Ambiguities in Public Administration's Disciplinary Standing: the Implications of the Australian Case for Transdisciplinarity

A distinction needs to be drawn between public administration as a discipline and as a field of inquiry. An historical debate about public administration addressed whether it was a discipline or a cluster of fields. Both... [ view full abstract ]

A distinction needs to be drawn between public administration as a discipline and as a field of inquiry. An historical debate about public administration addressed whether it was a discipline or a cluster of fields. Both positions turned out to be right in the Australian case in that there has continued to be a distinctive field and those who publish on the subject come from diverse backgrounds reflecting the transdisciplinary origins of public administration. This is not necessarily the case internationally (Europe and the United States) where public administration has higher disciplinary prominence. In Australia’s case it became a field less by professional identification and more by the subject matter, where specialists from public policy, political science, public governance, economics, management and other areas engage using broader theoretical and analytical frameworks.
The paper raises the questions about the identity of public administration and examines whether transdisciplinary research is occurring in public administration. It draws on a recent survey of the Australian literature in this field.