Bureaucratic, or Governmental, Politics

Policy as "Resultant"


The Players

Elected Political Leaders (PL)

  • President
  • Congressional Influentials: HIRC, SFRC, etc.

Organizational Leaders (Secretaries)

PL staffers (chiefs of staff, special asst.'s)

Career Bureaucrats

  • Civil Service grades
  • Foreign Service Officers
  • Military officers

Extra-Governmental Players

  • Media
  • Parties
  • Political Significants (e.g.,firms, unions)

Competition Among Players

Sources of Power

  1. Bargaining advantages,
  2. skill and will in using them;
  3. others perceptions of first 2

Sources of Interests

  • Where you stand (on an issue) is where you sit (organizational role)
  • Personal agendas (ideologies, beliefs)
  • Future power

Action Channel: regularized means of taking action on an issue

  • Influence in the action channel can matter more than formal authority
  • Delay and acceleration of an issue or action is possible if one is in the action channel
  • Getting into the action channel is major objective for players