Recent years have seen a step-change in the severity and nature of threats to United States democracy, including extensive efforts by elected officials to undercut democratic governance. When elected officials undermine democracy, this constitutes “deformation of democracy.” As implementors and agents of policy, public administrators can sometimes play essential roles as bulwarks against democratic deformation. However, among public administrators there is historically a strong ethos emphasizing neutral competence and subordination to political authority, in some cases reinforced by law. How should public administrators respond when confronted by deformation and, at the same time, constrained by tradition and law? We selectively review strands of public administration theory, focusing on theory especially relevant to the United States governmental system, to construct and assess a catalog of responses that public administrators can take under democratic deformation. We conclude by offering a set of recommendations focused on institutionalized collective action by public administrators.

中文翻译：

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美国民主的变形：官僚的“中立能力”何时上升为共谋？


近年来，美国民主所面临的威胁的严重性和性质发生了巨大变化，包括民选官员大力削弱民主治理。当民选官员破坏民主时，这就构成了“民主的变形”。作为政策的实施者和代理人，公共管理者有时可以发挥重要作用，作为防止民主变形的堡垒。然而，公共行政人员历来有一种强烈的精神，强调中立能力和服从政治权威，在某些情况下还得到法律的强化。当公共管理者面临变形，同时又受到传统和法律的约束时，应该如何应对？我们有选择地回顾公共行政理论，重点关注与美国政府体系特别相关的理论，以构建和评估公共行政人员在民主变形下可以采取的应对措施目录。最后，我们提出了一系列针对公共管理者制度化集体行动的建议。