Journal Article

Reduced‐Boundary Governance: The Advantages of Working Together

Hall, Jeremy L., Battaglio, R. Paul

2018

Overview

Going it alone is not always the best policy. Sure, there are mavericks out there who prefer to do things their way. We have certainly witnessed a transition of U.S. foreign policy in recent months away from global cooperation and back toward a platform of greater isolationism—symbolically if not substantively. As co-editors of Public Administration Review (PAR), we recognize the greater potential for gains that can come from working together and combining strengths to manage the journal. Indeed, if you skim the pages of most academic journals—especially those in public administration—it is increasingly rare to find single-authored manuscripts. Scholars combine their expertise to realize developments in the field that may not have been possible individually. When it comes to public administration and management, however, the issue of political control is more often tempered with a need for effectiveness and efficiency. Citizens and stakeholders want agencies and programs that are accountable to their defined goals. While politicians measure success in votes, for professional public managers, agency and program performance is a key mantra. Managers must attend to citizen and stakeholder demands for agency responsiveness while balancing the guiding hand of their political principals. These demands often translate roughly into “doing more with less.”

• Publisher: Wiley Subscription Services, Inc,American Society for Public Administration
• Subject: Accountability / Citizens / Effectiveness / Efficiency / Experts / Foreign policy / Governance / Intellectuals / Interest groups / International cooperation / Isolationism / Political power / Politicians / Principals / Public administration / Responsiveness / Stakeholders / Voter behavior