Short description:

Now in an extensively revised and updated third edition, authors Cropf and Wagner weave the most recent and compelling research throughout every chapter to give students a useful, in-depth understanding of the public administration field today.

Long description:

American Public Administration has been the go-to introductory textbook for Public Administration courses with a focus on civil society for the better part of two decades. Now in an extensively revised and updated third edition, authors Cropf and Wagner weave the most recent and compelling research throughout every chapter to give students a useful, in-depth understanding of the field today. Changes to this edition include:

• Three new chapters, including one on public administration?s role in community resilience, a second on public administration and public health, and a complete rewrite of the chapter on managing information resources in public organizations.


• Extended discussions about the importance of civil society in public administration as well as the growing role of information technology, including the role of government in combating misinformation and disinformation.


• New coverage of topics, including but not limited to: the need for better disaster and pandemic planning at all levels of government; a need for greater preparedness related to global climate change; the worsening of the wealth inequality gap in the United States; America?s changing role in the world?s economy; important efforts to achieve racial, economic, and social equality and the response from government; and the increasing and evolving relationship between police and the community in the United States.


• Fully updated pedagogical tools including chapter summaries, discussion questions, brief case studies, case study discussion questions, key terms, and suggestions for further reading in each chapter, as well as accompanying support material that can be easily incorporated into Learning Management Systems (LMS), including Canvas and Blackboard.

Comprehensive, well-written, and offering a careful consideration of the fundamentals, American Public Administration, Third Edition is an ideal introductory text for courses at undergraduate or graduate level, offering students a broader civil society context in which to understand public service.

"American Public Administration is a useful foundational text to introduce students to public administration in upper-level undergraduate or graduate level courses. This third edition contains many contemporary issues that will appeal to students, such as disaster and pandemic planning, climate change preparedness, and combating misinformation and disinformation."
Nevbahar Ertas, Associate Professor of Political Science and Public Administration at The University of Alabama at Birmingham, USA

Table of Contents:

1 Public Service in the Twenty-First Century; 2 The Growth of Government and Administration; 3 Ethics and Public Administration; 4 The Political Ecology of U.S. Public Administration; 5 Federalism and Public Administration 1 ; 6 Civil Society and Public Administration 1 ; 7 The Organizational Dimensions of Public Administration and Theories of Organization ; 8 Motivation, Decision-Making, and Organizational Culture; 9 The Policy Process; 10 Privatization and Public Administration; 11 Public Budgeting and Finance; 12 Human Resource Administration in Public Organizations; 13 Public Administration?s Role in Environmental Issues and Climate Change; 14 Public Health and the Role of Public Administration 3 ; 15 Afterword: Public Administration Resiliency in Troubled Times