Democratizing Public Management : Towards Practice-Based Theory

This book argues that contemporary society in general, and public administration specifically, can benefit from more reflexive learning processes through democracy and public involvement. It identifies the most central social practices, dilemmas, and challenges for public management as well as the mechanisms needed to enact institutional change. Offering a model of reflexivity and learning in the face of public dispute, it explores phenomena such as problem solving, democratization, public learning, and uncertainty to address certain tensions in governance theory and practice. Through a range of well-sourced case studies, this book demonstrates how institutions can manage difficult situations by not only resolving the conflict but addressing the underlying problem. It uses both theoretical and practical approaches to observe the micro foundations of political behavior and its institutional underpinnings, and will be a valuable resource for public administration researchers, practitioners, and graduate students seeking empirical studies of learning processes in the public sphere.-- Provided by publisher Front Matter ....Pages i-xiv Practice-Oriented Reflection on Governance (Marta Strumińska-Kutra)....Pages 1-14 Metagovernance, Governance, and Learning (Marta Strumińska-Kutra)....Pages 15-32 Governance Learning from an Institutional Perspective (Marta Strumińska-Kutra)....Pages 33-47 How Framing Transforms Governance: Public Dispute over the Closure of Three Small Schools in a Rural Community (Marta Strumińska-Kutra)....Pages 49-65 Public Administration Leaders as Institutional Entrepreneurs: Dispute over the Location of a Marketplace (Marta Strumińska-Kutra)....Pages 67-87 Institutionalization of Governance and the Transition from ‘Fake’ Learning to ‘Real’ Learning: Dispute over the Modernization of a Wastewater Treatment Plant and an Incineration Plant (Marta Strumińska-Kutra)....Pages 89-103 Governance Failure and Social Trust: Dispute over Building a Flood Prevention System (Marta Strumińska-Kutra)....Pages 105-120 Towards a Practice-Based Theory of Governance Learning and Institutionalization: A Cross-Case Analysis (Marta Strumińska-Kutra)....Pages 121-190 Making Social Sciences Matter for Public Administration and Public Policy (Marta Strumińska-Kutra)....Pages 191-209 Back Matter ....Pages 211-234