Fudan-LSE Lecture Series No.7

THE SPEAKER

Bert Rockman is Professor Emeritus of Political Science from Purdue University. He has been a Professor at the University of Pittsburgh, a Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution, Director of the School of Public Policy and Management at Ohio State University, and Head of the Department of Political Science at Purdue University. Rockman has been co-editor of the journal, Governance. He is a Fellow of the National Academy of Public Administration in the U.S. and has received awards for best paper at the annual meeting of the American Political Science Association, best book on the U.S. Presidency, and was recognized as co-author of one of the most cited articles in the history of the journal, Public Administration Review.

ABSTRACT

Abnormality is usually described as a powerful deviation from the mean tendency. Is the Trump Presidency’s relation to the U.S. federal bureaucracy an abnormal one or merely a reflection of the deepening polarization between the two main parties in the U.S.? What are the manifestations of administration under conditions of a regime that may be regarded as abnormal? And, utilizing Albert Hirschman’s typology of exit, voice, and loyalty, how do civil servants respond? What can we expect in the foreseeable future of the Trump Presidency and its relationship to the institutions of American government, especially its permanent officials?