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Bureaucracy, Democracy, and Race: The Limits of Symbolic Representation

NCJ Number
302248
Journal
Public Administration Review Volume: Online Dated: 2021
Author(s)
Date Published
2021
Annotation

This article presents a new micro-theory of symbolic representation to show that symbolic benefits of passive representation depend on some level of positive treatment by bureaucrats.

Abstract

A bureaucracy that is representative of the public it serves—passive representation—can result in both active representation and symbolic representation. Symbolic representation occurs when passive representation improves perceptions of legitimacy and enhances bureaucratic outcomes because the public is more cooperative and more likely to engage in co-production. After presenting a new micro-theory of symbolic representation, this article illustrates the utility of this theory with qualitative interviews from two cities with large populations of people of color and high proportions of police officers of color. The results suggest that increasing the demographic representativeness of the bureaucracy may be a necessary, but not a sufficient, condition for improving the relationship between the public and the bureaucracy. (publisher abstract modified)

Date Published: January 1, 2021

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