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Gestión y política pública

versão impressa ISSN 1405-1079

Gest. polít. pública vol.14 no.2 Ciudad de México Jul./Dez. 2005

 

Gestión y Política Pública

La política del desarrollo administrativo en Estados Unidos

The Politics of Administrative Development in the United States

John M. Ackerman1 

1John M. Ackerman es doctor en Sociología Política y profesor-investigador y coordinador del Programa de Inves tigación sobre la Legalidad, el Estado de Derecho y la Rendición de Cuentas, Flacso-México, Carretera al Ajusco 377, Col. Héroes de Padierna, 14200, México, D.F. Tel. 3000-0263, fax 3000-0284, correo electrónico: johnack@flacso.edu.mx.


RESUMEN

Una corriente dominante de pensamiento acerca de la reforma administrativa en México y América Latina recomienda despolitizar la burocracia, reducir el conflicto interinstitucional y aislar a la administración de la sociedad. Sin embargo, la experiencia histórica del desarrollo del estado administrativo en Estados Unidos ofrece lecciones muy distintas. El caso estadounidense revela que la construcción de un aparato administrativo fuerte es un esfuerzo esencialmente político que surge del conflicto interinstitucional y de una intensa interacción entre estado y sociedad. A México y a América Latina les convendría prestar más atención a la experiencia histórica real de Estados Unidos y menos a los profesionales del desarrollo que ofrecen soluciones rápidas y recetas fáciles basadas en una representa ción idealizada del caso estadounidense.

Palabras clave: reforma administrativa; desarrollo institucional; rendición de cuentas; Estados Unidos; sociedad civil

ABSTRACT

A dominant current of thought with regard to administrative reform in Mexico and Latin America recommends the de-politicization of bureaucracy, the reduction of inter-institutional conflict and the isolation of administration from society. Nevertheless, the historical experience of the development of the administrative state in the United States holds very different lessons. The U.S. case reveals that the construction of a strong administrative apparatus is an essentially political endeavor that arises out of inter-institutional conflict and an intense engagement between state and society. Mexico and Latin America would be well advised to pay more attention to the real historical experience of the U.S. and less to development professionals who offer quick solutions and facile recipes based in an idealized representation of the U.S. case.

Keywords: administrative reform; institutional development; accountability; United States; civil society

Full text available only in PDF format.

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*Agradezco a Daniel Wirls, Michael Brown, Bruce Ackerman, Irma Eréndira Sandoval y a los dos dictaminadores anónimos de Gestión y Política Pública por su apoyo y críticas constructivas a versiones previas de este artículo.

2Traducción del inglés de Susana Moreno Parada.

Recibido: 27 de Mayo de 2004; Aprobado: 15 de Marzo de 2005

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