Public Administration Research from a Practitioner Perspective

Recent research has questioned both the rigor and theoretical development of public administration research. The proposed solutions have generally endorsed a more academically oriented research agenda. Authors have discussed practitioner needs, but the focus has been on the appropriateness of different research methods rather than the types of knowledge needed. We seek to contribute to this ongoing debate by comparing the knowledge needs identified by members of the International City/County Management Association (ICMA) with 15 years of research in Public Administration Review . We found much published research matching the needs of ICMA members, but it focused on a relatively narrow range of topics. We recommend incorporating a concern for relevance into efforts to improve public administration research. This will help to ensure that we build a knowledge base that makes a substantial contribution to practice.     

Bureaucratic socialism in reform mode: the changing politics of Cuba’s post-Fidel era

Standard wisdom explains Cuba’s current transformation as one of economic change but political immobility. However, Cuban politics have also undergone a major change since the handing over of power from Fidel to Raúl Castro – even if the rhetoric used has been one of continuity. This article traces this process by looking at four areas: the depersonalisation and re-institutionalisation of the political structures; the diversification of the public sphere, particularly through the use of digital media; the liberalisation of travel and migration, with its transformative impact on state–citizen relations; and the turn to a moderate foreign policy, as highlighted by the rapprochement with the USA, with its implications for legitimising the underpinnings of Cuban socialism. Although the shift has been well below the threshold of a transition to multiparty democracy, Cuba has evolved from the charismatic model of the past to what can be understood as bureaucratic socialism in reform mode.     

Social explanations for job insecurity: Group influences on causal attributions

Job insecurity—a concern about the future existence of the job—is one of those unexpected events which lead to a search for causal explanations. This paper pays attention to the social nature of these attributions. The social character of the causal attribution process investigated here appears from the kind of attributions that employees make and the degree in which causal attributions are influenced by social ideas shared by colleagues and other groups. We research these social explanations for job insecurity on the basis of the results of a survey of job insecurity and causal attributions among 311 employees in the Netherlands.     

Cuba: heading for a new development and political model – an introduction

Cuba, this iconic revolutionary island which has brought so much hope to the Third World and, at one point, worry for a nuclear World War III, is going through a process of change never seen since Fidel Castro led his revolutionary forces to triumph around New Year’s of 1959. Yet, 10 years into the change process, led by the younger Castro Raúl (now 85), nobody can really forecast where the country will end up in socio-economic and political terms. In this TWQ subsection, two economists and three political scientists – two Cubans and three European Cuba watchers – analyse the reforms and their possible outcome.     

The resolution trust corporation in historical perspective

Abstract

This paper contrasts the asset disposition challenges facing the Resolution Trust Corporation (RTC) with similar challenges that faced two earlier government agencies: the Home Owners Loan Corporation (HOLC) and the Federal Asset Disposition Association (FADA).

The paper first compares the quantity and diversity of RTC assets with the somewhat fewer but more uniform assets (one‐ to four‐family homes) sold by the HOLC. The FADA's challenge was quite modest compared with the RTC and the HOLC. The paper then contrasts current RTC policy issues with those that arose with the HOLC and the FADA. The paper does not, however, make specific policy recommendations.     

Cooperation Challenges for the Special Tribunal for Lebanon

While the Agreement between the United Nations and Lebanon providesa solid framework for cooperation between the Special Tribunaland Lebanon, Security Council Resolution 1757 (2007) is silenton the duty of third states to assist the Tribunal. As a result,the Special Tribunal will be confronted with a variety of obstaclesand problems in obtaining their cooperation, which may seriouslyhamper its functioning.     

Public–Private Partnerships in Urban Infrastructures: Reconciling Private Sector Participation and Sustainability

The speed and scale of urbanization provide serious challenges for governments all over the world with regard to the realization, maintenance, and operation of public urban infrastructures. These infrastructures are needed to keep up with living standards and to create conditions for sustainable development. The lack of public funds and the inefficiencies of public service provision have given rise to initiatives to stimulate private parties to invest their resources in public urban infrastructures. However, private sector participation creates a whole range of new challenges. The potential benefits are countered by concerns about the compatibility of the private sector's focus on short-term return on investment with the long-term perspective needed to realize sustainability targets. On the basis of a review of literature on experiences with private sector participation in urban infrastructure projects, this article identifies governance practices that help or hinder the reconciliation of private sector participation in urban infrastructure projects with the objective to increase the sustainability of the urban environment.     

Peasant involvement in the Cuban revolution

Existing explanations of peasant involvement in the Cuban revolution emphasise such social‐psychological factors as the peasants’ purported ‘land hunger’. An alternative explanation focuses on the meshing of a localised landlord/squatter conflict with a state/guerrilla conflict. The case‐study lends further evidence to the contention that explanations relying on social organisational factors, rather than state of mind factors, are better able to account for why people become involved in social movements.