Toward a Constitutional School for American Public Administration

摘要

A central tenet of The Federalist is that good government depends on good administration. Two hundred and twenty-three years have passed since Publius began writing this extraordinary text. As American democratic institutions have grown larger and more complex than what the founders ever imagined, many of the ideas expressed in The Federalist remain as relevant today as when James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, and John Jay first advanced them in 1787. Stephanie Newbold of American University argues for public administration to move toward a constitutional school that would intricately connect the U.S Constitution with all aspects of American public administration theory and practice. While the author readily acknowledges this new school's apparent defects, its most important contribution recognizes that the American Constitution matters, and indeed should serve as a lodestar for our entire field.