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Introduction to the Handbook of Theories of Public Administration and Management /Thomas Andrew Bryer --Part 1: Theories on the role of public administration --Public administration and politics: the art of separation /Patrick Overeem --Public administration and citizen participation: from isolation to activism to skepticism /Thomas Andrew Bryer and Nina Alvandipour --Public administration ethics: looking back and moving forward /So Hee Jeon --Social equity and public administration /Susan Gooden and Anthony Starke --Social justice theory in public administration: a review of critical perspectives in public administration /Kareem Willis and Tia Sherèe Gaynor --Part 2: Theories on the function of public administration --Performance: making sense of forests and trees /Kathryn Newcomer and Clint Brass --Collaborative governance: processes, benefits and outcomes /Sofia Prysmakova-Rivera and Olga Pysmenna --Public sector branding: understanding and applying the concept /Staci M. Zavattaro and M. Blair Thomas --Digital government: analytical models, underlying theories, and emergent theoretical perspective /Qianli Yuan, Mila Gasco-Hernandez and J. Ramon Gil-García --Understanding administrative law: an essential skillset for public sector management /Stephanie P. Newbold --Municipal management: seeking a theoretical perspective on form of government and performance /Kimberly Nelson --Theories on the people in public administration --Public service lala-land: public service motivation research and its researchers /Palina Prysmakova --Personnel management: improving employee and organizational performance /Mauricio Astudillo-Rodas and Norma M. Riccucci --Religiosity: emphasizing public service /Daniel Hummel --Leadership: the demise and rebirth of charisma in public administration and management research /Ulrich Thy Jensen --Diversity: what it is and what it isn't /Brandi Blessett --Gender: expanding theory in public administration and policy /Nicole M. Elias and Maria J. D'Agostino --Theories on the organization of public administration --Evolution and change in public organizations: efficiency, legitimacy and the resilience of core organizational elements /Jesse W. Campbell --Strategic management: public sector view /Jan-Erik Johanson --Inter-organizational relations: citizen-centered resource integration in times of complexity /Erik Eriksson and Andreas Hellström --International perspective on public administration and management --Chile: public administration after the New Public Management /Cristian Pliscoff --Lithuania: public administration reforms during 2008-20 /Vitalis Nakrošis --Chinese public administration research in mainstream PA journals: a systematic review (2002-20) /Hui Li and Jiasheng Zhang --United Kingdom: the rise and fall and rise of contemporary public administration /John Diamond --Decentralisation in Pakistan and India: a comparative review and policy implications /Aamer Taj and Muhammad Nouman --Russia: transformation of public administration in the context of digitalization /Nina Symanuk

AbstractFollowing the Bush administration, the Obama team enhanced access for citizens to participatory venues primarily through online mechanisms. Developing such channels gives citizens opportunity to develop their citizenship skills, potentially influence policy, and become more connected to community life. The administration can be applauded for participatory innovations, but needs to proceed strategically to ensure the innovations do not produce more harm than good and to ensure that the real change they are producing is sustainable into the next administration. This article develops the idea of a "democracy bubble" as the intersection of open access to participatory venues and inflated citizen expectations for what the participatory processes can deliver. It develops related ideas of a "democracy crater," "democracy dropouts," and "democracy demand." Three fully online or online‐mediated Obama administration participation initiatives are assessed for their potential to lead to a democracy bubble: the development of Open Government Plans, the Electronic Town Hall meeting, and co‐produced community forums on health care and job creation. A primary finding is that the administration can do a better job establishing and managing expectations for what can be achieved through participation in its various initiatives.