<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><p>This article explores how French sociologist Pierre Bourdieu’s theory of fields, by encouraging a critical analysis of what the state does and produces, can bring a new perspective to studying the history of public administration. To do so, it explains how the theory can be used to perform historical analysis of public administration, and examine the case of the introduction of the merit system in the Canadian federal public administration to illustrate its perspective. The article concludes that the interplay among the theory’s core concepts – capital, field, and habitus – offers a reconceptualization of the study of administrative history that integrates historical, social, and political elements.</p></abstract>

This article explores how French sociologist Pierre Bourdieu’s theory of fields, by encouraging a critical analysis of what the state does and produces, can bring a new perspective to studying the history of public administration. To do so, it explains how the theory can be used to perform historical analysis of public administration, and examine the case of the introduction of the merit system in the Canadian federal public administration to illustrate its perspective. The article concludes that the interplay among the theory’s core concepts – capital, field, and habitus – offers a reconceptualization of the study of administrative history that integrates historical, social, and political elements.

Administrative History and the Theory of Fields: Towards a Social and Political History of Public Administration

Administory

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 Public License.

This article explores how French sociologist Pierre Bourdieu’s theory of fields, by encouraging a critical analysis of what the state does and produces, can...

Administrative History and the Theory of Fields: Towards a Social and Political History of Public Administration

Published Online: Aug 08, 2018

Page range: 124 - 137

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/ADHI-2018-0007

© 2016 Caroline Dufour, Published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 Public License.