The word
bureaucracy has negative connotations to many while some view it as a pivotal
body in political systems. In any case, it is a backbone of the government
catering to its business.
Bureaucracy
is best suited for backward countries where democracies have not taken deep
roots into the soil since is allows for greater efficiency as trained and
skilled officials are in charge of implementing laws. As they are independent from the elected
offices, they can render unbiased justice to the communities and provide with
equal opportunities unlike the politicians who concentrate their focus on a
particular area in order to manifest their support for future elections. Nevertheless,
the bureaucracies have no direct contact with the masses and so are oblivious
to their demand and wishes. Hence they formulate laws regardless of popular
desires and sentiments.
Like every
other body, bureaucracies too have pros and cons but the element that
magnetized my attention was the role of the body with regards to power. Is it
the bureaucracy that drives the ministries or is it the ministries that pull
the strings of the implementing body? Traditionally, the popular party comes
into power with a set of agendas to be employed. Ideas are discussed and laws
are passed. It then comes to the bureaucracy to implement these laws in the
best possible way. Does it mean that bureaucracies have no role in formulating
laws? But then, there is another side of the story. New parties come in power
but their lack of experience makes them dependent on the bureaucracies to give
their cloud of ideas the silver lining. As the bureaucracies remain while
governments change, they familiarize themselves with the popular and unpopular
actions of the various governments. Thus, the government relies on them for
advice, entrusting them with power to govern the ministries. This idea was lamented by Rahul Gandhi, Vice
President of Congress party of India, saying that there was a growing trend in India where
the bureaucracy drove the government and the media drove the bureaucracy.
Therefore, it can be
concluded that powerful governments will restrict the bureaucracies to its
function of implementation of laws while the weak governments would entrust
them with a greater degree of authority.
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