The Napoleonic tradition

Purpose This paper intends to provide a framework for understanding the concept of administrative tradition, and then applies it to Napoleonic administrative systems. Design/methodology/approach The analysis involves the creation of a number of dimensions that can be used to analyze traditions, and the paper demonstrates the range of application of the dimensions. Findings Provides findings from a number of studies of public administration. Originality/value This framework is applied primarily to industrialized democracies in this paper but can be used across the full range of administrative systems, and is a significant augmentation of existing frameworks for comparative analysis.