The Transhistorical Tension between Bureaucratic Autonomy and Political Control
| Date | 01 August 2019 |
| Author | Jørgen Møller,David Andersen |
| DOI | 10.1177/1478929918798495 |
| Published date | 01 August 2019 |
| Subject Matter | Review Article |
https://doi.org/10.1177/1478929918798495
Political Studies Review
2019, Vol. 17(3) 284 –295
© The Author(s) 2018
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DOI: 10.1177/1478929918798495
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The Transhistorical
Tension between
Bureaucratic Autonomy and
Political Control
David Andersen and Jørgen Møller
Abstract
Political decision-makers operate under a constant tension between bureaucratic autonomy on
one hand and political control on the other. Extant scholarship rarely analyzes this tension beyond
the context of modern states. However, three recent books show that it has a transhistorical
relevance. Francis Fukuyama’s two volumes on The Origins of Political Order and Political Order and
Political Decay analyze the various ways the tension has been addressed in the period before and
after the French Revolution. In Democracy’s Slaves, Paulin Ismard documents that the tension
was relevant even in the context of the direct democracy of Athens in the Classical period.
Taking these three books as the point of departure, we show how politicians have attempted to
balance autonomy and control in patrimonial, meritocratic, politicized, and neo-patrimonial types
of administration.
Fukuyama F (2012) The Origins of Political Order, vol. 1. London: Profile Books.
Fukuyama F (2014) Political Order and Political Decay, vol. 2. London: Profile Books.
Ismard P (2017) Democracy’s Slaves: A Political History of Ancient Greece. Cambridge, MA: Harvard
University Press.
Keywords
bureaucratic autonomy, political control, historical perspective, Athenian democracy,
administrative types
Accepted: 13 August 2018
Introduction
A large body of research has argued that modern states face a persistent tension between
bureaucratic autonomy and political control. In a nutshell, politicians need to strike some
sort of balance between degrees of autonomy and degrees of control to develop efficient
administrations (Aberbach and Rockman, 1994; Etzioni-Halevy, 1985: Chs. 1–2; Mann,
Department of Political Science, Aarhus Universitet, Aarhus, Denmark
Corresponding author:
David Andersen, Department of Political Science, Aarhus Universitet, Bartholins Allé 7, 8000 Aarhus C, Denmark.
Email: dandersen@ps.au.dk
798495PSW0010.1177/1478929918798495Political Studies ReviewAndersen and Møller
review-article2018
Review Article
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