Beyond Universalism: A Contextual Approach to Comparative Public Administration

In this essay, I advocate for a contextual approach to comparative public administration, arguing that effective governance reform requires moving away from universal models to embrace local political, socioeconomic, and institutional realities. Drawing on experience in mainland China, the U.S., and Hong Kong, I emphasize that understanding specific contexts is essential for both building relevant global theory and interpreting empirical results that diverge from mainstream models. Hence, I call on scholars to treat context not as a passive background variable but as a primary analytical driver, ensuring that comparative research produces "contingent generalizations" that are both theoretically rigorous and practically actionable for global governance. © 2026 The Author(s). Public Administration and Development published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.