Forum: Complexity in Political-Administrative Relations and the Limits of the Dichotomy Concept

Understanding the relationship between politics and administration is critical for the field of public administration. This understanding has been obscured, however, by inappropriate emphasis on dichotomy as a central organizing concept. Although it is typically rejected as a normative and empirical guide, Patrick Overeem has attempted to restore the concept by reducing its scope to the mutual non-interference in the selection of counterpart officials and the exclusion of administrators from resolving political controversies. This is important, but it is one of five elements that shape a model of political-administrative relations along with political neutrality, professionalism, sharing and division of functions, and distinctive means. A model of complementarity better captures the complexity of a relationship that includes both distinction and overlap. The term dichotomy is better reserved for situations in which there is strict separation of roles and limited interaction. Although such conditions are rare, they are approximated in the relationship when services are performed under contract.