JPART Virtual Issue on Citizen-State Interactions in Public Administration Research

Abstract

Abstract In this virtual issue, we bring together a collection of research articles that—although not usually grouped together—all illustrate the importance of citizen-state interactions. Specifically, we include articles that directly incorporate citizens’ perceptions, attitudes, experiences of, or behavior related to public administration. About 10% of all JPART articles over the life of the journal so far (1991–2015) met our inclusion criteria. Of those articles, we selected seven for this virtual issue on the basis that they have offered important insights into citizen-state interaction at different stages of the policy cycle. We argue that public administration scholarship should focus much more on the role of citizens and citizen-state interactions at all stages of the policy cycle. This research should focus both on the different forms of interaction citizens have with administrators, and the outcomes of these interactions, for bureaucracy and for citizens themselves.