Representative Bureaucracy in Action

'This volume confronts one of the most central issues in the study and practice of bureaucracy. Questions about representativeness of public institutions raises key issues about legitimacy, especially in contexts characterised by ethnic diversity and cleavages. Debates are shaped by normatively informed positions that contrasts those in favour of representativeness with those who point to limitations and side-effects. This volume offers a set of important contributions to these debates by linking the long-standing debates about representative bureaucracy with an impressive range of country studies. This volume is a fundamental contribution to the theme of representative bureaucracy.'
- Martin Lodge, London School of Economics, UK

Taking a comparative and analytical perspective, the authoritatively, yet accessibly written, country chapters show how salient the politics of representativeness have become in increasingly diverse societies. At the same time, they illustrate the wide variety of practice based on different political systems, administrative structures, and cultural settings.