Asia and the Pacific

Central American Journal of Public Administration, No. 80 (January-June 2021)

This edition of the Central American Journal of Public Administration offers a series of reflections and lessons learned about the Asia-Pacific region in the current international context, characterized by the constant transformation of socio-political and economic structures. The geopolitical importance of the Asian region has permeated the mental structures of how to think about international relations between States, motivating the production of knowledge that structures the national and regional analysis of Asian States, as well as its influence at the international level in making of multilateral decisions.

Building administrative capacity for development: limits and prospects

This special issue’s main objective is to develop an adequate understanding of the conditions and actions required for governments to build and deploy capacities to achieve developmental goals. This introductory article offers some conceptual clarification. It starts with the overall concept of state capacity, explores its major dimensions, and highlights the centrality of the administrative dimension (administrative capacity). It then explores the major contextual factors affecting administrative capacity and examines some contemporary challenges to capacity building. The last section briefly illustrates the main contribution of each of the five articles of the special issue.