The APSA Public Administration Section's
Electronic Newsletter
Volume 1, Issue 2, Fall 2002

11-14-02

Welcome back to the PA Section Electronic Newsletter, your vehicle for basic information about section activities and events that are of broad interest to our community of political scientists who study bureaucracy, administration, and management. Each newsletter also contains a topical editorial and a number of links to important information sources.

In this issue:

• Guest Editorial: "Reflection on Terrorism and Public Management"

• Update on APSA 2002

• Announcements

• PA listserv subscribe/unsubscribe information

GUEST EDITORIAL ON ORGANIZING FOR HOMELAND SECURITY

Congress is racing to pass a bill to establish a Federal Department of Homeland Security before all the new sheriffs come to town. In all seriousness, the September 11 attacks have sparked a flurry of government activities to build administrative capacity and reorganize bureaucracies to better accomplish their goals, especially the mission of securing our country from terrorist attack. In the editorial below, William T. Gormley, Jr., University Professor of Government and Public Policy at Georgetown University, provides a brief summary of his recently published book chapter on public management after 9-11. The full article, and many other fine essays on the topic, can be viewed by visiting the web site of Syracuse University's Campbell Institute, at: http://www.maxwell.syr.edu/campbell/Governance_Symposium/security.htm

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"Reflections on Terrorism and Public Management," by William T. Gormley, Jr.

The terrorist threat to our nation's security is both insidious and diffuse. Unlike more conventional threats from nation states, it is difficult to pinpoint and difficult to control. Like the shift in pollution threats from point sources, such as power plants, to non-point sources, such as farm runoff, it requires radical adjustments in our thinking, new management practices, and additional resources.

In this paper, I have sketched the rough outlines of a new paradigm that seems to be emerging in response to the events of September 11. Its key elements are: trust in government; the revival of planning, the indispensability of coordination; a well-informed and informing public; and redundancy. If this new paradigm takes root, we can expect some important consequences to flow from it, including a larger public sector, a greater emphasis on anticipation and prevention, and keener interest in the development of effective networks and partnerships between governments, between agencies, and between the public and private sectors. The quest for post hoc accountability, which animated so many government reform initiatives in the late 20th century, will undoubtedly persist but will no longer suffice. One thing is certain: as the stakes get higher and the risks of a catastrophe escalate, we will need to develop a better system of governance than the one we possess today.

Source: Governance & Public Security (Campbell Public Affairs Institute & the PricewaterhouseCoopers Endowment for the Business of Government, 2002)

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PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION THRIVES IN BEANTOWN

The PA Section stormed the back bay of Boston for another in our series of annual colloquies on politics, governance, and public administration. Section Organizer Lloyd Nigro of Georgia State University put together a blockbuster set of 64 conference papers that were presented at 16 lively panels. Hugh Heclo of George Mason University received the John Gaus Award. His stirring Gaus Lecture, "The Spirit of Public Administration," will be reprinted in the December issue of PS. Gregory Huber of Yale University deservedly received the Leonard White Award for his dissertation, "Interests and Influence: Explaining Patterns of Enforcement in Government Regulation of Occupational Safety." Demonstrating once again that we can, in fact, run with the big dogs, PA Section member Daniel Carpenter of Harvard University received the Gladys M. Kammerer Award, honoring "the best publication of 2001 in the area of national policy" for his seminal book The Forging of Bureaucratic Autonomy (Princeton University Press). Thanks to Lloyd and congratulations to one and all.

With the closing of the 2002 APSA Annual Meetings, the PA Section leadership torch was passed from Gregory Lewis of Georgia State University to Charles Wise of Indiana University. Thanks to Greg for his outstanding stewardship of the section over the past year. The following team is poised to lead the section into its bright future:

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ANNOUNCEMENTS OF UPCOMING EVENTS AND MATTERS OF INTEREST

• The Volcker Endowment is accepting applications and research proposals for its first round of research grant awards. The Endowment was established to honor Paul Volcker, former Chair of the Federal Reserve Board, by promoting and supporting the work of junior scholars in researching and theorizing about public administration issues affecting governance in the U.S. and abroad. Eligibility is limited to post-prospectus dissertation writers and assistant professors that are card-carrying members of APSA. For more details about the Volcker Grants and how to apply for them, visit http://www2.h-net.msu.edu/~pubadmin/#grant .

  Deadline for Proposals for Volcker Endowment Grants Extended to February 28, 2003!

  
  

• Our Section Chair has issued a call for nominations for the 2003 John Gaus Award. The Gaus Award was established in 1986 by APSA to honor the recipient's lifetime of exemplary scholarship in the joint tradition of political science and public administration and, more generally, to recognize achievement and encourage scholarship in public administration. The award carries an honorarium of $1,500. Nominations are sought by February 15, 2003. Forward the name of the nominee and a statement of reasons for the nomination to: Charles Wise, Chair, John Gaus Award Committee, Indiana University, 1315 E. 10th Street, Bloomington, IN 47405, or wise@indiana.edu

• Guy B. Adams, Professor and Associate Director of the Harry S Truman School of Public
  Affairs, University of Missouri-Columbia, has won the 2002 Best Book Award from the Social Issues in Management Division of the Academy of Management, for his book (co-authored with Danny L. Balfour), "Unmasking Administrative Evil" (Sage Publications, 1998). The award is limited to books that have been in print for at least two years, and was presented at the Academy of Management national conference in Denver. This is the third national book award for "Unmasking Administrative Evil;" the two previous awards were the 1998 Louis Brownlow Award from the National Academy of Public Administration and the 1998 Best Book Award from the Public and Nonprofit Division of the Academy of Management. Way to go Guy…keep 'em coming!

• The American Society for Public Administration announces its 64th National Conference, March 15-18, 2003, in our nation's capitol. For additional information and to apply, surf to http://www.aspanet.org/2003conf/register/2003confregform.pdf

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SUBSCRIBE/UNSUBSCRIBE AND CONTACT INFORMATION

This newsletter is being provided as a service to members of the Public Administration Section of the American Political Science Association. The editor is solely responsible for its content. Please send notices, suggestions, and corrections to newsletter editor Patrick Wolf at wolfp@georgetown.edu

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