Administrative Burden: Policymaking by Other Means

Administrative Burden: Policymaking by Other Means

Pamela Herd and Donald P. Moynihan

Administrative Burden: Policymaking by Other Means New York, NY: Russell Sage Foundation, 2018

Reviewed by Donald R. Officer

The subtitle of this volume is a nod to Clausewitz's infamous observation that, "War is a mere continuation of policy by other means." The Prussian strategist's calculated encapsulation was not, despite its cryptic phrasing, intended to downplay the ruthless practice of state engineered violence. Nations which successfully wage war do not pull their punches. Nor do those governments who deliberately impose, insert or tolerate what the authors of this book politely call, administrative burden.

At least not all the time. Administrative burden in practice operates like low-key insurgency more frequently than large-scale assault. The ultimate opponent is usually the political opposition. Unfortunately for the governing party, the opposition at one level or another is also in the game. To avoid offending crucial wavering supporters and losing votes everyone needs, qualifiers in the form of hoops to jump through, costs to incur and forms to fill stand between citizens in need and the stamp of official approval.

In a deeply divided society with divided government that risk is inevitable. Sadly, it is regular citizens like you and me who must hunker down and try to avoid a direct hit. As in real war, especially when it either supplements or undermines official policy, the consequences of extreme administrative impositions can be very damaging, even deadly.

In the 1930's, for instance, a pitiless policy administered by American and Canadian immigration officials imposed high fees, impossible documentation requirements and secret quotas on targeted emigrants fleeing the Nazis. Those cruelly high barriers contributed scores of victims to the Holocaust. Since then delayed action during the Balkans breakup and harsh restrictions on migrants fleeing the Middle East and North Africa have installed impassable blockages that effectively closed all avenues to unwanted refugees. Then there's Donald Trump's manufactured but now very real southern border crisis. Policy by other means.

In Administrative Burden, the earliest and most egregious of America's twentieth century migratory horror stories are the ones most extensively discussed by authors Herd and Moynihan. The entire book reads more like a select report than a broad survey with its focus on...