The Sovereign Community and the Future of Public Administration - Essay Example

? Law: The Sovereign Community and the Future of Public Administration Purcell Donna Order# 546020 The issues presented point out a definition of what the sovereign community is and how it relates to the past. How have other countries handled sovereignty regarding their borders and activities within? What is the new concept of governance vs. government and the sovereignty of the international community. Public administration is defined and linked to education and the work of civil servants. History shows where our government began and how this affects where the US is headed in public administration. What are the projections for the present and future in civil service jobs and educational preparedness? Key words: sovereign community, governance, public administration, states The sovereign community is defined by (Montague Bernard, The Neutrality of Great Britain during the American Civil War) “as primarily a definition of a sovereign state. We mean a community of number of persons permanently organized under a sovereign government of their own, and by a sovereign government we mean a government, however constituted, which exercises the power of making and enforcing law within a community, and is not itself subject to any superior government. These two factors, the one positive, the other negative, the exercise of power and the absence of superior control, compose the notion of sovereignty and are essential to it (Henry Maine, International Law).” Political science defines sovereignty as an essential of the state to be self-sufficient within the frame of a certain territory. This allows its supremacy in domestic policy and independence in foreign policy. Sovereignty has frequently been misused over the decades. Until the 19th century, the term was used to determine that certain peoples in the world were “uncivilized” and lacking organized societies. Sovereignty or the lack thereof was used as a term denoting inferior character when compared to “civilized” peoples.“There exists perhaps no conception the meaning of which it was introduced into political science until the present day, has never had a meaning which was universally agreed upon (Lassa Oppenheim).” Sovereignty has taken on many different meanings with the development of self-determination and prohibiting the threat of force against modern international law. The UN Charter, the Declaration of Rights and Duties of States, and the charters of regional international organizations feel that all states are judicially equal and have the same rights and duties based upon the fact of their mere existence as people under international law. The right of any nation to determine their own political status and sovereignty within the boundaries of their territorial jurisdictions is widely recognized. The word nation refers to a people who share common customs, origins and history; however, national and international frequently refer to matters of the sovereign states as in national capital and international law. However, state refers to governing and supportive institutions that have “sovereignty” or control over a defined territory and population. Currently the international community consists of more than 200 sovereign states or countries and the United Nations represents most. The member’s states form a system that takes into account the behavior of the other states in making decisions. Using this point of view, the states participating in the international system face both internal and external security. The concept of the international community has established rules, procedures, and institutions that effect the conduct of their relations. This establishes a foundation for international law, diplomacy, formal regimes and organizations. Public administration is a form of organized rules that implement government policy, and an academic discipline that studies the policies and prepares civil servants for the work. The fundamental goal is to further management and policies so that the government can function. Public administration is also concerned with the organization of government policies, its programs, officials and their behavior. Many non-elected public officials are also considered public administrators including police officers, municipal budget analysts, city managers, census analysts and many others. Public administration includes all public servants working in public departments and agencies at all levels of government. The concept of an international community made up of sovereign states is the basic structural content of what makes up international law. Historical data will shows that a conception of world order has not always been formed by a model of sovereignty with a territorial basis (Christoph Schreuer, 1993). Roman times and the Middle Ages were based on hierarchical, religious and secular concepts of dependence. The empire existed until the early 1800s, and the movement toward sovereign equality was gradual. Classical sources of international law rely on the interaction of states through the use of treaties and customary law. Diplomatic relations are conducted by states in the form of international courts and other international organizations. However, the protection of the individuals’ rights still remains largely through the state representatives. Still the concept of centralized international law rely on sovereignty, territorial integrity, non-intervention, self-defense and power over natural resources being dominated by the state (Christoph Schreuer, 1993). “Every sovereign state is entitled to do, within its dominions, whatever acts it may think necessary to render it prosperous and strong (Henry Maine, International Law).” It is noted that a state may use whatever means it pleases for its own defense; and the state may also adopt whatever system it chooses to promote its own prosperity. This principle is not always affected by the way in which the neighboring countries act. Consider France and Germany and the constructed military fortresses that line the borders of both countries. Each one of these fortresses is available for defense as well as attack, but yet no complaint has ever been made against their construction. Also consider British India and Asiatic Russia, which have constructed a vast system of railways within their own countries. However, neither country has ever voiced a complaint. If international law had not been clear as to the sovereignty of these countries to do whatever they want within their own borders, the result would have induced a variety of complaints as well as war (Henry Maine, International law). “Gati states that Eastern Central Europe will not likely become a geopolitical threat to the US; he nonetheless wishes to create an American cultural mission, if necessary by coercion, to instill human rights and democracy (Paul Gottfried, 1992).” So by international law, the US should look at sovereign states, even the states that have caused no harm to us, to be mere obstacles that advances our universal moral agency. The agenda being “human rights,” through international law. Some countries, however, do not pay us the flattery of imitation. We respond by occupying these countries with American educators and advisors (Paul Gottfried, 1992). The alternative to this action is to be more “immoral” about international relations and allow these states to go their separate way without forcing them to be like the US. How does this affect where the US is headed in public administration? “Frederickson (1999) claims that the decade of the 1990s produced a strong cohort of theories influencing public administration and making it newly self aware, richly empirical, and theoretically robust (Wasim Al-Habil, 05 2011).” Public administration has repositioned itself to handle the newly formed problems associated with disarticulation of the state. The transformation of the American government has brought about two effects. The first is a heavy reliance on non-traditional participants, which have brought new challenges. Second, the basic government structure of the New Deal era has changed. Functional specialization and a controlled process drove government. The US now faces a set of new challenges based on “location” based problems. Consequently, there are new responsibilities but no room for effective management (Wasim Al-Habil, 05 2011).” Understanding where our government began is essential in understanding how government has changed. Times have changed from the days of the writers of the Constitution; it has become much more complex. A new concept of “reinventing government” or the new public management has insured that government is run like a business. However, questions arise as to whether it is a good way or bad way of public administration? So, we therefore, interject a new system into the scenario. “Governance as opposed to government illustrates the changes that have taken place (Wasim Al-Habil, 05 2011). The desire to contract out functions of government to private entities and non-profit organizations to run things more efficiently and better has made government more complex. An example of this would be intermediate sanctions within the correctional system. Contrasting the economic difficulties facing Americas’ higher education as a whole, we see budgets tightening, which may result in a student enrollment decline. However, the discipline of public administration continues to prosper. It is still the general consensus of the multitudes that a “public administration degree promises access to an interesting and reasonably well paid career (Frank Marini, 1971).” Judging by standards of economic demand and survival of the organization, teaching of public administration in the US in recent years has maintained a high success rate. However, has public administration curriculum been successful by a substantive standard? How successful has the educational system been in preparing these students to do the job of a public servant? No measurement of quality exists in the public administration arena. There is no way to distinguish between quality of training of civil servants and the quality of their career performance. It is the consensus of the general American public though, that the quality of government “bureaucrats” in particular is criticized. This is seen moreover in the continuing “tax revolt” (Frank Marini, 1971). Concerns over taxes and growing costs of government leave taxpayers with a feeling that they aren’t really getting their money’s worth. Also, stigma has it that civil servants seldom work as hard as their colleagues do in the private sector. This is justified by the steadily rising Federal pay scale. The fact remains that the public views government bureaucrats as doing more harms than good. The public image of a civil servant is seen as “a meddling, petty tyrant, interfering mindlessly with the everyday activities of his fellow citizens in the name of safety, nondiscrimination, or the furbish lousewort (Frank Marini, 1971).” As a citizen, it becomes hard to avoid sharing these concerns and fears. However, as a student of politics or law one must be wary of the overall diagnoses and solutions presented. There is no obvious reason to assume that the average civil servant is inferior to his private-sector colleagues. Instead it is likely that motivating college-educated people to seek government careers is attributed to a high degree of public service and concern for justice. Movement toward tax reduction and “deregulation” will enhance the security of the individual citizen and his pocketbook, but they will not insure that the government activities are being carried out in a positive sense. “We are reminded by the authors of the Federalist that a considerable measure of the goodness of a government is its conduciveness to good administration (Hamilton, Madison and Jay, 1961). It seems the sovereign community, the new governance and where we are headed in public administration is the true test of a good government. Individual Resources: Marini, Frank; Ostrom, Vincent; Rohr, John A. Democracy, Ethics, and Public Administration: A Review of Some Recent Literature. 1971, 1974, 1978. Web. 12 June 2011. http://mmisi,org/. Maine, Henry. International Law: Lecture III, State Sovereignty. Web. 12 June 2011. http://gistprobono.org/. Schreuer, Christoph. The Waning of the Sovereign State: Towards a New Paradigm for International Law? ( 1993). Web. 12 June 2011. http://ejil.oxfordjournals.org/. Al-Habil, Wasim. Governance and government in public administration. 10 March 2011. Web. 13 June 2011. http://search-results.com/. Gottfried, Paul. The Sovereign State At Bay. (1992). Web. 13 June 2011. http://mises.org/journals/. Public Administration. Web. 12 June 2011. http://en.wikipedia.com/. Sovereignty. Web. 12 June 2011. http://en.wikipedia.com/. Read More