JPART Virtual Issue on Citizen-State Interactions in Public Administration Research

Abstract

In this virtual issue, we bring together a collection of research articles that—although not usually grouped together—all illustrate the importance of citizen-state interactions. Specifically, we include articles that directly incorporate citizens’ perceptions, attitudes, experiences of, or behavior related to public administration. About 10% of all JPART articles over the life of the journal so far (1991–2015) met our inclusion criteria. Of those articles, we selected seven for this virtual issue on the basis that they have offered important insights into citizen-state interaction at different stages of the policy cycle. We argue that public administration scholarship should focus much more on the role of citizens and citizen-state interactions at all stages of the policy cycle. This research should focus both on the different forms of interaction citizens have with administrators, and the outcomes of these interactions, for bureaucracy and for citizens themselves.

Overcoming resistance to resistance in public administration: Resistance strategies of marginalized publics in citizen‐state interactions

“…In the present case, without a direct engagement with the Khawaja Sira community, it would not have been possible to document the multiple indiscretions of the police officers in their interactions with the Khawaja Sira. Hence, this research further reinforces the argument put forth by previous researchers (Catlaw, ; Farmer, ; Jakobsen et al, ) about need to bring in additional citizens' perspectives in PA research.…”

“…He argues, normatively, that “[g]overning must be good for those who have been reduced to nothing and … stripped of all symbolic belonging” (p. 194) in contemporary societies. Other researchers have also called for an increased focus on studying citizen experiences of their interactions with PA practitioners to understand the impact of policy implementation on their everyday life (Jakobsen, James, Moynihan, & Nabatchi, ; Nisar, ).…”

Implementation of Digital‐Era Governance: The Case of Open Data in U.S. Cities

“…Open data thus allows outsiders to directly interface with state systems, bypassing public sector employees who previously acted as gatekeepers, and to draw their own meaning, conclusions, and stories from the data. This effectively erodes administrative discretion with respect to issue framing and messaging and thus changes the nature of governmentpublic interaction (Jakobsen et al 2016;Nabatchi 2012;Piotrowski, Grimmelikhuijsen, and Deat 2019).…”

Citizen-Centric Strategies During Crisis Outbreak: An Overview

“…There is no doubt that these responses influence public sentiment or attitudes regarding local governments and elected officials (Avery et al, 2016). As Jakobsen et al (2016) stated that beyond paying taxes and voting, citizens play several vital roles in public administration. Citizens take part in the design, production, and delivery of the public services they receive.…”