7 Bureaucracy and Political Power
Introduction
Bureaucracies are important institutions in all political systems. Public
officials cannot be thought of as merely the neutral implementers of the
political decisions of others. In the Third World the bureaucracy has come
to be regarded in some circumstances as the most powerful political institu-
tion. We have already touched upon ways in which the bureaucracy is so
regarded. Theories of the post-colonial state have employed the concept of
a bureaucratic oligarchy, clearly implying that government is in the hands of
the paid officials of the state.
Some indication of the significance of bureaucracy in developing coun-
tries is gained from the scale of public employment. State employment
accounts for a higher percentage of the non-agricultural labour force than in
developed countries. During the 1970s and 1980s the growth rate of public
employment was higher in developing countries (Rowat, 1990). Part of the
explanation for the growth in the size of public bureaucracies in developing
countries lies in the demands that have been made on governments to stim-
ulate development by providing a social and economic infrastructure and
engaging directly in production. After independence, state bureaucracies
were seen as promoters of social and economic change through planned
development programmes (Jain, 1992, p. 15). Even when the ideology has
been predominantly capitalist and free-market, the state has intervened to
support private capital. In the NICs of South East Asia and Latin America,
the state and the bureaucracy have been highly interventionist.
Controlling the bureaucracy is one of the main challenges facing demo-
cratic political leaders. The pre-eminence of senior public officials in Third
World government presents reformist politicians with one of the greatest
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