by Jones, Garth N
Confounding! As an organizational theorist with a half-century interest in development at home and abroad, this was my first reading of the book under review.
In seeking clarity I came to the realization that these thirteen writers were Harry Potter contemporaries. They were profoundly influenced by the goings-on in the Wizard Kingdom of 1990's Washington, D.C. Their principle school of wizardry was the Bank of Reconstruction and Development, known as the World Bank, which had decided that governmental reform was basic to constructive national growth and development. The magical potion for reform would be application of neo-liberal economics.
The new scripture of wizardry was the work by journalist David Osborne and city manager Ted Gaebler, Reinventing Government (1992). Its subtitle is "How the Entrepreneurial Spirit is Transforming the Public sector from Schoolhouse to Statehouse, City Hall to the Pentagon." The subtitle of a companion work, Banishing Bureaucracy ( 1997), written by David Osborne and Peter Plastrik, is even more "how to," "The Five Strategies for Reinvent ing Government." In both works entrepreneurship reigns supreme. The game of administrative reform, the task of reinvention, is about replacing bureaucratic systems (bad) with entrepreneurial systems (good).
In this game of wizardry, there is little need to define key concepts and terms such as reform, society, public, government, state, administration. A new state order is instituted by carving out and rejecting old fashioned "stuff and incorporating into the progressive entity the capacity for organizational maximization of output/performance. The result is the triumph of technocrats. Hence, nearly all of the references are of this appropriate 1990's variety. The economic notion of opportunity costs is taken seriously, making way to get the highest rates of return on investments. Authoritarian economic rationale takes precedence over the ideal of democratic governance.
Of course, bankers and financiers would embrace such a state of affairs-real corporatism, which, incidentally, characterized Indonesia's Suharto's developmentalism.
The wizardry of reinvention captured the imagination of both U.S. and foreign scholars with a lot of new jargon emerging such as new public management and new managerialism. This intellectual faddism was, indeed, pervasive. However, at the time of this writing, serious scholars are questioningn reinvention/entrepreneurial wizardry. "Entrepreneuring" can lead to endemic corruption, jeopardizing a democracy's polity, and pursuing wrong social goals. In other words, the market becomes the paramount socioeconomic evil.1
Pursuing the common good can only be accomplished by a government based upon responsible citizenship and a competent civil service. There are limits to what the market may accomplish. Markets fail. Basic care functions such as maintaining law and order and administering justice can never be privatized. A substantial measure of government regulation is necessary to ensure a healthy market; making certain, for example, that weights and measure are maintained.
Schneider and Heredia, the two editors, approached their wizardry in a straightforward manner, with no serious reservations. Leviathans are no doubt tough creatures, but they can be reinvented. Although not identified as such, the process was accelerated Darwinian evolution caused by introduced entrepreneurialism. Liberal economics is a powerful lubrication.
So goes the essence of the beginning of this book under review, as expressed in the preface and acknowledgments and the introduction in form of Chapter 1, "The Political Economy of Administrative Reform in Developing Countries." They justify their endeavor by first noting: "Administrative reform had surprisingly little to say about politics" and second "A series of recently public studies on the politics. . .of reforms (have) generated.. . plausible hypotheses . . . ." Preface and Acknowledgments, p. i. From these two notings, the editors move on to the Osborne and Goebler rationale in reinventing government. They rely heavily upon the World Bank's flagship publication, the 1997 World Development Report: The State in a Changing World, p. 1. The notion of two reform waves is utilized. The first downsized government and the second focused on "building or rebuilding institutional and administrative capacities."(p. 1) Demoralized civil service was often a consequence of the first wave.
found little utility in the models of administrative reform as advanced with three broad categories of civil service, accountability, and managerial. The two editors along with their contributors appeared ignorant of the substantial literature on planned organizational change and transformation. Those old scholars of the 198Os and even years back had a lot to say on how to activate and control administrative reform.
The middle of this book, "Empirical Studies in the Political Economy of Reform," consists of six excellent country studies where deep insights into the difficulties of administrative reform and means for success are carefully discussed. 1 would include in this middle part as well Chapter 8 "When Institutions Matter: A Comparison of the Politics of Administrative, Social security, and Tax Reforms in Brazil" by Brazilian Marcus Andre Melo. This chapter along with Chapter 4 "The 1995 Public Management Reform in Brazil: Reflections of a Reformer" by Brazilian Luis Carbos Bresser-Pereira are worth the price of this book. These two individuals wrestled first hand with what I prefer to call planned organizational change. They were not limited in thought by the constrictive paradigm of reinventing leviathan. The major lesson learned: "Competent reform requires imagination and an accurate diagnosis of the problem," (p. 97). As to obiter dictum, success is determined by asking the right questions. Institutional analysis is mandatory in "understanding policy outcomes ....," (p. 261). This analysis will yield vital information in the diagnosis of the problem from which constructive reform measures may be introduced, so write these two Brazilians.
For two or more decades Argentina has been a "basket case." In recent memory, Argentina was one of the world's best economies. It now falls into the Third World category. This country case study, the first in order presented, Chapter 2, "The Politics of Administrative Reform in Menem's Argentina: The Illusion of Isolation" written by American Jeffrey Rinne, World Bank Staffer, does not provide very much understanding of Argentina's economic downfall. However, the writer solidly treats the institutional "hardness" of Argentina's government and bureaucracy.
To sort out complexities, the Jones change/transformation continuum could be useful. Major change is ignited by disturbances/changes in the encompassing ecological system. The consequences are social and economic; the solution is political. Hence, administrative reform must always follow political reform. Each of the country cases studied more or less violated these two maxims with resultant reform initiatives out of joint. In Argentina this was particularly the change/reform situation, with the chronic problem of incrementalism killing significant administrative reform. This organizational pathology is well researched in the public administration literature, but it is scarcely addressed in this book under review.
Each of the selected case studies, except possibly Thailand, had experienced fiscal/economic crises. For help they turned to some external financial agency, usually the World Bank or the International Monetary Fund or both. Invariably, the responding agency insisted upon imposing stern economic measures, which were beyond the government's capacity to carry out. From the initial phase economic demands/reforms preceded the necessary political reforms. With this disjointedness there usually arises another crisis-in defaults on debt payment along with a profound dilemma. People and society at large are suffering. Basic needs are not being met. Nevertheless constructive progress can only take place when political reform is accomplished. Political reform is invariably a tough and nasty proposition, since basic human values are involved, the very transformation of the "soul." As my Indonesian associates stressed, reform is always a religious experience. It can best be conceived as a form of revolution, with peaceful kinds hard to achieve. Involved are winners and losers, with difficulty in finding win-win situations. As the entire twentieth century reveals, planned external nation-state building is nigh impossible, but none of this thought is contained in this book under review. With new wizardry knowledge, foreign technicians can go about the exercise of fiscal power in reinventing state/government. In the Argentina case, Jeffrey Rinne may have it right. A Peronist government may just be the way to bring about significant administrative reform.
Limits of space provide for only brief comments on the other four country studies. Barbara Nunberg, World Bank Staffer, in her Chapter 3, "The Politics of Administrative Reform in Post-Communist Hungary," gives insight into the unique situation of a country forced to accept new economic realities with the downfall of Communism. Major institutional change was necessary, conditioned by fiscal crises and driven by international pressures. Progress has been made in moving toward a merit civil service.
Chileans Manuel Antonio Garretón and Gonzalo Cáceres in their Chapter 5, "From the Disarticulation of the State to the Modernization of Public Management in Chile: Administrative Reform without a State Project," made a significant contribution to the subject of reform. Unlike the other authors, they carefully dealt with the nature of the "state apparatus." If reinventing has any value, it is to be found in this superb treatment of the complexities of society, government and state.
Mexico is a country characterized by confoundings. Unlike neighbor Canada, U.S. Americans have trouble comprehending neighbor Mexico. This fact is somewhat evidenced in Chapter 6, "Stalled Administrative Reforms of the Mexican State."coauthored by U.S. American David Arellans Gault and Mexican Juan Pablo Guerrero Amparan. With its socialist inclinations, Mexico stands in need of reinvention. The two authors address difficulties of reform within the context of Mexico's history and institutional rigidities. Reform efforts have been plagued by endemic incrementalism.
Drawing an ending to this involved story of administrative reform across several nation states does not come easy. The two editors use the broad heading of "Comparisons and Conclusions." Comparisons can be made, but administrative reform by its very nature never ends. It waxes and wanes over time. The state is an organic entity subject to pains of death and resurrection. Transformation, in the terms of living as dictated by its ecology, is the game of survival, along with progress.
Although fraught with methodological problems, the notion of reinvention of the state is a meritorious subject. The 1990s intellectual thinking is indeed innovative and its intent commendable. Worldwide, governments are increasingly being faced with constricting finances and rising public expectations. More must be done with less.
My criticism of reinvention pertains to the paradigm which constrains thought and action. Societal growth and development must be addressed in holistic terms. Several authors of this edited work sense the necessity which is somewhat addressed in the last three chapters of this work.
As mentioned, Chapter 8 by Brazilian MeIo constitutes an excellent case study which goes beyond the paradigm limitations of reinvention. Chapter 9, "Reforms in the Administration of Justice in Latin America: An Overview of Emerging Trends," by U.S. American James E. Mahon, Jr., is somewhat out of context with this book's purpose. Nevertheless it deals with a vital aspect of development. It is encouraging that the author observes a "surge of legal and administrative renovation (which) is occurring around the world" including Latin America.(p. 251)
U.S. American Robert Kaufman in his Chapter 10 "The Comparative Politics of Administrative Reform: Some Implications for Theory and Practice," attempts to provide comparative meaning. Based upon his research and publications, his discussion falls into three broad categories: international political economy, institutional rational choice, and international sociology. The format of the two editors is somewhat pushed aside.
My primary complaint against Kaufman, as well as editors Schneider and Heredia, is their apparent strong conviction in the "wholesomeness" of the market. Culture was never seriously addressed, especially as embodied in religion.
A market is the mobilization of incentives. However, what may be an incentive in one culture is not necessarily so in another. My studies reveal that religion as the core of culture is as important, if not more so, than the "amoral" market in making for constructive progress. Reinvention constitutes instituting a new complex of values, and that is never easy. Old veterans of development will agree that innovation must be confined and controlled. Otherwise, organizations and societies and even states can implode.
NOTES
1. See "Reinventing Government: An Assessment and Critique," Public Administration Review, 60, no. 6 (November/December 2000), pp. 508-548 and Louis C. Gawthrop, "Public Entrepreneurship in the Lands of Oz and Uz," Pubic Integrity, 1, no. 1 (Winter 1999), pp. 75-86. Cf. Symposia Silver Jubilee Year Section International and Comparative Administration, Public Administration Review, Krishna K. Tummala (ed.), 58, no. 1 (January-February 1998), pp. 21-50 and 59, no. 6 (November-December 1999), pp.482-522.
2. See Ronald C. Moe, Administrative Renewal: Reorganization Commissions in the 20'h Century (Lanham, MD: Rowman and Littlefield Publishing Group, 2003) entire work.
Garth N. Jones University of Alaska Anchorage
Copyright Association of Third World Studies, Inc. Spring 2005
Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning Company. All rights Reserved
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