Theories and Methods of Comparative Studies on Western Bureaucracies

Rong TAN, Zhengyi MA

Abstract


When conducting comparative studies on western bureaucracies, the first and foremost task for researchers to undertake is to seek a suitable researching paradigm, laying out the perspective as well as the starting point. Then, with researching approaches of institutionalism and structural functionalism, researchers should figure out the organizational structures and power relations of bureaucratic systems in those countries under study. Next, an exploration into the historical contexts in which these bureaucratic systems evolve is also of great significance, since this investigation will offer us valuable insights into the political cultures of these countries and the impacts brought by political cultures on the development of western bureaucracies. With such a researching frameworks, researchers are able to formulate a new theoretical model when conducting comparative studies on western bureaucracies.


Keywords


researching paradigm; institutionalism; structural functionalism; historical cultures; typology

Full Text:

PDF

References


Almond, G. A. (1988). The return to the state. American Political Science Review, 82(3), 853-874.

Almond, G. A., & Bingham Powell, G. Jr. (1978). Comparative politics: System, process, and policy (2nd ed.). Boston: Little, Brown.

Almond, G. A., & Verba, S. (1989). The civic culture: Political attitudes and democracy in five nations. Newbury Park, Calif.: Sage Publications.

Babbie, E. (2004). The practice of social research (10th ed.). Belmont, CA: Thomson/Wadsworth.

Barnes, S. H. (1997). Electoral behavior and comparative politics. In M. I. Lichbach & A. S. Zuckman (Eds.), Comparative politics: rationality, culture, and structure. New York: Cambridge University Press.

Brown, B. E. et al. (1968). A statement by the editors. Comparative politics, 1, 1-2.

Dahl, R. A. (1947). The science of public administration: Three problems. Public Administration Review, 7(1), 1-11.

Deutsch, K. W. (1952). On communications models in the social sciences. Public Opinions Quarterly, 16(3), 356.

Dunning, W. A. (1920). A history of political theories from Rousseau to spencer. New York: Macmillan.

Figgis, J. N. (1907). Studies of political thought from Gerson to Grotius (pp.1414-1625). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Gunnell, J. G. (1988). Words from translators. In X. S. Wang (Trans.), Political theory: Tradition and interpretation. Hangzhou: Zhejiang People’s Publishing House.

Heady, F. (1962). Comparative public administration: Concerns and priorities. In F. Heady & S. L.·Stokes (Eds.), Papers in comparative public administration. Ann Arbor, Michigan: Institute of Public Administration. The University of Michigan.

Heady, F. (2001). Public administration: A comparative perspective. New York: M. Dekker.

Katznelson, I. (1997). Structure and configuration in comparative politics. In M. I. Lichbach & A. S. Zuckman (Eds.), Comparative politics: Rationality, culture, and structure. New York: Cambridge University Press.

Landu, M. (1968). On the use of functional analysis in American political science. Social Research, 35(1), 48-75.

Lichbach, M. I. (1997). Social theory and comparative politics. In M. I. Lichbach & A. S. Zuckman (Eds.), Comparative politics: Rationality, culture, and structure. New York: Cambridge University Press.

Lichbach, M. I., & Zuckman, A. S. (1997). Researching traditions and theory in comparative politics, an introduction. In M. I. Lichbach & A. S. Zuckman (Eds.), Comparative politics: Rationality, culture, and structure, New York: Cambridge University Press.

March, J., & Olsen, J. (1984). The new institutionalism: Organizational factors in political life. American Political Science Review, 78(3), 734-749.

Marsh, D., & Stoker, G. (2006). Theory and methods in political science (Y. J. Jing Trans.). Beijing: Renmin University of China Press.

Maurice, D. (2007). Sociologie de la politique: Éléments de science politique [Sociology of politics: Elements of political science] (Z. G. Yang Trans.). Beijing: The Eastern Publishing House Co., Ltd.

Geertz, C. (1973). Religion as a cultural system. In C. Geertz (Ed.), The interpretation of cultures. New York: Basic Books, Harper Torchbooks.

Mayer, L. C., & Burnett, J. H. (1996). Comparative politics: Nations and theories in a changing world. Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Prentice Hall.

Peters, B. G. (1988). Comparing public bureaucracies: Problems of theory and method. Alabama, Tuscaloosa: The University of Alabama Press.

Pye, L. W., & Verba, S. (1965). Political culture and political development. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.

Riggs, F. W. (2006). The prismatic model: Conceptualizing transitional societies. In E. E. Otenyo & N. S. Lind (Eds.), Comparative public administration: The essential readings. Oxford: Elsevier Ltd.

Ross, M. H. (1997). Culture and identity in comparative political analysis. In M. I. Lichbach & A. S. Zuckman (Eds.), Comparative politics: Rationality, culture, and structure, New York: Cambridge University Press.

Von Beyme, K. (1990). Die politischen theorien der gegenwart [Contemporary political theories] (L. Li Trans.). Beijing: The Commercial Press.

Waldo, D. (1964). Comparative public administration: Prologue, problems, and promise. Chicago: Comparative Administration Group, American Society for Public Administration.

Wang, L. L. (2000). An introduction to political culture. Beijing: Renmin University of China Press.




DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3968/j.css.1923669720141001.3977

Refbacks

  • There are currently no refbacks.


Copyright (c)



Reminder

  • How to do online submission to another Journal?
  • If you have already registered in Journal A, then how can you submit another article to Journal B? It takes two steps to make it happen:

Submission Guidelines for Canadian Social Science

We are currently accepting submissions via email only. The registration and online submission functions have been disabled.

Please send your manuscripts to css@cscanada.net，or css@cscanada.org for consideration. We look forward to receiving your work.

 Articles published in Canadian Social Science are licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 (CC-BY).

 

Canadian Social Science Editorial Office

Address: 1020 Bouvier Street, Suite 400, Quebec City, Quebec, G2K 0K9, Canada.
Telephone: 1-514-558 6138 
Website: Http://www.cscanada.net; Http://www.cscanada.org 
E-mail:caooc@hotmail.com; office@cscanada.net

Copyright © Canadian Academy of Oriental and Occidental Culture