From Policy to Administration

Book excerpt: First published in 1976, From Policy to Administration is not the conventional Festschrift written by many hands on many unrelated subjects- rather it is a tight collection of essays conceived and written around a unified theme. From one point of view, policy and administration are at two opposite ends of the governmental spectrum; but at the same time both are aspects of almost every single government activity and the essays in this book set out to reflect this apparent paradox. Dr Jones finds symptoms of it at the administrative heart of the policy making machine while Professor Friedrich looks at the nature of that machine and its relation to democratic forms. Four central essays by Professors Bernard Crick, Peter Self, John Mackintosh and Mr Sharpe, link policy making and administration to the controversies about participation, decentralisation, and devolution. Mr Foster considers the public corporation as a dynamic instrument concerned with the problem of efficiency. The book concludes with essays by Professors Mitchell and Griffith on the involvement of legal processes in the structure and functioning of policy and administration. The book does not attempt to cover all of William Robson's interests. It is a mark of the versatility of his genius that no book could do that and remain unified. This book will be of interest to scholars and researchers of public administration and political studies.