Crisis in the U.S. Administrative State

Abstract

This article analyzes the U.S. federal administrative state. The complex of institutions of the executive branch of the federal government-in historical and contemporary perspectives, with implications for the future. It argues that the administrative state is in a serious legitimacy crisis, that this crisis can be understood in an historical context and in relations to the concurrent crises facing the socioeconomic and political systems in America. Major sources of the crisis, including the inherently contradictory role of the modern state in society, are analyzed. Also some of the major impacts of the crisis on the society are discussed along with an analysis of the future consequences of the politics-administration interface and the new political administration theory of the 1980s. Finally, an argument is made in defense of the administrative state and an Integrated Model of Public Administration is suggested for solving the problems of administrative state in America.