presidency, 1921-1979
Traditional Organizational Principles and the Managerial Presidency
Responsiveness and Neutral Competence in American Bureaucracy
Formal Procedures, Informal Processes, Accountability, and Responsiveness in Bureaucratic Policy Making
The De-Institutionalization of Presidential Staff Agencies
Power and Administration
Central Legislative Clearance
Institutionalizing Neutrally Competent Policy Analysis
Dismantling Democratic States
Political Influence on the Bureaucracy
Structuring Administrative Discretion
Public Administration and the Public Interest
Presidents, Responsiveness, and Competence
The Study of Administration
Emerging Conflicts in the Doctrines of Public Administration
| Unique citing works | 26 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 1,3 |
| Citation span | 2006 - 2026 (21) |
| Citation velocity | current |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 26 |