The case for public administration with a global perspective

Abstract

Globalization has been challenging the theory and practice of Public Administration at an unprecedented level. Major policy issues cross national boundaries cannot be solved without international collaboration - even domestic issues will be better understood and addressed with a global perspective. To advance Public Administration theory building, we need to examine issues across national and ethnodemographic divisions in order to better understand and explain context-specific phenomena. To ensure Public Administration's relevance to practice, we must reach out to the global public administration community in academic exchanges, global innovation and diffusion of best practices, and collaborative education. In the Minnowbrook spirit, we advocate moving toward "Public Administration with a Global Perspective" (PAGP) to render our teaching, research, and engagement more relevant to the changing reality of globalization. PAGP emphasizes serving a global community by building theories that offer greater explanatory power, have higher acceptability, and are more responsive to the demands in diverse and specific contexts. © The Author 2011.