India has a lot going on and its bureaucracy, while highly structured, isn’t the easiest thing to understand. Moreover, while most people distrust the system and believe it is rampant with corruption, there is wide disagreement about what exactly its problems and functions are- these have also changed overtime. Some of these disagreements are about the size, the expertise of the individuals, the politicization, civil servant autonomy, and how to motivate employees. I am excited for the discussion in class to see what sides people gravitated toward.
Party Bureaucracy and Political Change in the United States
I really liked this article for a combination of two main reasons. The first of these reasons is that this chapter uses a visual aid in the form of a table labeling the qualities of four different types of bureaucracies that have occurred in the USA. the second reason is that it takes a historical look at governance in the US. This chapter does a good job of progressing through US history chronologically while continuing to reference the table labeling the types of bureaucracies. this really helped me keep track of what regimes in the US were classified as, as well as giving me good examples of the types of Bureaucracies through historical examples from which I already have a decent background understanding of.
US Readings
I really enjoyed the US invents clientelism article as it gave a historical point of view and offered reasons of shifts and change through different presidencies and periods throughout US history. I think it is always advantageous, and in many cases crucial, in political science to have the historical background to understand modern trends. While I felt like I had a strong grasp on US history, looking at it only through the lens of clientelism was really helpful in understanding current bureaucracy and potential corruption in the US today.