Comparative Public Administration
Is Back In, Prudently
Comparative public administration, in method and in content, has not successfully integrated with
the main field of public administration, to the detriment of both. With globalization and changes
in information technology, the current separation impairs public administration education. This
assessment is based on a literature review and an appraisal of the contributions of comparative
scholarship. Suggestions for future research strategies promote viable, integrative, and relevant
cross-cultural studies. They emphasize (1) the utilization of cooperative teams of researchers instead
of individual efforts; (2) the use of multi-case analysis instead of the traditional single-case
approach; (3) improvement of the definition and verification of cultural influences on administration;
and (4) expansion of middle-range analysis to examine specific administrative practices
across national boundaries as a strategy for enhancing relevance.