Reflections on 75 years of Public Administration and Development

Abstract

Public Administration and Development has a unique position in the public administration discipline covering the intersections between the fields of public administration and development studies. As the leading journal on public administration in developing countries with an international perspective, and the second oldest British public administration journal (after Public Administration 1 ), the history of the journal can tell us something about the nature of our discipline and more generally the nature of academic publishing.This 75th anniversary special issue offers an opportunity to reflect on changes to the journal over those 75 years and to look to the future. It also sits alongside the first issue in 1949, the 25th anniversary special issue in 1974 (see Johnston, 1974), and the 50th anniversary special issue in 1999 (see Murray, 1999). It will be another 25 years before we have the opportunity to indulge in such introspection again. We can only speculate as to what the nature of academic publishing will be then, and how those involved with the journal will judge our tenure as editors-in-chief. For now, we are charged with the responsibility of curating the journal in a way that will ensure it continues to flourish.