Woodrow Wilson’s Theory’s Implications in a Cambodian Context: A Review of “The Study of Administration”

Abstract

The issue of the politics-administration dichotomy is one of the great issues in the field of public administration which has a very long history, and it has been one of the most complicated points in the field.  At the centre of public administration is the relationship between administrators on one side, and politicians and the public on the other side.  That relationship’s nature and the proper role of political leaders and administrators in the administrative and political process have been the subject of considerable debate.  This article is a documentary-based paper conducted to express the general concept and analysis of Mr. Woodrow Wilson’s theory on his written work “The Study of Administration” (1887), which mainly focuses on the politics and administration dichotomy, the bureaucracy (top-down management), and its general implication.  Moreover, there is a discussion and review of the relationship between politics and administration from various thoughts and theorists including analysis and opinion related to the use of those concepts in real society especially in Cambodia.