Political Rights and Administrative Impartiality in the British Civil Service

Abstract

Recent forays into administrative theory have impaired the neat dichotomy between politics and administration that was postulated, either as description or as ideal, by fin dė siècle political scientists and reformers. The intertwining of policy formulation and policy execution is a recognized fact of the administrative process. The questioning of this early dogma of public administration has opened up speculation as to what the proper relationship between the two aspects of the governmental process ought to be. Dilemmas have been identified but no systematic and fully acceptable solution has been propounded. Evidently, an answer cannot be given without delineating and understanding the matrix of politics in which administration inevitably is imbedded.