Abstract
Top level bureaucrats have been the standard fare of studies of bureaucracy. Max Weber’s (1988) treatment of the subject, a sheet-anchor for the study of bureaucracy ever since, has been widely interpreted as a reflection on the role of very senior administrative levels and, in particular, their policy-making roles (see also Armstrong, 1973; Suleiman, 1975; 1978; and Aberbach, Putnam and Rockman, 1981). While the lowest levels of bureaucracy have received some attention (Mechanic, 1962), the only serious appearance in the academic literature on administration is as implementers, and most famously as ‘street level bureaucrats’ (Lipsky, 1980; see also Pahl (1977) for a discussion of ‘urban managers’). The middle levels of the bureaucracy have largely tended to be ignored.2
The research contained in this chapter is supported by Economic and Social Research Council grant RES-000-22-1451 for the project ‘Hierarchy, expertise and policy bureaucracy: a comparative analysis’.
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Page, E.C. (2007). Middle Level Bureaucrats: Policy, Discretion and Control. In: Raadschelders, J.C.N., Toonen, T.A.J., Van der Meer, F.M. (eds) The Civil Service in the 21st Century. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230593084_10
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