POSTMODERNISM, PUBLIC-ADMINISTRATION, AND POLITICAL ASSOCIATION - SOME REFLECTIONS ON FOX AND MILLER

This paper examines Charles Fox and Hugh Miller's Postmodern Public Ad ministration. I argue here that Fox and Miller's argument for a public administration suitable for the postmodern era is surprisingly conven tional in that, like orthodox public administration, it assumes a purp osive View of political association. This paper argues further that su ch a view of political association may be problematic given the fragme nted nature of postmodern political culture, which Fox and Miller iden tify, and that an alternative view of the state as a civil association may be more helpful. This being the case, I conclude that both writer s and practitioners in public administration might pay more attention to American constitutionalism as an expression of the view of the stat e as a civil association.