Study Questions on Bureaucracy

  1. What is the main point of each author's article?
  2. To what research tradition does each author's theory belong?
  3. What are the assumptions of each theory?
  4. What is the unit of analysis?
  5. What is the phenomenon that each author is trying to explain?
  6. Is bureaucracy the independent or dependent variable?
  7. Why do bureaucracies exist?
  8. What evidence does each author use?
  9. What are the characteristics of a bureaucracy?
  10. What are the strengths of each theory?
  11. What are the weaknesses of each theory?
  12. What are the causal mechanisms?
  13. How is each theory progressive or not?
  14. How would one test which theory is right?
  15. What are the normative implications of each theory; that is, what does this mean for American democracy?

Things to look for/keep in mind for future/past readings:

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