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Splitting the Universe

On the Relevance of Dichotomies for the Study of Public Administration

Leiden University

Traditionally, the politics/administration dichotomy is referred to in the study of public administration as the founding dichotomy. Debates on its tenability are as old as its discovery. In the arguments put forward, however, no attention is paid to the epistemological nature of dichotomies. This article tries to fill this gap. It is usually assumed that dichotomies have a contradictory nature. By looking at the logic of contradictions, and arguments relating to the use of logic in social practice, it is concluded that this is a false assumption. They are to be interpreted as conceptual constructs with an ideal-typical status. This reinterpretation of the nature of dichotomies helps to clarify the debates on the politics/administration dichotomy. It implies, for instance, that rejecting the dichotomy because of its contradictory or unrealistic nature is misguided.

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