Abstract
The conception of court politics provides an alternative to classic notions of bureau cracy. Many staffs in large organizations are expected to operate in contradistinction to bureaucratic norms—to carry out the wishes of the top man, to fit his purposes, conveniences, and so on. Courts may often be necessary; at any rate, they are often inevitable, simply because of the leaders' convictions that they must have "instru ments" and the fact that they must have surplus "resources" of manpower which they can direct as they choose. This paper is devoted to analyzing this conception in general and showing how and why, in particular, it is likely that the White House will often consist of a "court" team.
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