Clifford Dwight Waldo (September 28, 1913 – October 27, 2000) was an American
political scientist
Political science is the science, scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of politics, political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated c ...
and is perhaps the defining figure in modern
public administration
Public Administration (a form of governance) or Public Policy and Administration (an academic discipline) is the implementation of public policy, administration of government establishment (public governance), management of non-profit establ ...
. Waldo's career was often directed against a scientific/technical portrayal of bureaucracy and government that now suggests the term
public management
Public Administration (a form of governance) or Public Policy and Administration (an academic discipline) is the implementation of public policy, administration of government establishment (public governance), management of non-profit establ ...
as opposed to public administration. Recognized the world over for his contributions to the theory of bureaucratic government, Waldo is only now taking his place as one of the most important political scientists of the last 100 years.
Life and career
Born in rural
DeWitt,
Nebraska
Nebraska () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Kansas to the south; Colorado to the southwe ...
, and trained first in a local Wesleyan college and then a Nebraska normal school as a teacher, Waldo was eventually educated in political theory at the
University of Nebraska
A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, the ...
(MA) and
Yale University
Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wo ...
(PhD) where he was advised by
Francis Coker.
He came to shape much of the future of scholarship in the field of
Public Administration
Public Administration (a form of governance) or Public Policy and Administration (an academic discipline) is the implementation of public policy, administration of government establishment (public governance), management of non-profit establ ...
. His Yale dissertation was reworked after civil service during World War II into a classic work of public administration called ''
The Administrative State
''The Administrative State'' is Dwight Waldo's classic public administration text based on a dissertation written at Yale University. In the book, Waldo argues that democratic states are underpinned by professional and political bureaucracies and ...
'', published in 1948. Waldo challenged mainstream scholars' view of public administration as a value-free, non-partisan social science that promised to make government more efficient and effective. Professor
Camilla Stivers has observed, "Despite public administration's claim to be a science, Waldo declares, it is a political theory
...Political theory looks to error in the world and aims to envision new possibilities. It is critical rather than objective, suggestive rather than conclusive."
["The Significance of The Administrative State"](_blank)
''Public Administration Review'', Jan/Feb. 2008, pp. 53–56. Retrieved on 2008-10-08. In short, "efficiency" itself is a value, and it can run counter to other values, such as democratic participation in governance.
Waldo also is famous for the debate he had with
Herbert A. Simon
Herbert Alexander Simon (June 15, 1916 – February 9, 2001) was an American political scientist, with a Ph.D. in political science, whose work also influenced the fields of computer science, economics, and cognitive psychology. His primary ...
on the nature of
bureaucracy
The term bureaucracy () refers to a body of non-elected governing officials as well as to an administrative policy-making group. Historically, a bureaucracy was a government administration managed by departments staffed with non-elected offi ...
in ''
American Political Science Review
The ''American Political Science Review'' is a quarterly peer-reviewed academic journal covering all areas of political science. It is an official journal of the American Political Science Association and is published on their behalf by Cambridg ...
'' just after World War II. Eventually he taught at the
University of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant u ...
and the
Maxwell School
Maxwell School ( ms, Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Maxwell) is an all-boys secondary school, located north of Kuala Lumpur. The school is believed to be the oldest school in north of Kuala Lumpur as well as one of the oldest in Kuala Lumpur and ...
at
Syracuse University
Syracuse University (informally 'Cuse or SU) is a Private university, private research university in Syracuse, New York. Established in 1870 with roots in the Methodist Episcopal Church, the university has been nonsectarian since 1920. Locate ...
, and
Virginia Tech
Virginia Tech (formally the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University and informally VT, or VPI) is a Public university, public Land-grant college, land-grant research university with its main campus in Blacksburg, Virginia. It also ...
where he influenced many future scholars of government. He had profound influence on a number of young academics in the late 1960s by organizing the Minnowbrook Conference.
Others deeply indebted to Waldo for guidance and sponsorship include
H. George Frederickson and
Gary Wamsley
Gary L. Wamsley is public administration specialist and professor emeritus at Virginia Tech's Center for Public Administration and Policy.
He is perhaps best known as the coordinating editor of Refounding Public Administration, a work that follo ...
.
Selected publications
* ''
The Administrative State
''The Administrative State'' is Dwight Waldo's classic public administration text based on a dissertation written at Yale University. In the book, Waldo argues that democratic states are underpinned by professional and political bureaucracies and ...
: a Study of the Political Theory of American Public Administration'' (New York: Ronald Press Co, 1948; rev ed New York: Holmes & Meier, 1984)
* ''The study of public administration'' (New York : Random House, 1955)
* ''Perspectives on administration'' (University of Alabama Press, 1956)
* ''The novelist on organization & administration; an inquiry into the relationship between two worlds'' (Berkeley:
Institute of Governmental Studies The Institute of Governmental Studies (IGS) is an interdisciplinary organized research unit at UC Berkeley, located in Moses Hall. It was founded in 1919 as the Bureau of Public Administration. IGS and its affiliated centers spearhead and promote r ...
, University of California, 1968) Development A
*Ideas and Issues in Public Administration.(1953)
*Comparative Public Administration – Prologue Problems and Promise
*The Enterprise of Public Administration.
*Temporal Dimensions of Development Administration. (1970) – editor
*Public administration in Time Of Turbulence!(1971) – editor
References
Further reading
* Brian R. Fry: ''Mastering Public Administration: From
Max Weber
Maximilian Karl Emil Weber (; ; 21 April 186414 June 1920) was a German sociologist, historian, jurist and political economist, who is regarded as among the most important theorists of the development of modern Western society. His ideas profo ...
to Dwight Waldo'' (Chatham, N.J.: Chatham House, 1989)
* Brack Brown & Richard J. Stillman, II: ''A Search for Public Administration: The Ideas and Career of Dwight Waldo'' (College Station, Texas: Texas A&M University Press, 1986).
*See also H. George Frederickson and Frank Marini: "Bureaucracy and Democracy: Essays in Honor of Dwight Waldo" and "Modern Comparative Administration: Essays in Honor of Dwight Waldo,"
Public Administration Review
''Public Administration Review'' is a bimonthly peer-reviewed academic journal the field of public administration. It was established in 1940 and has been one of the top-rated journals in the field. It is the official journal of the American Societ ...
(May/June 1997, Vol 57, No 3., and June/July 1997, Vol 57, No 4).
External links
* Stillman, Richard, , ''Public Affairs Report'', Vol. 42, No. 1, Spring 2001, National Academy of Public Administration, Institute of Governmental Studies, UC Berkeley.
* , ''Public Affairs Report'', Vol. 41, No. 5, Winter 2000, National Academy of Public Administration, Institute of Governmental Studies, UC Berkeley.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Waldo, Dwight
1913 births
2000 deaths
People from Saline County, Nebraska
University of Nebraska–Lincoln alumni
American political scientists
Public administration scholars
Yale University alumni
20th-century political scientists