Managing the Public Service in the Democratic Developmental State in Developing Countries: The Role of the Public Administrator

The limited success of neoliberal reforms in developing countries have led to the call for these countries to embark upon a developmental state agenda. A number of these countries have responded to the call for establishing... [ view full abstract ]

The limited success of neoliberal reforms in developing countries have led to the call for these countries to embark upon a developmental state agenda. A number of these countries have responded to the call for establishing democratic developmental states. Such states need developmental public services that are different from those that existed prior and after the introduction of neoliberal reforms in the early 1980s, and the need for a developmental public service has become clear. However, the role of the public administrator in this developmental public service has remained neglected. This paper intends to provide a normative discussion of the new role of the public administrator under the changes circumstances.
The state must be effective in dealing with a number of intractable public issues. The state is no longer in the dominant position of a monopolistic service deliverer. At the same time, the idea of marketization or entrepreneurial government has not worked as a better alternative. The failure of these approaches has led to the emergence of the governance idea, broadly defined to include a mixture of state, market, and citizens in the policy making and service delivery process or in some cases, what some scholars have described as mixed delivery models.
Since the results of reforms and adjustments in the structures and processes remain below expectations, it is necessary to concentrate on the human element. There is a need for drastic changes in the role of the public administrator as the custodian of public service delivery to emphasize new trends in the governance process. The success of this effort will place the public administrator in a key position in the governance process and allow them to reinvent themselves in order to meet the exigencies of the day. The proposed paper proposes and analyzes the role of the reinvented public administrator in the democratic developmental state.
We argue that the reinvented public administrator in the democratic developmental state must exhibit the following characteristics: civic actor; storyteller; commissioner; broker; entrepreneur; networker; navigator; resource weaver; and system architect. They will perform a range of tasks that cut across traditional boundaries and break the stereotype of administrators. They will contribute to building the system by applying the various skill sets to communicate, advocate, and network to construct agencies that will be flexible, responsive, and capable of negotiating change.
The paper will review models and characteristics of bureaucracies and public administrators found in the existing literature. Features of the development state will be analyzed to develop a list of skills required by administrators to achieve relevant objectives. The ultimate objective will be to construct a picture of the bureaucracy and public administrator in the democratic developmental state. Examples from the developing world will help determine the needs of countries and skills required to administer and deliver services. This will contribute to a better understanding of the problems and issues in developing countries and add to the existing knowledge on development and public administration.