Book excerpt: Contemporary public administration reflects its historical roots, as well as contemporary ideas about how the public bureaucracy should be organized and function. This book argues that there are administrative traditions that have their roots centuries ago but continue to influence administrative behaviour. Further within Western Europe, North America, and the Antipodes there are four distinctive administrative traditions: Anglo-American, Napoleonic, Germanic, and Scandinavian. These are not the only traditions however, and the book also explores administrative traditions in Central and Eastern Europe, Latin America, Asia, and the Islamic world. In addition, the book contains a discussion of how administrative traditions of the colonial powers influenced contemporary administration in Africa, and how they continue to interact with traditional forms of governance. These discussions of tradition and persistence are also discussed in light of the numerous attempts to reform and change public administration. Some administrative traditions have been more capable than others of resisting attempts at reform, especially those associated with the New Public Management.