PADM500:

Lesson 02: The Continuous Reinventing of the Machinery of Government

Lesson Overview

This lesson is designed to answer the following questions: What is the context in which issues of public administration (PA) are played out? How have we organized ourselves as a political system to make decisions on issues of public concern? What are the structures, rules, organizations, and processes of government, and how do they determine the role that PA plays?

In other words, what is the political context in which PA operates? So far, we've examined the historical context: how a continuing process of change and adaptation has led us to where we are now and where we're heading in the future. By political context, we mean not just politics in the sense of elections, political parties, campaign ads, and so on, but also the way in which we're organized as a regime. Regardless of where PA is studied, political context matters, and everyone who studies or practices PA needs a good understanding of the regime in which they operate. By regime, we mean the stable set of rules, laws, institutions, and values that exist and provide the foundation for day-to-day political and administrative activity. In the United States, the Constitution has provided the basis of a regime marked by peaceful transfer of power from one set of leaders to the next, institutional stability, and a consensus in society about the legitimacy of the state.  This idea of regime exists in contrast to the more familiar context, where we talk of regime change as the sort of thing we have seen in Iraq and Afghanistan, represented by a change from a one-party dictatorship to an emerging democracy, or in the dramatic changes in Central and Eastern Europe after the breakup of the Soviet Empire.

Lesson Objectives

After completing this lesson, you should be able to do the following:

• Describe the basic structure of the U.S. political system, with a focus on the Constitution, the separation of powers, the different tools used by government, and the interrelationships among the branches and levels of government.
• Identify the elements of the administrative state.
• Describe the organization of the executive branch of the U.S. national government.
• Recognize and understand the role that the chief executive plays in the executive branch, with a focus on the presidency.
• Trace the concept of government reform historically through the major commissions.
• Point out and discuss major problems and issues in reconciling the operations of public agencies to the political environment.

Lesson Road Map

By the end of this lesson, make sure you have completed the readings and activities found in the Lesson 2 Course Schedule.