Dados is one of the most widely-read social sciences journals in Latin America. Created in 1966, it publishes innovative works, originating from academic research, by Brazilian and foreign authors. Edited by IESP-UERJ, it aims to reconcile scientific rigor and academic excellence with an emphasis on public debate based on the analysis of substantive issues of society and politics.
Dados n. 17 Rio de Janeiro 1978
Abstract
Based on a critical review of the major approaches to bureaucracy and power relations, the authors propose a theoretical model which, applied to open political systems, can incorporate the analysis of bureaucratic organizations into the framework of the relations between the state and civil society. The paper's basic argument concerns the need to reexamine the links between the bureaucracy and the clientele as a crucial element for understanding the workings of public agencies. While the classic theories have concentrated on bureaucratic behavior, measured in terms of efficacy and efficiency, the model proposed here focusses primarily on the problems of maintaining and expanding the power positions of individuals, hierarchies and bureaucratic agencies. Following an analysis of how the characteristics of a closed political system exacerbate certain features of the bureaucratics system's operational dynamics, the authors explore, in terms of a general analytical model, the coexistence of apparently contradictory, but not mutually exclusive, processes in explaining the logic of bureaucratic operation and expansion. On the one hand, there are processes which involve attempts at increasing the autonomy of a given bureaucratic unit faced with out side interference, through the use of predominantly formal mechanisms. On the other hand, there is a tendency to establish interconnections with the clientele by resorting to informal procedures. Both processes, as paramenters of bureaucratic performance, are at the root of the problems of stability and change in the power relations within a restricted circle of the state machine.
Burocracia, Clientela e Relações de Poder: Um Modelo Teórico
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