Peters, B. G., Knox, C., Panizza, F., Larraburu, C. R., & Staroňová, K. (Eds.) (2025). Handbook of Politicization and Political Patronage. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar. 626 Seiten, ISBN: 978 1 03532 623 5. (Online First)

Abstract

The Handbook offers a comprehensive overview of politicization and political patronage in public administration worldwide. Moving beyond the traditional focus on Western democracies, it combines conceptual chapters with twenty country case studies and nine regional overviews covering the Americas, Africa, Asia, and the Middle East. The volume provides an excellent synthesis of key concepts and analytical distinctions and demonstrates, how historical and institutional contexts shape distinct forms of politicization and patronage, while showcasing the remarkable diversity of their empirical manifestations across different political systems and cultures. It reveals that politicization of public administration is both widespread and increasing globally, and that it is often necessary and even beneficial for democratic accountability, yet it also has downsides and limits—particularly when it contributes to democratic backsliding. Where precisely these limits lie, and how they can and should be institutionalized, remains an open and pressing question.

Bibliography: Werner Jann (2026). Peters, B. G., Knox, C., Panizza, F., Larraburu, C. R., & Staroňová, K. (Eds.) (2025). Handbook of Politicization and Political Patronage. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar. 626 Seiten, ISBN: 978 1 03532 623 5. (Online First) . dms – der moderne staat – Zeitschrift für Public Policy, Recht und Management, 19(1-2026), 1-4.