Book Reviews : Administrative Theories and Politics: An Inquiry into the Structure and Processes of Modern Government. By PETER SELF. (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1973. Pp. 308. $10.00.)

• DOI: 10.1177/106591297402700414
• Published date: 01 December 1974
• Author: Paul L. Beckett
• Date: 01 December 1974
• Subject Matter: Articles

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Administrative Theories and Politics: An Inquiry into the Structure and Processes
of Modern Government. By PETER SELF. (Toronto: University of Toronto
Press, 1973. Pp. 308. $10.00.)
This book is divided into two main parts: Part One is labeled &dquo;Administrative
Organisation&dquo;; Part Two is titled &dquo;Administrative Behaviour.&dquo; There is also a
two-page appendix (&dquo;A Short Note on Further Reading&dquo;) and an index.
Each major part consists of four chapters. In Part One these are: &dquo;The De-
velopment of Administrative Theories&dquo;; &dquo;The Organisation of Government&dquo;; &dquo;Ad-
ministrative Competition and Co-ordination&dquo;; and &dquo;Staff and Line in Govern-
ment.&dquo; The chapters in Part Two deal with &dquo;Politicians and Administrators&dquo;;
&dquo;Administrative Advice and Appraisal&dquo;; &dquo;Administrative Motivation and Per-
formance&dquo; ; and &dquo;The Dilemmas of Administration.&dquo;
Peter Self is Professor of Public Administration at the London School of
Economics. The book’s dust jacket also notes that he &dquo;was the first Director of
Administrative Studies at what is now the Civil Service College, and has been an
active member of both voluntary and official bodies concerned with urban and re-
gional planning.&dquo;
Whatever the sources of his wisdom concerning administrative theory and the
realities of administration, he appears to possess a good deal. The stated &dquo;main
aim&dquo; of the book is &dquo;to try to relate theories of the administrative process to the
actual functioning of different government systems, including their political en-
vironments.&dquo; The &dquo;different government systems&dquo; referred to are the British, the
American, and the French. As would be expected of a British scholar, British
references and examples are by some margin the most numerous, but there is evi-
dence of broad familiarity with and understanding of the literature, theories, insti-
tutions, practices, and...