This encyclopedic reference/text provides an analysis of the basic issues and major aspects of bureaucracy, bureaucratic politics and administrative theory, public policy, and public administration in historical and contemporary perspectives. Examining theoretical, philosophical, and empirical interpretations, as well as the intricate position of bureaucracy in government, politics, national development, international relations, and a host of other institutions, the book focuses on the multifunctional role of public bureaucracies in societies with various socioeconomic, political, cultural, and ideological orientations and covers a wide range of processes and subjects.