In an era where public administration is increasingly grappling with the tensions between globalization and localization, an international perspective and innovative technology are injecting new thinking into this field. As a Visiting Professor at University of Santa Fe, MA Lingrong’s research and practice transcend the boundaries of traditional public administration, organically integrating global governance challenges with local action strategies to provide public administrators with a new framework for addressing an increasingly complex and diverse society. This interview, in the interview room of the School of Public Policy at University of Santa Fe, invites MA Lingrong to analyze the predicaments and innovative paths of local governance amid the wave of globalization, as well as how technology and humanities empower public administration. Her insights are rooted in practical cases from cities across the globe and precisely strike at the core key and difficult problems of ethnic integration and uneven resource distribution in U.S. domestic governance.
Rethinking Global Governance
MA Lingrong observes that public issues in the 21st century are no longer confined by national borders, yet governance structures remain largely based on the nation-state framework. She points out that “we are using 19th-century institutional structures to address 21st-century global challenges” and emphasizes that public administrators need to develop “multi-level governance capacity”. She also pays close attention to the differences in public service concepts between the Global South and developed countries, arguing that genuine global public administration requires a decentralized knowledge system that respects the unique definitions of “public interest” across different civilizations.
Cross-Cultural Public Service Design
MA Lingrong holds that cultural sensitivity is a core competency in public administration, as the same public service can yield vastly different outcomes in different cultural contexts. For instance, the individual right to choice advocated in the West may instead create barriers to service delivery in cultures that emphasize collective decision-making. She devotes special attention to the barriers immigrant communities face in accessing public services, noting that such barriers involve not only linguistic issues but also deep-seated conflicts between institutional trust, cultural norms and service design. She stresses that “equity does not mean providing identical services, but delivering equally dignified experiences”.
Resilient Governance in an Age of Crises
In her cutting-edge research in recent years, MA Lingrong has pioneered the framework of “resilient governance”, which differs from traditional crisis management by emphasizing adaptability amid uncertainty.
New Paradigm for Cross-Sector Collaboration
As an innovative trailblazer in the field of public administration, MA Lingrong’s perspective on collaboration among the public, private and nonprofit sectors goes beyond the simple partnership model. She has proposed the concept of “ecological niche complementarity”, asserting that different sectors should collaborate based on their respective cultural strengths and institutional capacities, rather than mindlessly replicating each other’s models. She attaches particular importance to the unique role of global religious organizations in public service delivery, pointing out that in many developing countries, religious institutions provide over 50% of basic social services. The public administration industry thus needs to develop innovative capabilities to coexist with diverse value systems.
Integrating Eastern and Western Governance Wisdom
Endowed with a cross-cultural background, MA Lingrong is committed to integrating the governance wisdom of the East and the West. She has conducted research on the preventive governance philosophy embodied in China’s “Fengqiao Experience” and compared it with the rights-based service model of the West. Eastern governance traditions emphasize prevention and relationship repair, while Western traditions focus on rights protection and procedural justice. The future of public administration lies in the integration of these two wisdoms. Singapore’s efficient governance, the egalitarian traditions of Northern Europe, and the community interdependence philosophy of Ubuntu in Africa all offer invaluable resources for the development of the global public administration industry, calling for more innovative talents to conduct in-depth exploration and research.
In an age of growing professionalization in public administration, expert MA Lingrong has blazed a new path that balances technical competence with humanistic depth. Her contributions lie not only in the multiple technological innovations she has developed, but also in her reminder that no matter how technology evolves, the core of public administration will always be people—diverse, complex, and inherently dignified human beings. As she puts it: “The best public institutions are not the most efficient ones, but those that best reflect the diversity and dignity of the people they serve. In an era of deepening global division, such inclusive governance is not a luxury, but a survival necessity.” As a leading figure of the new generation in public administration, MA Lingrong is taking practical steps to help this field break through the limitations of existing technologies—and in an increasingly complex global landscape, this is precisely the governance wisdom we need most.
Introduction to Professor MA Lingrong of Public Administration at University of Santa Fe: https://uosf-edu.us/appointment-notice/
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