Bureaucracy.

by David Beetham
Review by: A. S. Cohan
International Affairs (Royal Institute of International Affairs 1944-), Vol. 64, No. 3 (Summer,
1988), pp. 482-483
Published by: Wiley on behalf of the Royal Institute of International Affairs
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/2622876 .
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482

BOOK REVIEWS

equalityand liberty.By Peter

The capitalistrevolution:fifty
propositionsabout prosperity,
L. Berger.Aldershot,Hants: WildwoodHouse. 1987.262pp. Index. Pb.: ?6.95. ISBN 0 7045
0558 4.
book PeterBergercontinueshissociologicalinvestigation
intothenatureof
IN THIS fascinating
individualsor combines
capitalism,definedby himas 'productionfora marketby enterprising
withthepurposeofmakinga profit'(p. 19). His purposehereis 'to drawtheoutlineofa theory
concerningtherelationbetweencapitalismand societyin themodernworld'(p. 3), and he does
this by developingsome fiftypropositionsabout this relationshipin the course of his
argument-forinstance,'Industrialcapitalismhas generatedthegreatestproductivepower in
human history'(p. 36). The propositionsare drawn froma wide-rangingand interesting
discussionthatencompassesmostofthe'classic'themesanddebateson thenatureofcapitalism.
andefficiency,
The discussioncoverseconomicmaterialism
class,politicallibertiesandpersonal
andthenatureof'industrial
socialism'.However,Bergerhas extended
liberation,development,
hisanalysisto explainthephenomenonofwhathe calls'East Asiancapitalism',whichhe argues
to assesscapitalismoutsidetheconfinesofitsWestern
providesa 'second case', an opportunity
geographicaland historicalorigins.The use ofthis'secondcase' giveshimthechanceto separate
the impact of capitalismfromthat of modernization.And this allows him to draw his
conclusionsmuch more firmly.
Each of Berger's50 propositionsis designedto be empiricallytestablewithinan implicit
and he is verycarefulnot to set up relationshipsand
Popperianmethodologyof falsifiability,
entitiesby definition.The net resultis a book unusual in its constructionand clarityof
on thebasisoftheempirical
setsoutan ambitiousresearchprogramme
reasoning,whichin effect
testingof his propositions.
askwhystudentsofinternational
affairs
should
Manyreadersofthisjournalmaylegitimately
devotea proportionoftheirincreasingly
preciousreadingtimeto a book on capitalismwritten
by a sociologist.AlthoughI am not one of thosewho arguethatmoresociologyis necessarily
of international
affairs,thisbook is both relevantand interesting
good foran understanding
sociology. The timewhen the analysisof 'capitalism'could be safelyleftto 'Marxists'and
of international
relations
sociologistsis long past. If we as studentsseekingan understanding
cannotor do nottakeon boardtheinsightsand understanding
providedfromotherapproaches,
in thetime-honoured
traditionofinternational
relations,our studieswill becomeincreasingly
leftbehind.Not thatthisbook is theanswer:forme,Berger'smethodologyis suspect,hislackof
discussionof politicsevenmoreso, and his continuedfocuson thenationalas opposed to the
But whetherone acceptsthe argumentput
international
aspectsof capitalismunsatisfactory.
forwardhereis not the point. The book cannotbe ignoredbecause it is about a key partof
a theoreticalframework
international
relations,and becauseit attemptsto 'beginconstructing
withinwhich the linkagesbetween economic, technological,social, political and cultural
elementsof capitalismcan be more adequatelyunderstood'(p. 31).
NorthStaffordshire
Polytechnic

ROGER ToOZE

Press.1987. 137pp.Index.
Bureaucracy.By David Beetham.MiltonKeynes:Open University
ISBN 0 335 15372 0. Pb.: ISBN 0 335 15371 2.
SLIM volume turnsout to containrathermore than a readermightexpect. Professor
tendenciesto occur in
Beetham argues that a varietyof factorsmay lead anti-democratic
in thenatureofbureaucracyto bring
butthereis nothinginherent
administration,
bureaucratic
'selfenclosure'likelyto occurin a
thisabout. A betterindicationof thedegreeof bureaucratic
communityis the extentto which politicalinstitutionsopt for secrecyover openness and
manipulativeactionsto meettheparticulargoals of thecommunity.The converseof this-an
open policyprocess,visibleand participatory-willresultin an absenceof such bureaucratic
'drawingin'.
To reachthisconclusion,theauthorlooks firstat somemodelsofbureaucracy.He identifies
threesuchmodels:firstthesociologicalorWeberian;second,thepoliticaleconomymodel;and
model. In all of thesehe examinesthe idea of administrative
third,the public administration
and suggeststhedifferent
meaningsthatthetermimpliesforeach. He thenturnsto
efficiency,
power,focusingon theWeberianandMarxistviews,andarguesthatthe
theoriesofbureaucratic

THIS

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All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

Politics,economicsand social

483

mustconsider
inwhicha bureaucracy
analyst
thesocialandhistorical
context
isfoundbecauseit
is fromthatcontext
thatthebureaucratic
derives
whatpowerithas.Concluding
organization
whattheotherhastosay,heargues
thateachapproach
ignores
that,takentogether,
bothgiveus
intothenatureofbureaucratic
insights
hisbookwitha chapter
power.Beetham
concludes
on
in whichtheviewsuggested
anddemocratic
at theoutsetis expanded.
bureaucracy
theory
Thisis a veryreadableworkwitha nicelineofargument
aboutwhatbureaucracies
mayor
may not become.Whatthe book is not, however,is a nuts-and-bolts
examination
of
Itwillbea mostuseful
bureaucracy.
textforthestudyoftheories
ofbureaucracy
introductory
if
takenin tandemwitha moreempirical
piece.
University
ofLancaster

A. S. COHAN

The processofpoliticalsuccession.EditedbyPeterCalvert.London: Macmillan.1987.289pp.

Index. ?33.00. ISBN 0 333 42401 8.
book comprisesa setofpaperspresentedto theECPR workshopon 'political
succession' held at Salzburg in April 1984. The papers range widely. Specificstudies are
addressedto the patternsof politicalsuccessionwithinsuch diversecountriesand regionsas
WesternEurope,theBalticduringtheinterwar
period,Turkey,old andnew,theSovietUnion,
the People's Republic of China, Nigeria,and Argentina.Generalissues are embracedin the
introductory
and concludingpieces by PeterCalvert;thereis a formalpublic-choicetheory
analysisof successorselection;and thereis also an anthropologicalapproachto succession
managementand legitimization.
of the
The effectiveness
There is muchof interestin manyof theindividualcontributions.
of thevolumearisefromtwo
collectionas a whole is, however,less clear. Any shortcomings
relatedsources. The firstis thatthe declaredfocusis upon a process,which generatesthree
theempiricalstudiesarenotactuallyall focusedupon
difficulties.
First,thoughleastimportant,
theprocessesof politicalsuccession;some chaptersretainthisfocus,but theemphasiswithin
otherstendsin two related,but distinct,directions:towardsthe sourcesof the changesthat
of successiononce it has
precedepoliticalsuccession,or towardstheconsequencesand effects
flavourin a number
takenplace. Secondly,a processfocusencouragesa somewhatmechanistic
of the empiricalstudies. And thirdly,a process focus encountersserioustheoreticalissues
concerningthe relationshipbetweenprocessesand substantivedevelopmentsin politicallife.
linkbetweensuccessionprocessand substance,but
The implicationis thatthereis an important
as thisremainsimplicitit generatesthe kindof 'conservative'atmosphereoftenidentifiedin
functionalist
analyses.
The secondproblemareais relatedto thefirst,butnarrowsdownto theconceptualstatusand
in thisvolume,thisterm
of the notionof politicalsuccessionitself.As entertained
centrality
and changeof
embraceschangein theidentityof thepoliticalleaders,changeof government,
basicregime.'Process'approachesto politicalanalysisencouragesuchexpansivecategories,but
theirveryexpansivenessnecessarilysubmergesthe 'political'contextwithinwhichprocesses
ofsuchexplanatory
as
theoryofsubstantive
developments
occur,and impedesthedevelopment
is possible.
Such reservationsapart,thereis much in The processofpoliticalsuccessionthatwill be of
to moreadvancedstudentsbothofcomparative
politicsingeneraland ofthepoliticsofa
interest
numberof countriesand regionsin particular.
PETER CALVERT'S

University
ofReading

R.J.BARRYJ ONES

State responsibility
and thedirectbroadcastsatellite.By Marika Natasha Taishoff.London:
Pinter.1987. 203pp. Index. ?20.00. ISBN 0 86187 700 4.
ofmoderntechnologyis thegrowinginterdependofthefar-reaching
implications
and communication.Apart
ence of statesand societiesbecauseof new methodsofinformation
fromthe on-linetransportof data, thisis especiallytruein the spreadof new media of mass
communicationin generaland the developmentof the directbroadcastsatellite(DBS) in
particular.Satellites,positionedin thegeostationary
orbit,can coverup to 40 per centof the
ONE ASPECT

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