摘 要：自公共管理学诞生以来，学科受身份危机的困扰已逾一个世纪。公共管理学的学科身份危机的核心在于：如何处理公共管理学与政治学、管理学和法学三大相关学科，尤其是与政治学、管理学之间的关系；以及，公共管理学是否是一门独立的科学学科。本文采用罗森布卢姆提出的研究公共管理学的政治学、管理学、法学三视角框架，对公共管理学的身份问题进行了深入研究，指出中国公共管理学的发展史实际上也是一部公共管理学与三大相关学科的关系史。通过比较美国和中国的公共管理学，本文进而建议将公共管理学定义为政治学、管理学和法学之间的动态平衡和综合学科，更强调相对于政治的“行政”，相对于私人管理的“公共管理”，相对于一般法律的“行政和公共管理的法律和规则”。这一新定义表明，寻求政治学、管理学和法学三门学科之间的价值、理论和研究方法的动态平衡与综合是公共管理学的本质，将公共管理学和其他学科明确区分开来，强调了其独立学科地位。因此，我们不仅不需要担忧公共管理学的这一特征，或者试图去重构它，相反必须承认这代表了公共管理学的特殊优势和独立特征。此外，这一新定义为消除公共管理学噩梦般的身份危机开辟了新路径。
关键词：身份危机；学科；罗森布卢姆；中国；公共行政
What Is Public Administration? A Comparative Study Based on China and the United States
Abstract: An identity crisis has plagued public administration for over a century. The core of the crisis is how to address the relationship between public administration and the three major related disciplines—political science, management, and law; especially the first two—and whether public administration is an independent scientific subject. By studying the discipline identity problem of public administration using the three-perspective framework of politics, management, and law developed by Rosenbloom, this article argues that the developmental history of Chinese public administration is also a history of the relationship between public administration and the three major related disciplines. Furthermore, after comparing United States and Chinese public administration, the article suggests that we can define public administration as a dynamic balance and integrative science across the three major related disciplines by placing greater emphasis on administration, public management, and the laws and rules of administration and public management. This new definition suggests that seeking dynamic balance and synthesis is the nature of public administration, differentiates public administration from other disciplines, and stresses its status as an independent discipline. Thus, we do not need to be frightened of this feature of public administration or reframe it but must instead admit that this unique feature represents a specific advantage of public administration. Furthermore, this view provides a new way to dismiss the nightmare-like identity crisis faced by public administration.
Key words：Identity crisis, Discipline, Rosenbloom, China, Public Administration