Gestionar lo público en la Antigüedad. La “administración estatal” en Mesopotamia, Egipto y China desde una perspectiva histórica

The article offers a historical reading of the development of public management in Mesopotamia, Egypt, and China, acknowledging the anachronistic nature of the concept of public administration. It argues that, as these civilizations formed empires, they faced public issues such as security, law enforcement, bureaucracy, and resource distribution. The proposal departs from traditional approaches that trace the origins of administration to prehistoric societies or military purposes, and instead links it to the emergence of complex organizations and bureaucratic systems within large imperial structures..