In this book, various themes are addressed from the perspective of modern public administration. The need to rethink public administration is contextualised in the deep crisis of the 1970s, generated by the exhaustion of the era of prosperity that began after the Second World War. Abrucio (1997) emphasises that the 'Golden Age' saw a broad consensus on the role of the state in society: to guarantee economic prosperity and social welfare. According to the author, this state was based on three dimensions: economic, social and administrative.