236 9: Th eories of Governance
market theory, game theory, and their various off shoots as popular, perhaps even
dominant, intellectual frameworks in political science. Yet public administra-
tion, prompted by the fragmentation of the state, is steadily moving away from
these frameworks and toward theories of cooperation, networking, and institu-
tion building and maintenance. In practice and theory, public administration is
repositioning itself to deal with the enormous challenges of the fragmented state.
Frederickson calls this challenge “the political science of making the fragmented
and disarticulated state work” (1999b, 702).
Th e latter is essentially how Frederickson defi nes “governance”: the lateral
and interinstitutional relations in administration in the context of the decline of
sovereignty, the decreasing importance of jurisdictional borders, and a general
institutional fragmentation. Of these basic elements, the most important to the
practice and theory of public administration is the declining relationship between
political jurisdiction and public management. Frederickson (2007) refers to this
as the “end of geography,” whereby the parameters defi ning bureaucrats and bu-
reaucratic agencies are less clearly defi ned. Th e weakening of this bond “disartic-
ulates” the traditionally centralized link between government and the agents of
public service provision.
In the disarticulated state, borders are less meaningful in political jurisdictions
of all types—special districts, cities, counties, states, and nation-states (Strange
1995). Economic activity and social activity are increasingly multijurisdictional,
a trend encouraged by the development of new technologies, the globalization of
the marketplace, increased residential mobility, and immigration, as well as the
simple fact that societal problems tend to cross jurisdictional boundaries (Fred-
erickson 2007). Someone employed by a company physically headquartered in
Atlanta, Georgia, can consult with clients on both coasts while telecommuting
from home in Lincoln, Nebraska. A suburban crime problem may originate in the
economic conditions of a neighboring city. Polluted water in one country may
be a product of economic activity in another. Th e benefi ts and the problems of
public policy and public management are increasingly harder to confi ne within
the borders of one political jurisdiction because so many relevant policy issues are
multijurisdictional.
Administrative Conjunction
Th is trend presents considerable challenges for the practice and theory of pub-
lic administration. How do you defi ne and understand public management
when political jurisdictions are less relevant? How do you defi ne and under-
stand public management when sovereignty is in considerable doubt? How do
you conceptualize a representative democracy where decisions that aff ect the
represented are not controlled, perhaps not even infl uenced, by those who rep-
resent them? How does public administration, traditionally the agent of govern-
ment that linked the decisions of the representatives to the preferences of the