Connections between bureaucratic capabilities and mid-level bureaucracy: Scoping review.

ABSTRACT

The article maps the advances in the concept of mid-level bureaucracies (MLB) in Brazilian scientific literature. The study seeks to identify the definitions used in the literature, efforts made to operationalize the concept, and its relationship with bureaucratic capacities. A scoping review examined the Brazilian literature on the subject in the last 30 years. The results show that research on MLB is recent, incipient at the municipal level, and associated with bureaucratic capacities. In general, scholars conceptualize MLB as individuals occupying intermediate positions between the top and the street-level bureaucracy, with broad consensus on their technical, political, and operational roles. The findings demonstrate the need for further research on MLB at the municipal level, given the importance of local administration in shaping public policies.

Keywords:
bureaucracy; mid-level bureaucracy; bureaucratic capacity; state capacity; municipality