The global context of our globalizing world

Abstract

This article was given as a speech at the opening of the 27th International Congress of Administrative Sciences which was held in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, in July 2007. It focuses mainly on globalization as an American phenomenon and on American public administration. While the author did a significant amount of research for it, it is not a typical scientific paper. Rather, it was intended as a cri de coeur with wide-ranging and at times sweeping generalizations. As such, it may, on the one hand, be received by many readers with enthusiasm, and on the other hand, some scholars may criticize it for its claims. The author hopes that as a motivational speech, this article will cause both its supporters and detractors to engage in further research, making sure that the discipline and profession of public administration will be protected from the negative inroads of globalization and energized by the latter's positive contributions. Introduction: our globalizing worldGlobalization has become a household word. It reflects an interdependent state of the world (Clinton, 2007: 3) and points to how events, issues, and challenges in one part of the globe affect other parts. While globalization means different things to different people, the debate between its advocates and detractors continues to be emotionally charged, intellectually vigorous, and pragmatically painful. The phenomenon of globalization is not new. What is new is its all-embracing and far-reaching intensity. While it is constantly propelled by unprecedented technological advances, energized by global competitiveness, and driven by Western teaching and 'best practices', it continues to be marked by the great potential as well as the threatening fragility of a 'brave new world'. With modern globalization, powerful print and audiovisual media instantly bring into our living rooms, our cars, our cell phones, and now our blackberries, new unfolding dramas of our global village. In this globalizing world,

Public Values, Public Official Associations, and Professionalism: A Cross-National Analysis

“…(p. 147) It is the "brave new world" of values that may or may not be shared that makes the processes of globalization and international governance so threatening to societies and individuals. Jabbra (2008) continues by noting that the advocates of globalization failed to understand the radical character of proposed changes to governance processes and institutions:…”

“…Globalization has often been seen as promoting or requiring adherence to a particular set of values associated with highly developed market economies and democratic political systems. As Joseph Jabbra (2008) has observed, while it [globalization] is constantly propelled by unprecedented technological advances, energized by global competitiveness, and driven by Western teaching and "best practices," it continues to be marked by the great potential as well as the threatening fragility of a "brave new world." (p. 147) It is the "brave new world" of values that may or may not be shared that makes the processes of globalization and international governance so threatening to societies and individuals.…”

“…(p. 147) It is the "brave new world" of values that may or may not be shared that makes the processes of globalization and international governance so threatening to societies and individuals. Jabbra (2008) continues by noting that the advocates of globalization failed to understand the radical character of proposed changes to governance processes and institutions: Once more, heavy emphasis was placed on objective and not subjective criteria of responsibility and accountability with a blind faith in structures, processes, and procedures, but with serious negligence of the role of moral, ethical, and subjective elements in the professional life of civil servants. (p. 149) Taken together, the profound changes of the past 30-odd years have led to what Beck Jorgensen (1999) has called a time of "in-betweenness" that provides little certainty.…”