JOURNAL OF COMPARATIVE POLITICS     88 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
BOOK REVIEW: THE POLITICS OF 
BUREAUCRACY 
 
 
Miro HAČEK
1
 
…………………………………………………………………….……………………………………… 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
The Politics of Bureaucracy, An 
Introduction to Comparative Public 
Administration (Seventh Edition). B. Guy 
Peters. New York and London: Routledge, 
2018. 390 pp.  
 
The conflict between civil servants and politicians has often been described as 
the basic problem of modern authorities (Aberbach, Putnam and Rockman 1981, 
252). For this reason, one must understand and thus research the relationship 
between these two groups of very influential actors in order to understand the 
governing process. Heady (1991, 448) defined the relationship between 
bureaucracy and politics using six configurations, later combined into two basic 
configurations: in one, politicians, in the pursuance of their political aims, 
dominate civil servants who have lost much of their independence and are only 
a tool in their hands. In the other, civil servants have maintained a high degree of 
their independence and power, which they use in the pursuance of their own 
aims as opposed to those of politicians. 
 
One of the key books, analysing the relations between very different and often 
conflicting worlds of politics on the one aside and bureaucracy on the other, is 
for the few past decades the book of Guy B. Peters, a leading authority in the field 
and a Maurice Falk professor of American Government at the University of 
Pittsburgh, USA. In 2018, Routledge published 7
th
 edition of this popular 
textbook, which provides reader with comprehensive and updated discussion of 
challenges and recent developments in the field of public bureaucracy. Guy B. 
Peters is placing modern public administration in its political and intellectual 
                                                 
1 
Miro HAČEK, PhD, Full Professor, University of Ljubljana, Slovenia; Editor-in-Chief, JCP. Contact: 
miro.hacek@fdv.uni-lj.si. 

JOURNAL OF COMPARATIVE POLITICS     89 
 
 
 
context and is analysing its position and roles in skilful and meticulous manner 
with insights into the challenges and opportunities of big contemporary 
government.  
 
The structure of the book remains quite specific and unexpected for the first time 
reader. First four chapters are in essence a mere foundation of next four chapters, 
that could be considered as centrepiece of the book. In the introducing chapters 
Guy B. Peters is analysing and explaining the position of modern public 
administration in the modern government in its environment and its role in the 
public policy processes, the influence of different political cultures on public 
administration, the often neglected and especially in non-consolidated 
democracies very important question of recruiting public personnel and last, but 
not least, problems of administrative structure.  
 
Then, in key fours chapter (chapters from five to eight), Guy B. Peters is 
examining the relationship of the politics to the conduct of public administration 
and to the (lack of) policy decision made by administrators. It is sometimes 
appealing to think about public administration as just management of public 
policies, but that would be misleading and short-sighted. Especially important, 
and sometimes sadly neglected, is the story of the relations between the highest 
ranking civil servants and politicians, and the quest to the finding of the answer 
to the question of the boundaries between the worlds of politics and bureaucracy. 
 
The book is without the doubt the essential reading for all academics and 
students who seek to understand the structures and dynamics of the state, 
government and governance in diverse, comparative contexts. The seventh 
edition bring us new coverage of public administration in Latin America and 
Africa, with special emphasis on the impact of New Public Management and 
other, newer ideas of administrative reforms; examination of the European 
Union and its effect of public policy and public administration in member 
countries, as well as exploration of the EU as a particular type of bureaucracy; 
assessment of “internationalisation” of bureaucracy and concerns with the role 
of international pressures on domestic governments and organisation in public 
sector and coverage of the wide-ranging effects of the 2008 global economic 
crisis on public bureaucracies and public policies, and a varied success of 
governmental responses to the crisis.  
 
Drawing on evidence from a wide variety of bureaucratic systems, The Politics of 
Bureaucracy (7
th
 edition) continues to be essential reading for everyone dealing 
with the government, policy analysis, politics and international relations.  
 
  
REFERENCES 
 
Aberbach, D. Joel, Robert D. Putnam, and Bert A. Rockman. 1981. Bureaucrats and 
politicians in Western democracies. Cambridge, MA and London: Harvard University 
Press. 
Heady, Ferrel. 2001. Public administration: A comparative perspective. 6
th
 edition. New 
York and Basel: Marcel Dekker Inc.