Zambia's Real Obstacle to Development: We Keep Confusing Politics With Governance

A casual inquiry among able Zambians about the biggest resistance to national development and a possible equalisation of human livelihoods would be filled with assertions of leadership, corruption, voter education, poor government reforms, weak institutions, and many more. Judiciously, all the aforementioned hold merit in such a discussion. However, a much more analytical undertaking of the issue would reveal something quite intriguing to the mindful and civilly aware individual. ## The Confusion at the Heart of the Problem Nearly all national issues in the country are governmental, and nearly all governmental issues are political. From this subtle confusion stems arguably the most substantial resistance to national development. First and foremost, the two factors in question—politics and governance—are distinguishable. Politics casually relates to the contestation for power, mobilisation of support, distribution of spoils, and short electoral horizons. On the other hand, governance relates to the formal and informal rules, organisations, and processes through which public authority is exercised to deliver public goods, enforce rights, and manage collective problems over time. ## A Problem Older Than Zambia: The Politics–Administration Dichotomy This problem is not unique to Zambia. The politics–administration dichotomy is a foundational and heavily debated idea in public administration. It holds that politics (the expression of the will of the people or the state—policy-making, value judgments, and partisan contestation) should be kept distinct from administration (the neutral, efficient, and expert execution of those policies). It is classically associated with Woodrow Wilson and Frank J. Goodnow. ### Woodrow Wilson: Administration as "a Field of Business" In his influential 1887 essay “The Study of Administration” (Political Science Quarterly), Woodrow Wilson argued that the United States needed a professional science of administration, separate from the st