The present edition, enriched and revised, of this book was designed to serve the purposes of a fundamental textbook and a critical analysis, as far as possible, of the field of public administration as a scientific subject or academic discipline, as well as the corresponding organization and activity of the country's political-administrative system. The audience it addresses is primarily the students (university students and other scholars) of this branch of social sciences, but also the practitioners and officials of public administration who serve by performing their duties and responsibilities in various public services and organizations. It may ultimately concern the politicians or elected representatives of the people who undertake and exercise the primary responsibility of governing the state and its administrative services, as well as the interested public of civil society that receives the results of its actions. The systematic analysis and study of public administration as a process and network of institutions and bodies of the country's political-administrative mechanism, as well as a scientific discipline, is naturally influenced by public law and political science, as well as other related branches of social sciences. However, it continues to seek the formation of its own (relative) independence and autonomy. The ultimate aim and expectation is that through the thorough analysis and study of public administration from various perspectives, including the present one, information is generated and corresponding knowledge and familiarity with its problems and characteristic features are created. Perhaps this also promotes the possibility of critical examination and improvement. Knowledge 'of' administration ultimately turns into knowledge 'in' administration, and this is linked to its functioning and better service to the public. Public administration as a branch of administrative science has, accordingly, a descriptive, interpretative, and normative character. It attempts to describe and capture the corresponding phenomena and processes, to interpret their actual functioning, especially when it deviates from the formal prediction, and to promote their improvement, that is, their change to a better stage by removing problematic elements or dimensions from their functioning and overall behavior. If this ultimately belongs to the realm of political decisions, the responsibility and possible contribution of analyses and proposals from the administration's staff and analysts may not be small. So that they don't say that the 'mistake' is separated from 'administration' and 'bureaucracy' by only one syllable. [Excerpt from the preface text]
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