KEY CONCEPTS

Consociational State
Political scientists define a Consociational State as a State which has major internal divisions
along ethnic, religious or linguistic lines, yet nonetheless manages to remain remarkably stable
due to consultation between the elites of each of its major social groups
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Consociational-state.
Public Interest Litigation
It means litigation filed in a Court of Law, for the protection of ‘public interest’. It is not defined
in any Statute or Act. It has been interpreted by judges to consider the intent of public at large.
Prior to 1980s an aggrieved party could not knock at the doors of justice personally. The efforts
of Justice P.N. Bhagwati and Justice V.R. Krishna Iyer were instrumental in this juridical
revolution. As a result, any citizen, consumer group or social action forum can approach the apex
court of the country seeking legal remedies for their grievances.

Bureaucracy
InWith the opening up of the economy as well as the growing accent on privatisation and
rightsizing, there have been attempts to reduce the size of bureaucracy. Also, there have been
persistent demands for a responsive, accountable and efficient administration. The bureaucracy
technically has been an efficient form of organisation but is seen to have exceeded its
administrative powers due to its tendency towards self-aggrandisement, permanence in
employment, and nearness to the political executive. The administration, which comprises the
permanent and political executive, has taken up wider responsibilities with the emergence of the
Welfare State; the interests of the citizens are now being accorded priority. The self-seeking
bureaucrat is being replaced by the utility maximiser, and the traditional Weberian concept of
hierarchic and rule-bound bureaucracy has come in for intense criticism from all sides. The
present context of bureaucracy is also analysed with regard to its role of delegated legislation and
administrative adjudication.
One perspective views bureaucracy as a generic organisational form.
One perspective views bureaucracy as a generic organisational form. Defined in the Weberian
sense, bureaucracy is both public and private. The Bureaucratic Pathology School also makes no
distinction between public and private. It believes that bureaucracy stands as the enemy of
egalitarian passions and is ridden with pathologies or ills. The second perspective views
bureaucracy as public administrative agency. The bureaucracy tends to dissolve into ‘bureaus’
that interact with one another and with other actors. From a third perspective, the bureaucrats are
the personnel who constitute permanent government (Rockman, 1992). In the views of Max
Weber to whom we owe the bureaucratic theory, there are three types of legitimation, each
corresponding to a particular type of domination namely:
Charismatic, Traditional and Legal. His bureaucratic structure could be called the ideal type
based on legal-rational authority system. Weber laid emphasis on division of work, rules and
regulations, hierarchy, distinction between private and official, written documents and legal
authority systems in his description of bureaucratic organisation.
Major characteristics of bureaucracy, in line with Weber’s definition are:
Hierarchy:
In a bureaucracy, activities based on specialisation are assigned to specific positions. There is a
clear-cut division of work, competence, authority, responsibility and other job components. Each
lower office is under the control and supervision of the higher office.
Professional Qualities:
All officials possess qualities of merit and are selected on objective criteria. They deal in an
impersonal and formalistic manner in their relations with others and also in execution of their
official duties. They enjoy a permanent career with reasonable opportunities of advancement
with sufficient security of service.
Rules and Procedures: In bureaucracy, decisions are governed by a consistent system of
abstract rules, regulations and procedures, which are written, rational and impersonal. A
bureaucrat’s behaviour is guided by discipline and rules of conduct.
Specialisation: Bureaucratic tasks are divided into functionally distinct spheres, each furnished
with the requisite authority and sanctions. There is a functional specific division of labour.
Organisational Resources: The resources of the organisation are distinct from the bureaucrats
who cannot use them in their individual capacity. Official revenues and private income are
strictly separated.

The Weberian characteristics of bureaucracy have been found to be ‘ideal’ and hence not
strictly implementable. Besides examining the dysfunctionalties of this bureaucratic model,
questions have been raised as to whether ‘bureaucracy’ fits in with the management requirements
of ‘development’. Crisis in the State’s functioning in terms of ‘big bureaucracy’ and its
consequences for the finances, infrastructure and development goals has called upon the need for
reforms. Accent on an efficient and effective delivery of services to the satisfaction of the
citizens’ has provoked a series of reform initiatives variously known as New Public
Administration, New Public Management, Reinventing Government and Good Governance’.
Bureaucracy is a systematic organisation of tasks and individuals into a pattern, which most
effectively achieves the desirable ends of the collective efforts. It is a regulated administrative
system organised on a series of interrelated offices.
The main features of bureaucracy can be identified as under:
i) Specialisation of tasks and division of labour for accomplishment of goals
ii) Consistent system of abstract rules for uniformity and coordination
iii) Principle of hierarchy marking accountability for one’s actions and also subordinates’
actions to a higher-level officer
iv) Impersonal and formal conduct
v) Employment on the basis of technical qualifications and protection against arbitrary
dismissal
vi) Promotions on seniority and merit Bureaucratic organisation will thus be based on the
structural principles of:
• Division of labour
• Hierarchy
• System of Rules;
and • Role Specificity
It is meant to display the behavioural patterns of:
• Rationality
• Impersonality
• Rule Orientation; and
• Neutrality