The past two decades have been marked by a period of substantial and often fundamental change in public administration. Critically reflecting on the utility of scholarly theory and the extent to which government practices inform the development of this theory, the Handbook of Public Administration was a landmark publication that served as an essential guide for both the practice of public administration today and its ongoing development as an academic discipline.

The Public Administration Theory Primer explores how the science and art of public administration is definable, describable, replicable, and cumulative.