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Book Review: Public Sector Reform: An International Perspective

This book is written by a group of international scholars/practitioners and is firmly rooted in the traditions of comparative public administration. It deals with the diffusion of New Public Management (NPM) 'as a dominant international administrative policy doctrine' (p.66), manifesting as it does the growing interdependence of nations and globalising trends. There has been a reform impetus almost irrespective of the complexion of political regimes. Thus, in the UK the momentum came from the Conservative Right, whereas in Australia it emanated from the Labour Party. However, there is also analysis of differences as well as similarities in public sector reform programmes and there is, therefore, recognition of how those reforms are interpreted, filtered and mediated through national traditions, cultures and institutions. This has not only affected the respective emphasis given to a number of component elements loosely grouped under the NPM umbrella but also the extent of change. Thus, the book includes as another central theme for evaluation the processes of reform and associated change strategies adaptive, cautious and incremental versus discontinuous and transformational/consensual and collaborative versus directive and coercive approaches. The book concludes by examining some dysfunctional consequences of reform and the development of a more critical and questioning attitude towards managerialistimarketisation doctrines and the underpinning economic rationalism. As a consequence, it notes an increasing interest in alternative models for future governance. These are fascinating issues. Even the prefix 'New' in NPM proves to be contentious. Contemporary managerial reform in American federal government for example 'draws on a long line of performance-oriented managerial practices' (p.25). The book is indeed analytically impressive in dealing with the broad themes it sets out to address. Nonetheless, none of these themes are particularly novel, creating a distinct sense of deja vu. Where relatively new ground appears to be visited, notably whether NPM continues to provide a valid frame of reference for the future direction of change, the book ventures forth only briefly and tentatively. The same weakness of brevity and superficiality applies to some of the other