Book excerpt: This book considers the ways in which public administration (PA) has been studied in Europe over the last forty years, and examines in particular the contribution of EGPA, the European Group for Public Administration, both to the growth of a truly pan-European PA, and to the future of PA in Europe. The book provides a lively reflection on the state of the art of PA both over the past forty years and over the next forty years. It reflects on the consolidation and institutionalisation of EGPA as the European community for the study of PA in Europe, and demonstrates the need for such a regional group for PA in Europe, as well as for regional groups for the study of PA in other parts of the world. The book also demonstrates the functional, cultural and institutional reasons that underpin the significance of a regional group for researching and studying PA at an ‘intermediate level of governance’ between the national and the global levels. The book provides rich insights about the state of the art of PA in Europe from the leading public administration scholars.