Politics and the Administration

Abstract

The administration or management of the public sector does not exist in a vacuum; the public, the political leadership of government and its public services are closely tied to each other by institutional arrangements and political interaction. Whatever it is called — public administration or public management — the business of government is embedded in politics. It follows, therefore, ‘that effectiveness as a public administrator is predicated on both an understanding of politics and of the political process and an ability to manage public programmes in a political context’ (Frederickson, 1989, p. 12).