This book presents a new model for scholars and practitioners of public adminsitration. It is not prescriptive -- no simple checklist of steps to follow in order to find an answer. It provides, more importantly, a framework to define the right questions to ask and the right linkages to build when dealing with complex issues.

This new model is a synthesis -- of ideas, of lessons learned through application -- and it doesn't throw out the old models. There will always be a place for control, planning, et al. and institutional capacity remains crucial. But, the author argues, it is time to bring in what we've learned from 30 years of reform: that governments around the world need innovative and adaptive capacity.

As a practitioner, I feel the academics have finally entered my reality. This New Synthesis says what some of us have known for quite a while: governments don't have all the levers. The author argues that we have to combine government authority and public policy results with civic results and the collective power of multiple groups in society.

Extremely insightful and practical with several case studies. If you work in or study public administration, this verges on an essential text. ( )