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Political Administration

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Discourse Theory in European Politics

Abstract

One of the major academic discussions of the 1990s has concerned the relation between politics and administration. The themes of these debates have been many and varied. It has been suggested that the level of politics should concentrate on the general direction of policy — the ‘big picture’ — and leave matters of detail and implementation to the administration. Politicians have been criticized for basing their decisions on single cases, which ought to be an entirely administrative matter. Another issue has concerned the belief that efficient operations can be created only by creating a clear difference between politics and administration. Such questions have been raised in most of the OECD countries and have been grouped under the label: ‘New Public Management’. The same situation appeared in Denmark, which provided the case on which this chapter is based.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Copenhagen Business School, Denmark

    Niels Åkerstrøm Andersen (professor)

Authors
  1. Niels Åkerstrøm Andersen
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. University of Essex, UK

    David Howarth (Lecturer in Political Theory) (Lecturer in Political Theory)

  2. Roskilde University, Denmark

    Jacob Torfing (Professor of Politics and Institutions) (Professor of Politics and Institutions)

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© 2005 Palgrave Macmillan, a division of Macmillan Publishers Limited

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Andersen, N.Å. (2005). Political Administration. In: Howarth, D., Torfing, J. (eds) Discourse Theory in European Politics. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230523364_6

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