This article explores three theoretical and methodological problems in the comparative study of public administration: (1) the relations of parts of the administrative system, usually the focus of inquiry, to the administrative system as a whole, usually the object of theoretical inference; (2) the connection between universals of organization theory and variabilities in the environment of organizations and administrative systems; and (3) the link between distinctive levels of analytic focus-structures, actions, and actors. These broad theoretical and methodological problems anchor a more specific analysis of (1) links between bureaucracies, bureaucrats, and politics; (2) the ideas of centralization, planning, and coordination; and (3) the notions of bargaining, mediation, and sub governments.
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