Quintet: Introduction to Post-Traditional Theory

Abstract

Permeating the running of a democracy are five faintly recognized and imperfectly understood features of governance—a quintet of alternative macro features that characterize the traditional and post-traditional visions. They can be called governance who, how, what, where, and why. They can be illustrated by discussing, respectively, alternative visions of the human (governance who), alternative visions of institutions (governance how), alternative visions of norms (governance what), alternative visions of symbols (governance where), and alternative visions of understandings (governance why). This essay introduces post-traditional public administration theory and this symposium by discussing this quintet of features.