Today Weber’s concept of bureaucracy might seem an outdated relic. Certainly, the rational choice, neoliberal, and institutionalist criticisms of bureaucracy helped to inspire various attempts to replace hierarchies with markets or networks. Still, we should not over-emphasize the extent to which the reforms genuinely succeeded in supplanting older bureaucratic structures. For a start, large parts of the public sector remain heavily bureaucratic. In addition, even when we do find a proliferation of markets and networks, these new organizations still operate within a realm constituted in part by the lingering presence of the bureaucratic state. Finally, bureaucracy appears to be as relevant as ever for organizations that must have impartially to process vast numbers of similar, routine cases. We would not want immigration issues, welfare payments, airport security, and the like to depend on the whim of the particular official someone encountered. Hence, even if the state contracts out some of these tasks, the organizations that take them over are likely to appear rather bureaucratic. And there are tasks that we would rather the state did not contract out.